Request for Participation, 2014-15:
Undergraduate Programs of Study
INtopFORM, ETSU’s Quality Enhancement Plan, will enable ETSU students to excel in seeking, using
and communicating diverse and often complex information. The plan includes projects in programs of
study that will help majors achieve information fluency. In the first year of such projects faculty in
participating programs will collect baseline data and create a plan for implementing INtopFORM in the
program of study. Implementation plans will include designing assignments and exploring teaching
methods that will help student achieve excellence in information fluency. In the following year,
programs will begin implementing the new assignments and teaching methods identified in the
implementation plan and collect assessment data. Implementation and assessment will then continue
for the duration of INtopFORM. Faculty leading the program of study projects will attend the
INtopFORM summer workshop, create the implementation and assessment plan, participate in faculty
learning communities, and receive one-time extra compensation for their work.
This RFP invites undergraduate programs of study to join the 2014-15 class of INtopFORM.
About Information Fluency
Information fluency encompasses six abilities central to every academic discipline at ETSU and
essential for students’ professional success and active citizenship:
INtopFORM Learning Outcomes
QUESTIONING
SEEKING
EVALUATING
USING
COMMUNICATING
RECOGNIZING
Students ask questions that facilitate the solution of problems and the pursuit of
opportunities.
Students locate or create information to accomplish their purposes.
Students apply critical thinking skills in evaluating sources, information, and
search processes.
Students assemble and synthesize information to accomplish their purposes.
Students communicate information effectively
Students recognize the responsibilities and consequences related to information
ethics and intellectual property.
Many ETSU students are proficient in some of these learning outcomes. INtopFORM curricular projects
will help students achieve excellence in information fluency.
Participation Requirements
In applying to join INtopFORM, a program of study (i.e., a major or concentration in a major) agrees
to:

identify at least three faculty members to lead INtopFORM in the program of study;

create and implement a plan to help all students in the program attain all six INtopFORM
learning outcomes;

create a protocol for assessing attainmnent of these learning outcomes by upper-division
students in the program, most often by using the INtopFORM assessment rubric to evaluate
student work in one or more designated upper-division course(s) or, with approval, by
collecting data using a locally developed test;

confirm that faculty leading the project will:
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attend the INtopFORM summer workshop,
participate in INtopFORM Faculty Learning Communities,
recruit other program faculty to participate in the implementation plan, and
share their work, including assessment findings, with campus constituencies.
Institutional Support
ETSU will support INtopFORM programs of study by:

providing one-time extra compensation for faculty leading the projects (maximum $2000 per
faculty member, maximum $6000 per program of study, to be paid in AY 2014-15);

conducting the INtopFORM summer workshop;

facilitating faculty learning communities during the academic year to aid faculty in designing
curricular projects and assessing INtopFORM learning outcomes;

providing instructional resources for use in courses;

facilitating collection and analysis of INtopFORM learning outcome data. The Office of
Assessment and Teaching will assist faculty in using the INtopFORM scoring rubric and will
create data analyses and reports for participating programs.
Application for INtopFORM Class 2014-15
To propose a program of study for membership in the 2014-15 class of INtopFORM, submit the
following information by October 15th, 2013.
Department
College
Major
Concentration, if applicable
If all majors will participate, leave blank
Identify at least three faculty members who will be leading INtopFORM in the program of study:
Name
Phone and e-mail
Name
Phone and e-mail
Name
Phone and e-mail
Department Chair
Date
Dean
Date
Vice President
Date
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