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The Graduate School
  • About
  • Admissions
  • Academics
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  • Professional Development
  • News & Events
  • Diversity & Community

< About

  • Background & History
  • Governance
  • Contact Us
  • Directory

MSU's plan to keep Spartans safe

Learn More

< Admissions

  • Overview
  • Apply
  • International Applicants

An MSU graduate education provides the motivation and inspiration for you to move your career forward.

View a list of graduate programs.

< Academics

  • Overview
  • Program List
  • Research Integrity
  • Theses & Dissertations
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Traveling Scholars
  • GradPlan

At MSU, there are many ways to combine areas of study into one or two degrees.

Learn about interdisciplinary study

< Funding

  • Overview
  • Emergency Fellowship Funding
  • Fellowships
  • Research Enhancement Award
  • Travel Funding
  • Assistantship Resources
  • Funding Resources

Find the financial support you need to pursue your graduate studies.

View Funding Opportunities

< Professional Development

  • Overview
  • Graduate Career Services
  • Teaching Development
  • Advising
  • Mentoring

The Graduate School provides and curates programs to help students grow as educators.

View Teaching Communities & Fellowships

< News & Events

  • News
  • Events

View upcoming workshops for graduate students.

Learn More

< Diversity & Community

  • Overview
  • Office of Well-Being
  • Student Organizations
  • Michigan Housing & Living
  • Spouse & Family Resources
  • Safety & Security

While inclusion guides all of our activities, the Graduate School provides a range of innovative programs and initiatives that focus specifically on inclusivity and community.

See our community programs
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  • Faculty & Staff
  • Research Integrity
  • Forms
  • Give

Strategic Program Assessment

The Graduate School > Faculty & Staff Resources >

Strategic Program Assessment

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SPARTANS WILL|© Michigan State University|

SPAinputoutcomes (1)

Strategic Program Assessment (SPA) is MSU’s process for reviewing graduate programs, including graduate certificates. 

Engaging in the SPA process gives departments and colleges a chance to take a step back and think broadly about its programs, where they are working, and where they can be improved.

The Graduate School will:

  • conduct a high-level review and provide feedback.
  • identify trends across campus and identify potential areas where we need to provide more guidance and support through mechanisms such as adopting MSU wide policies or through our Graduate Handbook update process. 

Note: The Graduate School will not use SPA to decide which programs are terminated or which programs get resources.

We recognize that completing your self-study will require work. However, we have tried to make SPA a useful process that produces a useful result. Anecdotally, those who put in the most effort and engage the unit broadly get the most out of SPA.

Timeline

  • Prior Spring
    • Confirm program lineup
  • Prior Summer
    • Initial Communication
    • Data packets generated
  • Fall of SPA Year
    • August kickoff meeting
    • Decide college deadline
    • Grad School SPA workshops
    • December progress reports due
  • Spring of SPA Year
    • January SPA check-ins
    • Decide college deadline
    • Grad School SPA workshops
    • December progress reports due
  • Summer of SPA Year
    • Grad School review
    • Grad School meetings with GAADs
    • GAAD meetings with programs

Process

Each graduate program is scheduled to go through SPA on a regular basis, typically every 7 years. 

Some programs might go through this more frequently to align with an external accreditation process that has a shorter cycle. These timings were initially set by each College’s Graduate Assistant/Associate Dean (GAAD).

View the SPA Schedule
  • Prior Year's Spring Semester
    • College GAADs confirm which of their programs will go through SPA in the next academic year. A schedule has been established, but some variation might arise due to extenuating circumstances.
  • Prior Year's Summer Semester
    • The Graduate School will send initial communications to the Chair, Graduate Program Director (GPD) and GAAD for each program going through SPA; if possible, these will go out in spring semester.
    • The GAADs will fill out a form confirming some basic information and expectations for each program going through SPA. This information will be shared with the GPD and the Graduate School.
    • The Graduate School will create a Teams site to house all the relevant SPA information. You will be added to this Teams site.
    • The Graduate School, in collaboration with Institutional Research, will generate data packets that will be given to each program. This data will include admissions, enrollment, graduation, and time to completion data. When available, we will also include student survey and placement data.
  • Fall Semester
    • In August, the Graduate School will host a virtual kickoff meeting that will be recorded providing basic instructions and advice to all programs going through SPA. The recording will be made available on the Teams site.
    • GAADs and GPDs should decide on the internal deadline by which self-study reports should be submitted to the GAAD so that the GAAD can complete their review and submit their commentary to the Grad School and the program.
    • The Graduate School will host monthly, virtual SPA workshops where we facilitate a discussion on various topics such as how to engage your department, interpreting the data we provide, and resources for health and wellbeing for your graduate student. Recordings of the workshops will be made available on the Teams site.
    • In December, programs will submit a progress report.
  • Spring Semester
    • In January, the Graduate School will meet with each GPD to discuss the progress report and address any outstanding issues.
    • From February through April, the Graduate School will host optional co-working sessions.
    • Programs will submit their self-study reports to their GAADs by their agreed upon internal deadline.
    • GAADs will submit their feedback to the Graduate School and program using the appropriate form.
    • Chairs will submit their acknowledging that they have read and endorse the self-study report and the looking forward priorities.
    • GPDs will submit the final package to the Graduate School including the GAAD and chair forms.
  • Summer Semester
    • The Graduate School will complete a high-level review of all the submitted self-study reports looking for trends, opportunities, and concerns across campus.
    • The Graduate School will meet with GAADs to discuss each program that went through SPA from the given college in the year.
    • The GAADs will then schedule meetings with the program to convey the feedback from the Graduate School. This might take place in the following fall semester depending on availability of all personnel.