General Information

Program review is an integral part of the systematic review and improvement of academic offerings at Buffalo State.  For non-accredited programs, Buffalo State conducts program review on a 5-year cycle.  Accredited programs are reviewed according to the schedule set by their accrediting agencies.  According to the SUNY Guide for the Evaluation of Undergraduate Programs, 

"Program evaluation must be supported at the institutional level by creating a “culture of assessment” at all levels of the institution. Although often associated with accountability, program evaluation is a cooperative activity that requires energy and time to be done properly and have the greatest positive effect for all involved. The administration provides support by collaborating with the faculty, through governance, to establish clear roles and responsibilities for evaluation and assessment. These roles are shared across a broad spectrum of the institution and beyond, depending on the type of program. For example, a program that affects local schools would involve external constituencies as well as campus faculty, staff and administration. The idea of a “culture of evaluation” acknowledges the ongoing nature of assessment. Programs must be revisited regularly in order to continue to improve over time. Administration and faculty should collaborate to develop a multi-year schedule, procedural steps and timelines in order to enable ongoing program evaluation of every program on campus." (SUNY Guide for the Evaluation of Undergraduate Programs, 2012, p.6.). 

Buffalo State provides quality undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, business, communication, education, health and human services, the sciences and technologies. Every department engages in major program assessment activities to measure and benchmark quality as part of either accreditation review or a 5 year internal/external review process. Both SUNY and Buffalo State provide guidelines for the 5 year review. This assessment review includes a self-study, external review and department response to the external review report. Upon completion, the Dean and department work together to implement agreed upon recommendations for improvement.

Assessment in major programs is guided by each program’s assessment plan. Student learning outcomes are available on academic department websites. Other materials such as assessment plans, curriculum maps, and assessment results/actions are available in Buffalo State's assessment management software, Planning and Self Study by Watermark.  Reports detailing assessment activities/results/responses are included in department annual reports which are sent to Deans, Provost and AVP Institutional Effectiveness.

All assessment plans include:

  • Clear delineation of programmatic student learning outcomes.
  • A curriculum map of courses in each program that relate to and result in achievement of goals and objectives.
  • Measures and criteria (standards) utilized in determining the degree to which students are achieving goals/objectives.
  • Process/procedures for making changes suggested by assessment results.
  • Realistic cyclic timetable for completing programmatic assessment.

Accredited Programs

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)

Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC)

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC)

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Certification Review

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

All Buffalo State Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), now the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).  The programs listed below have additional accreditation through a Specialized Professional Association (SPA).  

Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

International Literacy Association (ILA)

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)    

National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

The remaining EPP programs are solely accredited by NCATE/CAEP:

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc (ABET), Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC)

Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE)

Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)

Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA), International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE)

National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)

Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)

National Association of Schools of Theater (NAST)

Program Reviews By Year

Adult Education Department

Adult Education, M.S. 

Adult Education, Graduate Certificate

Human Resource Development, Graduate Certificate

Chemistry Department

Forensic Chemistry, B.S.

Computer Information Systems

Computer Information Systems, B.S.

Geography and Planning Department

Geographic Information Systems, Undergraduate Certificate

Mathematics Department

Statistics in Insurance, Undergraduate Certificate

Philosophy Department

Mathematical Logic, Undergraduate Certificate

Political Science Department

Political Science, B.A.

International Relations, B.A.

Public Management, Graduate Certificate

Arts and Humanities Dean's Office

Arts and Letters, B.A. - Self Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Biology Department - Self Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Biology, B.A. 

Biology, M.A.

Economics and Finance Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Economics, B.A.

Economics, B.S.

Applied Economics, M.A.

English Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

English, B.A.

English, M.A.

Writing, B.A.

Health, Dietetics and Nutrition Department

Health and Wellness, B.S.

Television and Film Arts Department

Television and Film Arts, B.A. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Mathematics Department

Applied Mathematics, B.S.

Mathematics, B.A.

Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics, M.S.

Anthropology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Anthropology, B.A.

Chemistry Department

Chemistry, B.S.

Higher Education Administration

Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration, M.S.

Assessment in Student Affairs, Graduate Certificate

Modern and Classical Languages Department

Spanish, B.A.

World Language Advantage, Undergraduate Certificate

Philosophy Department

Philosophy, B.A.

Political Science Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management, M.P.A.

Theater Department

Theater, B.A.

Foundations of Theatrical Directing, Undergraduate Certificate

Business Department

Business Administration, B.S.

Center for Studies in Creativity

Creative Studies, M.S. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Criminal Justice Department

Criminal Justice, B.S.

Earth Sciences Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Earth Science, B.S.

Geology, B.A.

History and Social Studies Education - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

History, B.A.

History, M.A.

Physics Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Physics, B.A.

Physics, B.S.

Physics 3+2 Engineering Option, B.S.

Criminal Justice Department

Criminal Justice, B.S. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Geography and Planning Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Geography, B.A.

Environmental Geography, B.S.

Urban and Regional Planning, B.S.

Graduate Dean's Office - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response
Self-Study Appendix

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.A.

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.S.

Great Lakes Center - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Great Lakes Ecosystem Science, M.A.

Great Lakes Ecosystem Science, M.S.

Psychology Department - Self-Study Reviewers' Report,  Departmental Response

Psychology B.A.

Psychology, B.S.

Sociology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Sociology, B.A.

Social Work Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response
Self-Study Narrative Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3

Social Work, B.S.

Communication Department

Public Communication, B.A.

Computer Information Systems

Computer Information Systems, B.S.

Political Science Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Political Science, B.A.

International Relations, B.A.

Mathematics Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Applied Mathematics

B.S., Mathematics, B.A.

Professional Applied Computational Mathematics, M.S.

Adult Education Department

Adult Education, M.S.

Economics and Finance Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Economics, B.A., Economics

B.S., Applied Economics, M.A.

History and Social Studies Education Department

Museum Studies, M.A. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Television and Film Arts Department

Television and Film Arts, B.A. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Arts and Humanities Dean's Office Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Arts and Letters, B.A.

Biology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Biology, B.A.

Biology, M.A.

Center for Studies in Creativity

Creative Studies, M.S.

Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department

Health and Wellness, B.S. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Political Science Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management M.P.A.

Business Department

Business Administration, B.S.

Earth Sciences and Science Education - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Earth Sciences, B.S.

Geology, B.A.

Geography and Planning Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Geography, B.A.

Environmental Geography, B.S.

Urban and Regional Planning, B.S.

Graduate Dean's Office

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.A.

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.S.

Higher Education Administration - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration, M.S.

History and Social Studies Education Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response
Self-Study Appendix 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

History, B.A.

History, M.A.

Physics Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Physics, B.A.

Physics, B.S.

Physics 3+2 Engineering Option, B.S.

Anthropology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Anthropology, B.A.

Criminal Justice Department

Criminal Justice, B.S. - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Criminal Justice, M.S.

Geography and Planning Department

Geography, B.A.

Urban and Regional Planning, B.S.

Philosophy and Humanities Department

Philosophy, B.A.

Modern and Classical Languages Department

French, B.A.

Spanish, B.A.

Multidisciplinary Studies, Graduate School - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response
Self-Study Appendix

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.A.

Multidisciplinary Studies, M.S.

Adult Education Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Adult Education, M.S.

English Department

English, B.A. 

English, M.A.

Writing, B.A.

Psychology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Psychology, B.A.

Psychology, B.S.

Sociology Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Sociology, B.A.

Political Science Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Political Science, B.A.

International Relations, B.A.

Mathematics Department - Self-Study, Reviewers' Report, Departmental Response

Applied Mathematics, B.S.

Mathematics, B.A.

Professional Applied Computational Mathematics, M.S.

Adult Education Department

Adult Education, M.S.