From Provost Cyril Clarke: Update on ARAC and Release of Final Report

Dear colleagues, 

I would like to provide you with an update on the collaborative work of the Academic Resource Alignment Committee (ARAC) and the release of the final report. 

A preliminary ARAC analysis and report was drafted at the end of the spring 2025 semester, with additional assessments conducted by the administrative support team through the summer and early fall. This recent work focused particularly on degree programs evaluated against SCHEV productivity requirements and on programs where instructional resources and student engagement appeared misaligned. 

As the fall semester progressed, further input was gathered from the ARAC, Board of Visitors liaisons, and an external review conducted by Education Advisory Board (EAB). The final report was revised in response to this feedback and the collective work of the ARAC and its campus partners. In the final ARAC report, recommendations include the following: 

• Comprehensive program review and planning across departments, including new hiring freeze recommendations in several units.
• Consideration of organizational realignment and restructuring, including strategic, unit-level hiring freeze recommendations.
• Identification of a short list of at-risk degree programs that are likely to fall below SCHEV productivity thresholds.
• Administrative review of Pathways, minimum course enrollments, cross-listing practices, undergraduate minors, and management of large-enrollment courses.

This report reflects the first comprehensive university-level academic program review that has been conducted for quite some time, and the committee acknowledges that more attention needs to be given in future to refining evaluation outcomes. While the committee anticipates that the report recommendations will be helpful in updating the alignment of academic programs with student interest, graduate success, and efficient utilization of instructional resources, it also is confident that the work accomplished has established a foundation for more regular assessment moving forward. Future work for the ARAC and its academic partners will include evaluating the adequacy of current SCHEV productivity standards, strengthening the use of post-graduation outcome data (including career compensation), increasing emphasis on capacity utilization, and planning for subsequent resource alignment reviews. 

As we move into the change management and implementation phase of the process, we expect the impact of these recommendations on our academic enterprise to be significant in scope, but not substantial in terms of individual personnel and their current employment status. It is also important to know that this review and the subsequent recommendations are not being developed because of underperformance or unexpected budgetary contraction. This is about moving Virginia Tech forward in a manner that creates new opportunities for achieving success and different ways to pursue and achieve our institutional goals and priorities. 

As our academic programs evolve and the university develops new areas of excellence and investment, I hope that faculty and staff will remain engaged in this important academic resource alignment process, and flexible and adaptive to new institutional and industry needs. 

Thank you for your continued engagement and thoughtful participation in this important work. As communication and transparency are central to the success of this resource alignment process, the Provost’s Office and college/department leaders across the university will continue to share information and updates as often as possible, and would welcome your feedback through the online ARAC inquiry form. 

Cyril