Academic Affairs Program Optimization Overview
The Academic Affairs Program Optimization (AAPO) process at Washington State University (WSU) was initiated by the Provost’s Office during the 2024–2025 academic year to identify opportunities for evolution and to align academic operations with our mission as a land-grant, R1 research institution.
Through data-informed decision-making, WSU will use the established measurable outcomes and efficiency indicators within the AAPO to support high-quality educational and research programs, improve WSU’s overall financial health by stabilizing the operating budget, and ensure that WSU continues to fulfill its institutional mission. The agreed-upon indicators will ensure that departments, schools, and colleges reporting to the Provost and Executive Vice President have identified college and unit priorities that can be evaluated annually. Indicators will be reviewed regularly by the Provost’s Office to ensure continued alignment with and support of WSU’s strategic pillars and President Cantwell’s key performance indicators.
2025-2026 Next Steps
Following President Cantwell’s review and approval of the efficiency indicators, the Provost’s Office will develop an annual departmental evaluation process during the 2025-2026 academic year. The annual unit-level evaluation will be operationalized to ensure WSU remains a forward-looking land-grant research university.
Additionally, in partnership with Institutional Research, the Provost’s Office will establish a university dashboard to identify trends and understand patterns that will be critically important to aid system strategic planning, annual financial planning and allocations, federal and state governmental processes, and other critical institutional planning activities to increase comprehensive integrated planning system-wide. The dashboard will be produced in multiple phases and is anticipated to be an estimation model and will assume inaccuracies and use approximations.
At the college and unit level, the evaluation stemming from the AAPO will be used by the Provost’s Office to carefully evaluate the unit’s alignment with the determined priorities and efficiencies of outcome indicators, determine modifications or closures, and support institutional funding decisions to ensure informed growth and stability. For units observing abnormalities within the dashboard, the Provost’s Office and/or respective Dean will discuss the variances during the unit’s annual evaluation.
Finally, after the annual evaluation and dashboard is finalized, the Provost’s Office will partner with Marketing and Communications to develop a system-wide internal and external communication strategy to highlight the academic and faculty affairs expertise and successes.
Questions?
Questions and concerns can be sent to Kristina Peterson-Wilson (Vice Provost for Academic Administration & Chief of Staff) at kpeterson2@wsu.edu.