One of the most common requests that we receive is for a consultant to do a general evaluation of the department or to help the department conduct a self-assessment. In previous posts, I outlined some issues that come up in two common situations: (1) you think your department is in excellent shape; and (2) you know that your department has problems. In the last post of this series, I will address what happens if your department is somewhere in between. In other words, you have a general awareness that your department could be in better shape, but you're not sure what particular problems might exist. This is an excellent time to seek out an experienced external consultant to help you identify those problems.
It might help to consider some of the more likely culprits, those issues that tend to present difficulties to many departments. Of course, the specifics associated with any of these areas may well be unique to your institution.
- Do you have clearly defined goals for each of your degree programs?
- Do the goals of your programs fit with the mission of your department and your institution?
- Could the design of your programs be improved? Have you compared against APA recommendations and benchmarked against other departments?
- Are you doing a good job of advising and mentoring your students? Are they aware of the opportunities in your department? Are they prepared for the workplace and/or graduate school?
- Do you have assessment activities that provide useful information about whether you are meeting your goals?
Depending on where you are in evaluating your department, you may want to develop a list of questions like these, but tailor them specifically to your department. Your department could then ask one or more external consultants to help you answer your questions. If the answer is that your department could improve, consultants can help you plan a path to make changes. If your department is not at the point of being able to formulate specific questions, then consultants can guide you through that process.
If you are interested in hiring one or more external consultants, DCS can provide you (at no charge!) with a list of recommendations for potential consultants. If you have any questions about our services, please contact me at kreiner@ucmo.edu.
