The following material should be included in the comprehensive self-study "binder", or report, that is completed by the committee chairs and presented to the AVP and external reviewers at least one month in advance of the external review. 

The report should include:

• Up- to-date mission, vision, and values.
• S.W.O.T. Analysis
  • Members of the department and/or key constituents should join together to create the SWOT analysis. Materials and training on conducting a SWOT analysis will be available through the program review website.
    • Strengths: What are the unit's top strengths?
    • Weaknesses: What are the unit's most significant weaknesses? (This would include such issues as being under-staffed, under-budgeted, insufficiently trained, etc.).
    • Opportunities: What problems, challenges, changes, external forces exist now or will exist that will provide opportunities to meet new needs, develop new services, etc.
    • Threats: What issues threaten the unit's ability to succeed now and in the future?
• An analysis of the department's current performance when compared with key national standards. Often (but not necessarily) CAS standards, these are agreed upon at the initial meeting with the VSPA and departmental leadership.
• Current and future objectives – The department should include the list of key ongoing objectives, with an emphasis on those in the planning database. The present and future are more important in this case than past achieved objectives.
• An update on the previous program review's recommendation - The self-study binder must contain a report on the status of all recommendations that were approved as part of the unit's previous program review.
• Policies & Procedures manual - All units should provide an up to date, complete policies and procedures manual. This consists of step-by-step procedures for all primary unit functions.

Depending on the department, appendices within the report may also include:

• Nuanced budget analyses
• Assessment reports
• Internal audit reports (if appropriate)
• Samples of constituent interaction activities including any past customer research.
• Recommendations for questions to be asked as part of customer surveys and focus groups.
• Data from recent accreditation work
• Any other relevant artifacts referenced within the report

Program review committee chairs are free to included whatever self-study information is needed, in their view, to provide the most helpful data for making the strongest recommendations for quality improvement, whether they are listed above or not.