External Reviews

External reviews are an important part of our quality assurance and enhancement at UBC Okanagan, ensuring that our offerings continue to meet the highest standards of academic excellence and provide an exceptional student experience. External reviews are required by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills and governed by UBC Senate policy J-305.

“Academic unit reviews are in place to evaluate program quality and academic operations of units at UBC, highlighting the strengths and challenges of educational and research programs as well as the adequacy of resources to support [UBC’s] goals”

UBC Senate Policy j-305

Schedule of Upcoming Reviews External Review Resources Past External Review Reports

About external reviews at UBC Okanagan

An external review is a process where independent experts evaluate the quality and performance of a Faculty, school or department and their programs.

Frequency

All academic units and their programs are externally reviewed once every five to seven years, typically aligning with the appointment or extension of a Dean.

Responsibility

Faculty-level reviews are conducted by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, while department, school and program-level reviews are conducted by the Faculty Dean’s Office. Interdisciplinary programs, such as the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Sustainability, may be supported by the Office of the Provost.

Schedule of upcoming external reviews

The external reviews listed below are scheduled for the upcoming academic years.

2025/26

  • Department of Languages and World Literatures
  • School of Health and Exercise Sciences
  • Department of English and Cultural Studies
  • Department of Chemistry
  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology programs

2026/27

  • Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics
  • Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
  • School of Engineering
  • School of Nursing
  • School of Social Work
  • Bachelor of Sustainability

2027/28

  • Department of Biology
  • Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
  • Department of Economics, Philosophy, Political Science
  • Department of History and Sociology
  • Faculty of Health and Social Development
  • Okanagan School of Education

2028/29

  • Faculty of Management
  • Department of Community, Culture and Global Studies
  • Department of Creative Studies
  • Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (IGS) program
  • Department of Psychology

 

External review resources and guidelines

The Office of the Provost and the Planning and Institutional Research (PAIR) teams support units with their external reviews, providing guidelines, best practices, data and advice to ensure a smooth process.

For more information and guidance on the external review process, contact:

Laura Prada
Senior Manager, Academic Programs, Teaching and Learning
laura.prada@ubc.ca

Past external review reports

External reviews of UBC Okanagan Faculties are conducted by the Office of the Provost. To request departmental, school or program external review reports, please contact the Deans’ office.

Faculties

Programs

Senate reports

A summary of external reviews and the Faculty/department response are summarized each year in a report to the UBC Okanagan Senate from the Office of the Provost. Read the reports below.