QEP: PAST AND PRESENT
AND FUTURE
October 15, 2015
Goals for October 15, 2015 Meeting
1) Learn about QEP Oversight Committee members’ skills
2)Understand expectations for QEP Oversight Committee members
3)Gain insight into QEP past, present and future
Lobo Stars: Enhancing Academic Learning
Through Student Engagement at SRSU
Featuring
• Outdoor Learning
• Pilots of Engagement
• Faculty Development
Focusing on
• Critical Thinking
Assessed by
• NSSE
CAAP
In-house Measures
Putting Your Words to Work at RGC
Featuring
• Writing centers at each campus
• Adopted writing rubric for student compositions
Focusing on
• Enhancing students’ written and oral communication skills
Assessed by
• Smarthinking usage reports CAAP Writing Essay Test
• In-house Measures
Lessons Learned
• Ownership is critical—The SACSCOC On Site Committee found that
students only has a vague awareness of the QEP and faculty felt
they had had little opportunity to participate in planning (SRSU).
• Planning is essential—Dr. Wesley Wynne, who coordinated QEP at
RGC, recommended, “Be sure the QEP has a precise focus and its
goals are reasonably easy to measure conceptually with all data
available.” The oral communication component was dropped.
• Overarching themes—(1) Conceptualization; (2) Methodology;
(3) Manageability
Planning Begins with SACSCOC
Compliance: CS3.3.2
The institution has developed a Quality Enhancement Plan that
(1) demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation,
implementation, and completion of the QEP;
(2) includes broad-based involvement of institutional
constituencies in the development and proposed
implementation of the QEP;
(3) Identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement.
SACSCOC Requirement: CR 2.12
The institution has developed an acceptable
Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that includes
an institutional process for identifying key
issues emerging from institutional assessment
and focuses on learning outcomes and/or the
environment supporting student learning and
accomplishing the mission of the institution.
Consider Our Local Institutional Context
Topic identification, plan design, and
implementation approach must reflect:
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SRSU/RGC Mission Statement
Assessment data
Campus culture
Strategic priorities
Resources
Research
Relevant best practices
Institutional Context: Core Curriculum
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Core Curriculum Skill Objectives Cycle
Team work (2014-2015)
Communication (2014-2015)
Empirical and Quantitative (2015-2016)
Critical thinking (2015-2016)
Social responsibility (2016-2017)
Personal responsibility (2016-2017)
Institutional Context: Needs Assessment
Top 5 Areas Identified as Greatest Need with Rationale
1) Writing
2) Reading
3) Research
4) Communication
5) Internships/Community Service
Return Rates
Combined 112/114 = 23% All faculty 59/122 = 48%
All students 11/56 = 20% All staff & admin 52/362= 14%
Stage One: Conceptualization
•Collect ideas from all sources: forums,
suggestion boxes, surveys, emails,
institutional context, national context
•Build on existing strengths & structures
•Narrow ideas down to a selected topic
•Identify goals and articulate expected
Student Learning Outcomes
Study Other Programs: USC Connect
Goal: Integrative learning within and
beyond the classroom
Definition: Integrative learning is the
active construction of knowledge across,
within, and beyond the classroom
experiences that can be applied to solve
problems in new contexts.
University of South Carolina Strategy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Consensus and broad involvement
Building on existing strengths
Resource development
Official recognition and clear messaging
Support for key players (e.g. faculty,
students)
6. Ongoing assessment and program change
Graduation with Leadership Distinction In...
Community Service
Global Learning
Research
Professional Engagement (Internships & Peer Leadership)
USC CONNECT
Course work + Integrative learning + BTC
Graduation with Leadership Distinction
Requirements
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Significant BTC Experience
Enhancement Activities
6 credits Related Course Work
Public Presentations/Publications
E-portfolio emphasizing key insights, analysis,
application to leadership (completed through
courses or independently)
• GPA 3.0 or higher
Ongoing Assessment and Program Change
•Faculty, staff and student perceptions
surveys
focus groups/partner meetings
• Student learning
e-portfolios
integrative learning assessment
Additional Resources
• Irma J. Van Scoy, Executive Director, USC Connect,
www.sc.edu/uscconnect
• List of Quality Enhancement Plans from SACSCOC
http://www.sacscoc.org/documents/listofQEPs.pdf
• West Texas A & M University
http://www.wtamu.edu/about/quality-enhancement-plan.aspx
• Texas Wesleyan University
https://txwes.edu/academics/office-of-the-provost/sacscocaccreditation-/quality-enhancement-plan/