Executive summary of the Psychology Department Review (Fall 2019)
After completing a very thorough and extensive self-study, the Department of Psychology was reviewed by a committee consisting of two external members and one internal member not associated with the department. In addition to reviewing the self-study and related documents, the committee conducted an on-site visit which included meeting with all full-time faculty, several Psychology students, and various members of Redeemer’s administration.
The Reviewers commended the Psychology Department for their commitment to providing their students with a program that is strong academically and well as in alignment with Redeemer’s mission and vision. This program also shows positive graduation data, including strong numbers of graduate program acceptances and vocational outcomes. The department has already made strategic improvements to its program that the reviewers believe will enable the program to maintain its good student outcomes and position the program toward future growth; the reviewers noted, in particular, the addition of internship opportunities and the extension of the honours thesis course to a full-year, two-course, project.
The reviewers made a number of recommendations to assist the department’s continued desire to improve their program. These recommendations ranged from making small changes to course syllabi to consolidating the two separate honours streams into a single program with a simpler set of program-level learning outcomes and a stronger emphasis on research. The department has agreed to all the recommendations and has implementation plans that bring them to complete their work by Fall 2020.
