Program Unit Self-Review

The review and evaluation process represents the chief, though not the only, means by which the Academy assesses the work and functionality of its constituent Annual Meetings program units. It is also intended to serve as a way of ensuring that the AAR and its program units are responsive to important changes and developments in the academic study of religion and public understanding of religion, thus remaining representative of the interests and concerns of its members.

The review of program units is undertaken for the purpose of determining which units shall be continued. Beyond continuation considerations, the Program Committee uses these reviews as a primary mechanism for allocating the limited number of programming slots at the online and in-person Annual Meetings. 

For renewal, there needs to be a compelling argument for continuation, a healthy procedural structure, and persuasive evidence of conceptually rigorous plans for another term. Seminars are nonrenewable. The review is based on at least three forms of evidence, both qualitative and quantitative:

• The program unit chair’s post-annual meetings reports
• A self-review stating the aims of the unit, its procedures, its programming accomplishments, and a rationale for the unit’s continued existence (due in the executive office and to the unit’s reviewer by October 15th of the review year)
• Quantitative data, such as the number of proposals a unit receives, the number of proposals it accepted or rejected, the number of members who attended their sessions, and the number of sessions it sponsored or cosponsored. Some of this data is derived from the PAPERS System, but also from the Annual Reports.