UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has selected Hanover Research to aid with gathering data and providing suggestions to Penn State on the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) initiative. 

The APPR Request for Proposal (RFP) Selection team, one of the APPR working groups, engaged the Office of Central Procurement from May through August on an RFP process that resulted in Hanover’s selection. The team, in consultation with representatives from the Graduate Council, University Faculty Senate and University Staff Advisory Council, recommended Hanover Research group, a research firm with experience in higher education research and data collection and analysis, including work on portfolio and program review projects. 

“We are looking forward to Hanover assisting on the APPR project and working with them to help provide data analysis we can use to help plan for the future,” said Elizabeth Wright, regional chancellor and chief academic officer of Penn State Hazleton, Penn State Scranton and Penn State Wilkes-Barre, and co-chair of the APPR project and co-lead of the APPR RFP Selection work team. “I’d like to thank Karen Paulson, co-lead of the RFP team, the RFP work team and everyone who participated in the extensive review process for lending their expertise to the project. We are eager to begin the next phase and continue the collaborative work.” 

The executive sponsors have also named Daniel Jackson, associate teaching professor of physics at Penn State Lehigh Valley and faculty senator, as a faculty co-chair to work with Renata Engel and Elizabeth Wright to lead the APPR initiative. 

“I’d like to welcome Daniel to this new role, and we look forward to his leadership as we guide the APPR project forward this fall,” said Renata Engel, vice provost for online education, Penn State World Campus. “His perspective as a faculty member will be key to engaging faculty in the process.” 

The APPR Steering Committee anticipates that Hanover will begin work in early October. The APPR team is developing processes for working with Hanover, determining the types of data and information to collect and assess and creating systems for collecting and analyzing data. 

The University anticipates using data and insights from the engagement with Hanover to aid in decision making to ensure Penn State is teaching the right courses in the right places. In addition, a process that can be employed in the future, to assess programs and the Penn State portfolio of offerings in a consistent manner will be developed. While Hanover will collect and provide analysis of data, the decision-making authority will reside with Penn State. 

The RFP Selection work team engaged in an extensive review process over the summer that resulted in Hanover’s selection. Meeting weekly for nine weeks, and collaborating with the Office of Central Procurement, their work included writing the RFP, developing a scorecard to assess potential partners, reviewing proposals, conducting interviews, choosing finalists and hosting the finalists for final presentations and Q&A sessions. 

Two finalists were selected to participate in comprehensive three-hour long presentations and question-and-answer sessions. More than 60 people attended each presentation and more than 20 watched the recorded presentations. The process culminated with the RFP Selection team preparing a recommendations report that was shared with the APPR co-chairs and executive sponsors. The executive sponsors agreed with the recommendation to hire Hanover Research group. 

The RFP Selection work team is one of five APPR sub-committees developed over the summer. Co-leads of the APPR work teams finalized team members from the more than 400 faculty, staff, students and administrators from across the University who either volunteered or were nominated to work on the APPR project. Careful consideration was paid to forming teams with representation of faculty, staff, students and administrators from across the University. The co-leads worked with the APPR Steering Committee and executive sponsors to develop their team charges; team membership and charges can be found on the APPR website. 

The APPR Steering Committee will host regular update and information sessions this fall. These sessions will be open to all members of the Penn State community to attend. The first APPR insight session will be held on Thursday, Sept. 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m., on Zoom. In addition, a monthly email newsletter will be sent starting in September, and updated FAQs will be added regularly to the website. 

More information and the latest updates can be found at the APPR website, and individuals can sign up for the APPR newsletter online. Email questions to appr@psu.edu.