The external consultant's role is to serve as a content expert in the discipline being reviewed. The other committee members look to the external consultant for information about current trends in the discipline and opportunities for external funding. They also count on the external consultant to provide the following key information:

• how the program under review compares to programs in other universities that have a similar mission, demographic profile, and funding structure
• a critique of how the program compares to others that have reached a higher level of excellence, i.e. aspirational peers

The external consultant provides a written report to the committee but is not a voting member of the committee.

One external consultant will be selected for units with programs without any external accreditation. Two external consultants will be selected for units with doctoral or other programs with sufficient diversity in their specialized offerings.

• Selecting External Consultants
• Nomination Table Template
• Planning the External Consultant Site Visit
• Sample External Consultant Visit Itinerary
• Sample Questions for the External Consultant
• External Consultant Responsibilities
• Sample External Consultant Report Outline
• External Consultant Reimbursement Form

Return to Program Review website.