Review Team Information

Since 1986, AUPHA has recognized undergraduate health administration programs through a rigorous peer review process known as Undergraduate Certification. The process relies on volunteers from the AUPHA community who devote their time to evaluating programs based on established criteria. Reviewers often comment on how useful the process is for their own program, as it provides an opportunity to learn how others in the field approach common challenges and pain points. Having at least one faculty member serve on a review team is particularly helpful for programs slated for upcoming certification cycles, as it provides deep insight into the process and best practices for self-study writing.

The review process is managed by AUPHA's Undergraduate Program Committee (UPC) alongside AUPHA staff. It is the responsibility of the program to demonstrate how it meets the criteria, but AUPHA recognizes flexibility in meeting guidelines. Review teams should present findings in a positive way and write recommendations so that progress can be demonstrated and adequately measured. The criteria for Undergraduate Certification can be found on the certification documents page.

Review teams are typically composed of one chair, two reviewers, and two assistant reviewers. When there are enough volunteers to support it, teams may also be assigned a scribe. Some introductory information on each position is included below. For more in depth information on each role, please click the link for the role to open a PDF with more specific details:

• Chair: To be a chair, a volunteer must have served as a team member on at least 3 review teams. Chairs also must currently be full-time faculty at an AUPHA Full Member Program or have been full-time faculty at a Full Member Program within the last 5 years. Review team chairs function as the team lead as well as the point of contact between AUPHA, their review team, and the program that the team is reviewing. The chair compiles the draft the final review report, keeps the team in adherence of all deadlines, and also submits the final review report to AUPHA. Chairs need to keep in good communication with AUPHA staff and alert them when issues arise (such as the program not meeting a published deadline, serious concerns over recommending the program for certification, etc.). While chairs should weigh in on program requests (including requests for deadline extensions, requests for alternate review meeting dates, etc.), they do not have the authority to make decisions on these requests and must loop AUPHA staff in on them if they are not initially included.
• Reviewer: To be a reviewer, a volunteer must have completed a review cycle as an assistant reviewer. While the team chair will typically decide how the workload is divided, reviewers should be familiar with the entire self-study. A reviewer may be asked to take the lead on an entire section of the review and prepare follow-up questions to send back to the program for clarification or more detail. In very rare cases, a reviewer may be called upon to step into the chair role mid-review if a chair needs to step down.
• Assistant Reviewer: Assistant reviewers are individuals who have never previously served on a review team. Considered as "reviewers-in-training," assistant reviewers are still full participants in the review process. While they are non-voting members of the team, they are still privy to all documents and communications. They should still ask questions and give opinions as to gain insight into the process. 
• Scribe: This position may be filled by individuals who have or have not previously served on a review team, which depends each cycle on the available pool of volunteers. The main function of the scribe is to take detailed notes from each team meeting and then upload them to the team's group on the AUPHA Network. When this position is to assigned to someone who has not previously sat on a review team, it is similar to an assistant reviewer role, as the scribe is also considered a "reviewer-in-training" and serves as a non-voting team member. 

There are several important dates that review teams need to keep in mind throughout the process. Certification cycles span two year periods, with the review team activating during the second year. Specific dates vary year to year. Timelines for upcoming cycles can be found on the certification documents page.

AUPHA hosts a virtual reviewer training each cycle for all review team members to attend before any work can be done reviewing a program's self-study. While this training is especially important for first time participants, it is still important for all reviewers to attend as there may be changes to the process that have occurred since a prior volunteer's past service.

Below are the slides from the reviewer training for the 2024-2025 cycle. These slides give a detailed look into the actual process, how the team mechanics work, the criteria, and the final stages of the process.

Please note: in March 2024, AUPHA's Board of Directors approved several changes related to Undergraduate Certification timelines. The slides below contain reference to the timeline for the 2024-2025 cycle and may not be accurate to all future cycles. Please check back in future years for updated trainings that include reference to additional pending changes.

2024-2025 Cycle Reviewer Training Slides