Academic Assessments: Library Resources

Introduction

This page enumerates the Library’s review process of new degree proposals, lists reviews currently underway including deadlines, and lists completed reviews including dates of completion, reviewer, submission information, and a link to a PDF copy.

The USF Library employs a multi-faceted approach to building and managing collections appropriate to the degree programs and research needs of faculty and students at the University of South Florida. The specialized research and teaching needs of faculty and students in all disciplines, except the health sciences, are addressed through the acquisition process at the USF Library.

Collections in specific disciplines are assessed in the process of academic program review and accreditation by the Coordinator of Collections. The Coordinator of Collections also oversees the Information gathered through assessment tools and permits the Coordinator to evaluate the sufficiency and adequacy of the collections.

In 2007, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) instituted a new degree program review process that required the Dean/Director of Libraries to certify that the library’s resources are adequate to support a new degree program within a specific discipline. These requests can be for a degree program in a new area of study or for the addition of a new level of degree within an existing program.

Review Process

In order to adequately prepare a collections analysis report in support of new program proposals it is recommended that Academic Departments contact the Library Collections & Discovery Department early in the planning process to ensure a thorough and complete resource review.

Upon receipt of the program proposal the Coordinator of Collections develops an analysis of library holdings which includes:

• Developing lists of discipline specific core scholarly journals & databases holdings.
• Analyzing e-book collection holdings and creating counts by Library of Congress class and discipline.
• Identifying scholarly journal impact factors in disciplines associated with graduate program proposals.
• Identifying general information resources for both undergraduate and graduate program proposals.
• Holdings in targeted Library of Congress classification ranges are inventoried and compared by the Coordinator to peer and aspirant universities, other university academic programs, or predefined university clusters in OCLC’s Collection Evaluation.
• The library report submitted is part of a comprehensive program review report.

Accreditation and Reaffirmation of Academic Programs

Some academic programs at the University of South Florida have specialized accreditation from external professional organizations and societies. Upon receiving notice of an academic program accreditation or reaffirmation the Coordinator of Collections facilitates the preparation of a report based on suggested guidelines of the academic program’s accreditation organization.

As with new program proposals, In order to adequately prepare a collections analysis report in support of program accreditation and affirmation it is recommended that Academic Departments contact the Library Collections & Discovery Department early in the planning process to ensure a thorough and complete resource review.

The content of collections analysis reports for accreditation and re-affirmation differ depending on the requirements of the accreditation guidelines but can include:

• Narrative of scope of library holdings in discipline areas.
• Discipline specific scholarly journals & databases holdings.
• Discipline specific collection holdings of books and e-books.
• Fiscal analyses of fund expenditures in subject areas.

Completed Reviews