Academic Program Review: Online Education

Introducing Online Education to Academic Program Reviews

As of Fall 2024, online education has been formally integrated into the University of New Mexico’s Academic Program Review (APR) process. This milestone reflects a strategic partnership between UNM Online (UNMO) and the Office of Assessment & Academic Program Review (OAAPR), with endorsement from Academic Affairs. The updated APR Self-Study template now includes a distinct criterion dedicated to online curriculum, and online education appears in several self-study prompts.

UNMO’s involvement in APRs is both collaborative and data-driven. Programs undergoing review respond to a dedicated section on online curriculum and programming, with data-informed narratives that highlight trends, successes, and challenges in online offerings, while also evaluating their financial sustainability in alignment with the goals of the college or school and the broader institutional mission.

Accessed from the OAAPR website, the revised Self-Study calls for analyses of data such as enrollment trends, course delivery formats (online, hybrid, on-ground), student performance metrics (e.g., D/F/W/I rates), and demographic insights. When appropriate, UNMO supplies a portion of the data, as determined through communication between the program’s leadership and the UNMO Analytics team. UNMO typically provides data in formats that provide a high-level overview, such as charts, summarized tables and aggregated metrics.

This integration ensures that online education is not only visible within institutional assessment but also positioned for continuous improvement and strategic growth. It aligns with broader state-level expectations for transparency and coordination in online learning, reinforcing UNM’s commitment to academic excellence across modalities.

Data Provided by UNM Online

Programs undergoing the Albuquerque Campus APR process address online education in the Self-Study. To download the Self-Study Skeleton.doc, navigate to apr.unm.edu → Documents & Templates → Main Campus 10th Ed. APR Documents → Self-Study Templates.

When referencing online education, the analysis should, whenever possible, reflect data spanning the past five years. The table below outlines the data UNM Online supplies to colleges and schools with a significant online presence. Where feasible, UNMO provides data for the previous five years.

Data Provided by UNM Online

Limitations for Non-AOP Online Programs

Limitations for Online and AOP Programs

✔️ Each AOP’s launch semester.

✔️ Lists of online courses and online programs offered by the college or school.

❌ Launch semesters of non-AOP online programs are not always provided.

 

✔️ Class section data:

  • Section counts
  • Modalities
  • Class section enrollment, fill rates and student credit hour (SCH) generation
  • Fail/withdraw rates
  • A list of class sections and their instructors of record
  • Demographics, time status and NM residency status of students registered for online and AOP class sections

 

❌ UNMO does not calculate faculty-to-course or faculty-to-student ratios.

❌ UNMO does not provide faculty composition data, including TPTs and GTAs and their distributions across modalities. We do not supply information on faculty rank, FTE or tenure status.

✔️ AOP graduation rates and degrees awarded.

✔️ Program headcount, time status, residency status and demographics of AOP students.

✔️ AOP student retention rates.

❌ In most cases, UNMO does not provide retention rates, graduation and degree data, or other metrics on students enrolled in online programs that are not in the AOP format. Online program students are indistinguishable from students in the on-the-ground version of the program.

❌ UNMO does not supply data about alumni or other measures of postgraduate success.

✔️ Student support and recruitment:

  • AOP leads (prospective students) generated from UNMO’s advertising and AOP applicants captured from these leads.
  • AOP applicants, admits and enrolled students.
  • A description of UNMO’s student support, outreach and recruitment services.
  • Where possible, UNMO provides program-specific counts of inquiries managed by UNMO staff.

❌ UNMO does not provide data on leads or applicants for online programs that are not in the AOP format.

❌ UNMO does not provide data on student support, advisement, recruitment and advertising efforts conducted outside of UNMO.

❌ UNMO does not provide data on student support, advisement, recruitment and advertising efforts conducted outside of UNMO.

✔️ Instructor professional development and course quality:

 

❌ UNMO does not calculate faculty-to-course or faculty-to-student ratios.

❌ UNMO does not provide faculty composition data, including TPTs and GTAs and their distributions across modalities. We do not supply information on faculty rank, FTE or tenure status.

❌ UNMO provides at most five years of data. We provide fewer years of data in cases where five years of data is not feasible or would not be logical in the context of the data visualizations.

❌ UNMO does not supply data on student opportunities (relevant to Criterion 3F: Student Opportunities in the APR Self-Study).

 

 

❌ UNMO does not supply financial data. Program financials are available through the Provost’s Office.

Contact Us

Connect with UNMO Analytics by emailing UNMOAnalytics@unm.edu. We are available to answer your questions and for orientation on the Power BI reports we provide.

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