When Your Department is in Great Shape

In my last post about the Departmental Consulting Service (DCS), I outlined the general process of working with a consultant for your department. I asked our consultants to share some examples of issues that they have dealt with in their consulting work. In the next few posts, I will summarize some of these issues by grouping them into three situations: (1) your department is doing well; (2) you know your department has problems; and (3) you don't know what problems you have.

Why would you want to hire a consultant if you are confident that your department is already in excellent condition? At many institutions, there is a regular program review process that may require some type of outside evaluation. For programs that are accredited by APA or some other organization, the accreditation process often satisfies the need for external review. When such accreditation is not involved, the administration at your college or university may request or require an external evaluation. There may be a particular desire to demonstrate that an academic program is "excellent" or "distinguished."

There are a few important issues you should keep in mind if you see yourself in this situation.

• If your goal is to have an outside evaluator confirm that your department is distinguished, you should not only communicate that goal, but what criteria you would like the consultant(s) to take into account.
  
• If your department has not already gone through a thorough self-evaluation process, I recommend that you do so prior to asking a consultant to confirm that you are in good shape. If your department has some weaknesses, it is better to identify those up front than to be surprised when a consultant identifies them for you.
  
• Don't expect a consultant to simply rubber-stamp your department's own self-assessment. Be prepared for an honest, open review process. Then, when the consultant writes a report indicating the excellence of your department, it will be meaningful. Also, keep in mind that the decision-makers at your institution may find a consultant's report more credible if it mentions areas for improvement in addition to highlighting the department's strengths.
  
• Even if the consultant's evaluation indicates a department that is in good shape, don't be surprised if the consultant offers some suggestions. The consultant may help the department anticipate future opportunities or challenges. For example, the consultant may notice that your department's standard of excellence is threatened by thin resources or an impending loss of faculty. Coming from a well-qualified external consultant, concerns such as these may provide some leverage for your department with the administration.
  

Remember that a good consultation process is a two-way street. You can make the most of the process by communicating with your consultant and listening carefully to the feedback that you receive.