PRAC Minutes for March 4, 2010

Attendance:  Imad Antonios , Gene Brady,  Sue Clerc,  Karen Cummings,  Charlie Dellinger-Pate  
 Marybeth Fede,  Susan Felsenfeld, Mary Hartog, Patty Kahlbaugh, Tricia Lin, Tom Radice, Scott Graves
PRAC met on March 4, 2010 to review the self-study submitted by the Economics and Finance department.  The self-study, which included standards 1-17,  was prepared by Dr. Samuel Andoh, the department's assessment coordinator.   The first part of the meeting was taken up with evaluation and discussion of  each standard.   Dr. Samuel Andoh and Dr. Jim Thoreson met with PRAC during the last 25 minutes of the meeting to share in the discussion of the self-study and to receive PRAC's feedback.  Suggestions for revision were made and a mechanism by which PRAC members could provide further direction to Economics and Finance was identified.    Specifically, PRAC has adopted a strategy such that small groups of members evaluate particular standards.  One benefit of this  developed focus is  PRAC members can  provide specific feedback about particular standards to the assessment coordinator.  In addition, Kahlbaugh offered an  assessment of standards 1-17 and provided this to all PRAC members and to Dr. Andoh at the meeting.
Other business:  PRAC discussed the purpose of program review.  We would like to state our belief that the program review's primary audience is the department and as such we encourage members of departments/programs to be honest about their program as they engage in self-assessment.  In this sense, we do believe "honesty is the best policy."  PRAC members asked me to mention our  position given that this question was raised rhetorically at the last UCF meeting.

Respectfully submitted by Kahlbaugh, March 9, 2010