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.

UNMO’s involvement in APRs is both collaborative and data-driven, beginning with informal participation in 2024 and transitioning to formal engagement by 2026. Programs undergoing review are now required to include a dedicated section on online curriculum and programming. These sections must present 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.

Determine Your Path

At UNM, online courses and programs follow one of two models: with or without tuition revenue sharing. The Academic Program Review (APR) process for online education varies depending on the model. Select the AOP Path or the ONL Path based on your program’s structure.

Follow the AOP Path if your college or school offers Accelerated Online degrees, certificates or degree completion programs and the ONL Path if none of your online curricula is in the AOP format. If your college/school offers standalone AOP classes but no programs in the AOP format, UNM Online will collaborate to develop a customized path.

Need help determining your college’s or school’s path? Contact UNMOanalytics@unm.edu for support.

AOP Path: Guidance

Use the University's APR Self-Study to address the health and performance of AOP offerings. 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.

Criterion	Content to Include	Data Supplied by UNM Online (UNMO)
Self-Study Criterion 3: Online Programming
3A: Vision & Mission	A high-level summary on the status of each AOP	✔️ Each AOP’s launch semester. ✔️ Lists of online courses and online programs offered by the college or school.
3B: Curriculum	Address whether the AOP is offered in another modality; an analysis on the health of AOP offerings, including tuition revenue and costs; online offerings compared with other modalities.	✔️ Modalities of class sections, course enrollment, and student credit hour generation. ✔️ Program headcount and AOP graduation rates. ❌ AOP financials are available through the Provost’s Office.
3C: Online Quality Review		✔️ Faculty training and course reviews associated with teaching online, AOP course certification, Golden Paw recognition, course and program disclosures required to meet distance education regulations. UNMO is also available for consultation on requirements surrounding a program’s professional licensing and out-of-state learning placements. ✔️ A list of class sections and their instructors of record. ❌ UNMO does not supply faculty-to-student and faculty-to-course ratios.
3D: Marketing & Recruitment		✔️ Leads-to-applicants captured through UNMO’s advertising. A description of UNMO’s marketing & recruitment efforts. AOP applicants, admits and enrolled students. ✔️ Demographics of AOP students and students enrolled in online classes. ❌ UNMO does not provide data on departmental student recruitment efforts or leads generated outside of UNMO's advertising.
3E: Advisement & Support Services		✔️ Inquiries managed by UNMO staff and their outreach and retention efforts.
3F: Student Opportunities		❌ UNMO does not supply data on student opportunities. The AOP's leadership provides this data.
3G: Faculty		✔️ Faculty training and course reviews associated with teaching online, AOP course certification, Golden Paw recognition, course and program disclosures required to meet distance education regulations. UNMO is also available for consultation on requirements surrounding a program’s professional licensing and out-of-state learning placements at saracompliance@unm.edu. ❌ UNMO does not provide faculty composition data, including TPTs and GTAs and their distributions across modalities.
Self-Study Criterion 5: Students (Undergraduate & Graduate)
5A: Recruitment	A profile of each AOP’s student population; the pros and cons of the format in terms of meeting each population’s needs	✔️ Student demographics: headcount, age, gender, geographic location, NM residency status, time status.
5B: Admissions		✔️ Leads generated from UNMO’s advertising, conversions to AOP applicants and enrollment. ❌ UNMO does not supply data on departmental student recruitment efforts or leads generated by those efforts.
5C: Data		✔️ Class enrollment by modality and student demographics.️ ✔️ Retention, graduation rates and demographics of AOP students.
5D: Advisement Practices	Address advising practices unique to AOPs.	✔️ A description of UNMO’s advisement practices. ❌ UNMO does not provide data on departmental advising processes.
5E: Student Support Services	Address student support services unique to AOPs.	✔️ A description of UNMO’s student support services. ❌ UNMO does not provide data regarding departmental student support services.
5F: Graduate Success	Address AOP trends.	✔️ Graduation rates by AOP major and degree. ❌ UNMO does not supply data about alumni or other measures of postgraduate success.

ONL Path: Guidance

Use the University's APR Self-Study to address online curriculum performance. 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.

Criterion	Points to Address	Data Supplied by UNM Online (UNMO)
Self-Study Criterion 3: Online Programming
3A: Vision & Mission	A high-level summary of online offerings and whether there is online programming.	✔️ Lists of online courses and online programs offered by the college or school.
3B: Curriculum	Address whether online programming is also offered in another modality; compare online offerings with other modalities.	✔️ Modalities: section counts, course enrollment, student credit hour generation; demographics of students registered for online courses: headcount, age, gender, geographic location, NM residency status, time status.
3C: Online Quality Review		✔️ Faculty training and course reviews associated with teaching online, Golden Paw recognition, course and program disclosures required to meet distance education regulations. UNMO is also available for consultation on requirements surrounding a program’s professional licensing and out-of-state learning placements at saracompliance@unm.edu. ✔️ A list of class sections and their instructors of record. ❌ UNMO does not supply faculty-to-student and faculty-to-course ratios.
3D: Marketing & Recruitment		❌ UNMO does not provide data on prospective students, applicants or recruitment efforts for programs that are not in the AOP format.
3E: Advisement & Support Services		✔️ A description of UNMO’s advisement and student support services.
3F: Student Opportunities		❌ UNMO does not supply data on student opportunities. The online curriculum's leadership provides this data.
3G: Faculty		✔️ Faculty training and course reviews associated with teaching online, Golden Paw recognition, course and program disclosures required to meet distance education regulations. UNMO is also available for consultation on requirements surrounding a program’s professional licensing and out-of-state learning placements. ❌ UNMO does not provide faculty composition data, such as TPTs and GTAs and their distributions across modalities.
Self-Study Criterion 5: Students (Undergraduate & Graduate)
5A: Recruitment	A profile of the learner population served by an online program or otherwise any online curriculum offerings; the pros and cons of the online format in terms of meeting each population’s needs.	✔️ Demographics of students registered for online courses: headcount, age, gender, geographic location, NM residency status, time status.
5B: Admissions		❌ UNMO does not provide data on online program admissions processes or their impact on enrollment.
5C: Data		✔️ Modalities, course enrollment, course headcount, demographics of students registered for online courses. ❌ In most cases, UNMO does not provide retention rates, graduation rates, or other metrics on students enrolled in online programs. Online program students are indistinguishable from students in the on-the-ground version of the program.
5D: Advisement Practices	Address whether there are advising practices unique to online learners.	✔️ A description of UNMO’s advisement practices. ❌ UNMO does not provide data on departmental advising processes.
5E: Student Support Services	Address student support services unique to online learners.	✔️ A description of UNMO’s student support services. ❌ UNMO does not supply data regarding departmental support services for online learners.
5F: Graduate Success	Address online program conferral trends or similar trends attributed to online curriculum offerings.	❌ UNMO does not provide graduation rates for online programs or data about alumni.

UNM Online