THE QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN
MANDATE AND SACS-COC
Why have a QEP?
Every 10 years, UNO’s accreditation by the SACS Commission
on Colleges (SACS-COC) is reaffirmed through a process of
self-study and external review.
In addition to a self-study, we must also prepare a Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP) that focuses on a specific project to
support student learning and to further the mission of the
university. The QEP, implemented over 5-7 years, is intended to
be a “game changer” with a significant impact on institutional
quality and effectiveness.
PICKING THE TOPIC
January 30, 2014: President Fos appoints a QEP Topic
Selection Committee and issues a call for topics.
7 topics are proposed by various UNO academic units.
UNO holds 45 days of discussion of the topics at open
forums and a campus wide poll to determine the one that
will be chosen.
April 15, 2014: President Fos announces the topic and
names QEP committee members and issues their charge.
THE CHARGE
April 15:
President Fos announces that the QEP topic
will be “Global Engagement, . . . and
professional communication, with the
potential for a measure of general
education reform.” The topic is relevant to
and aligned with our strategic plan, UNO
2020, and it will allow for a measure of
general education reform through the
possible addition of globally-focused
courses.
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
President Fos appoints the QEP Committee, made up of faculty and staff from units
representing the entire campus:
The Executive Committee
Chair:
John Hazlett
Director, BA in International Studies Program
Professor, Dept. of English
Vice-Chair:
Steve Striffler
Director, Zemurray Stone Center for Latin American Studies
Professor, Dept. of Anthropology
Secretary:
Alea Cot
Assistant Vice President for International Education, Division of
International Education
Scribe:
Peter Schock
Chair and Professor, Dept. of English
Consultant:
Leslie Culver
Program Director, Institutional Effectiveness, Academic Affairs
Consultant:
Bill Sharpton
Associate Provost and SACS Liaison, Academic Affairs
Student Rep:
In process
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Subcommittee on Student Learning Outcomes:
Chair:
Bhaskar Kura
Chair and Professor, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Vice Chair:
Dale O’Neill
Student Involvement & Leadership
Secretary:
Toni Slessinger
Admissions Counselor, Enrollment Services
Rasheed Azzam
Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Alea Cot
Assistant VP for International Education, Div of International Ed
Christy Heaton
Assoc Director for Operations & Programs, Enrollment Services
Zhengchang Liu
Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology
Ting Wang
Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Peggy Gaffney
Association Dean, College of Business
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Subcommittee on Assessment
Chair:
Sonnet Ireland
Assistant Librarian/Documents, Earl K. Long Library
Secretary:
Lora Amsberryaugier
Associate Dean, Earl K. Long Library
Elaine S. Brooks
Director, Interdisciplinary Studies Program
Professor of Spanish, Dept. of Foreign Languages
Gena Chattin
Assistant Librarian, Earl K. Long Library
Barbara J Herlihy
Professor, Education Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations
College of Education and Human Development
Joyce C Lambert
Arthur Anderson Professor, Dept. of Accounting
Sathi Mahesh
Professor, Department of Management
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Subcommittee on QEP Literature and Best Practices
Chair:
Richard Speaker
Associate Professor, Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction
Secretary:
Jeanne Pavy
Associate Librarian, Earl K. Long Library
Guenter Bischof
Director, Center Austria and Professor, Dept. of History
Darrell Kruger
Dean and Professor, College of Education
Peter A Schock
Chair and Professor, Dept. of English
Tumulesh Solanky
Chair and Professor, Dept. of Mathematics
Ken Walsh
Associate Professor, Dept. of Management
THE COMMITTEE’S WORK TO DATE
In May, 2014, the Committee met twice to
discuss its charge, to organize its
subcommittees, and to begin a discussion
of the Student Learning Outcomes (SL0s)
they believe would most closely reflect the
intentions of the QEP Charge.
The Committee developed the following
SLOs:
SLO 1: KNOWLEDGE
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Students will demonstrate their grasp of knowledge
that reveals the global imprint of their undergraduate
experience at UNO whether derived from the
disciplines of history, geography, languages, the arts
or from study of the topics of diversity, sustainability,
and global problems and opportunities. Students will
understand the complexity, commonalities, and
interdependence of the world’s cultural, national,
human, and natural resources and incorporate that
understanding into their general knowledge,
academic specializations, and world views.
SLO 2: SKILLS
Students will demonstrate that they have
gained skills in analysis, communication,
and technology that allow them to
engage the complexities of the world: that
is, to problem-solve and effectively
interact and work with people of different
cultures, nationalities, and value systems.
SLO 3: ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
Students will demonstrate that they have
accepted the values of respect, sensitivity, and
receptiveness to diverse perspectives and that
they have embraced the ethos of global
citizenship that prepares them to be ethically
and socially responsible stewards of the world’s
cultural, national, human, and natural
resources. Such students will also exhibit a
commitment to continued learning about global
issues.
IDENTIFYING AN APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT
TOOL
Over the summer 2014, the Subcommittee on Assessment
reviewed a number of assessment tool options and
recommended that we begin our student assessment with the
Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI). This survey will be
administered during October 2014 to three sets of students:
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1) Incoming freshmen in UNIV 1000
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2) First time transfer students
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3) Students who participated in Study Abroad in
Spring/Summer Semesters 2014
It will help us establish a baseline of where our students are now.
The Committee recognizes that other assessment tools will have
to be developed to measure the outcomes of various programs.
REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES
The Best Practices Subcommittee met in June-July 2014 and produced a summary
of other universities’ global education programs. Among these are more than 20
schools that have chosen Global Engagement as their QEP, including:
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Appalachian State University
Florida International University
Texas A & M University
Kennesaw State University
University of Florida
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee
Wake Forest University
Duke University
The University of Texas at Tyler
DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES FOR
FOSTERING GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
The Committee met in September to develop a preliminary list of
implementation strategies for the QEP.
We divided our first list of strategies into seven groups:
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Student Life
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Courses & Curricula
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Professional Development
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Identification of Global Engagement Content/Resources
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Assessment Tools
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Metro Community Engagement
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Visibility/Publicity
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE STRATEGIES
Group 1. Student Life & Activities
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Global affinity dormitory wing for students interested in global themes
First-year interest groups around global themes
Group 2. Courses and Curricula
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Introduce required “global education units” in our UNIV 1000 course
Develop new course on Intercultural Communication
Develop pre- and post-Study Abroad courses
Group 3. Professional Development

Develop workshops for faculty to address QEP SLOs (student learning
outcomes)
Group 4. Identification of Global Engagement Content

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Identify global awareness courses, gather information on common website
Identify major-specific international issues
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE STRATEGIES
Group 5. Assessment
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Create e-portfolio
Group 6. Metro Community Outreach
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Help UNO Model UN partner with inner-city schools
Engage the various international cultural organizations on campus
Inform faculty and students of globally oriented community organizations like
WACNO, WTC, French-American Chamber of Commerce, and Deutsche Haus,
Group 7. Publicity & Visibility
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Recognize study abroad students at graduation with colors, cords, etc.
Introduce an international element in graduation ceremony
OVERALL QEP TIME LINE
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February 15, 2015:
QEP Report due
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April 2015:
SACS on-site visit
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December 2015:
Final approval
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2015-16:
Adjust QEP as needed, professional
development for faculty/staff
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August 2016:
5-year QEP implementation begins
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2016-17:
Phase 1, select two general education
courses/disciplines for implementation
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2017-18:
Phase 2, implement in all seven general
education areas
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2018-19:
Phase 3, implement in all five colleges