UTPB

Quality Enhancement Plan

As part of the reaffirmation process of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), UTPB will be developing a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The plan moves the institution into a future in which student learning is significantly enhanced in a particular way.

Critical Thinking Mini-Conference

As part of our SACS reaffirmation of accreditation, we are developing a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). We have chosen critical thinking (CT) as something that we would like to strengthen in our students’ abilities during the next five years. On Monday, June 22 between 8:30 and 10 am you are invited to a presentation by Dr. Susan Wolcott, a critical thinking consultant, on the topic of teaching and assessing critical thinking within our university courses and support activities. This will take place in MB 3269.

You are also invited to the remainder of the sessions on Monday and Tuesday. In these sessions we will focus on our specific courses and activities, and develop student learning and assessment materials for our specific needs. These sessions will take place in MB 2104, the Multi-Media Conference Room.

A continental breakfast will be available at the general session Monday morning. Our usual “coke and cookies” will be available for the break in the afternoon session.

You can download the schedule for the sessions during the two days and a Pre-Conference information sheet by clicking here for the Critical Thinking Mini-Confernce information in PDF format or here for the Critical Thinking Mini-Confernce informaiton in word format. Please complete the latter and bring it with you to the sessions following the General Session Monday morning. If you would like to attend but have other commitments such as teaching a summer course, or doctor’s appointment, and so can attend around those commitments, we can work with that.

This is our initial critical thinking faculty consultant, and bringing her expertise here is very exciting. Dr. Wolcott has been teaching using CT for years, and consults with university faculty around the country. I am looking forward to hearing her answers to questions and learning more about how to help my students use more developed CT skills in my content area. I hope to see you Monday morning, and that you will join us as you can for the remainder of the sessions during the two days.

If you have questions, please contact me at sherblom_p@utpb.edu. Also, please RSVP so we will have an idea of the headcount to expect for the sessions following the General Session. However, if you don’t, and then become inspired at the General Session and decide to attend the remaining sessions, we will pull in another chair for you!

The Quality Enhancement Plan

SACS describes the Quality Enhancement Plan as a “carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined issue or issues directly related to improving student learning.” From this description it is clear that the QEP must

  • Address a well-defined issue or set of related issues in student learning
  • Have clear benchmarks for success in student learning
  • Have broad-based support among students, faculty members, staff members and alumni
  • Be able to demonstrate successful improvements in student learning in a five to seven year timeframe
  • Be congruent with the University’s currently existing plans and assessments
  • Be economically feasible

The QEP is future oriented unlike processes of traditional accreditation. Since the plan must be successfully implemented, it needs embody a program that is carefully designed and focused. The QEP can address a wide variety of topics in the collegiate learning experiences of students including knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values. Whatever UTPB chooses as our final QEP program, must be based on empirical information and analysis. A QEP that addresses a substantive learning issue will make a more significant contribution to student learning and have a broader range of campus support. According to SACS Handbook for Reaffirmation of Accreditation, support for the QEP must be evident through

  • A broad-based campus consensus that the QEP will result in significant improvements in the quality of student learning.
  • Participation from all elements of the institution in the identification of the QEP topic.
  • The careful and thorough review of the best available practices related to topic.
  • The financial and human resources that the institution commits to develop, implement and maintain the program envisioned in the QEP
  • The careful and thorough consideration given to the implementation schedule and the allocation of resources.
  • The evaluation structure, objectives, goals, instruments and use of the evaluation results to improve student learning outcomes.

Evaluation of the QEP by SACS

The on-site visiting committee from SACS will evaluate the acceptability of the QEP. An acceptable QEP is a requirement for reaffirmation of accreditation and compliance with Core Requirement 2.12 of the Principles. The on-site team will focus on five elements of evaluation in making their determination about the acceptability of the QEP. Significant deficiencies in any of the five areas can result in a recommendation from the visiting committee.

* There must be broad-based participation in the development of the QEP topic.
* The QEP must be clearly focused on a relevant and appropriate topic that the institution can demonstrate is of crucial importance to student learning.
* The institution must provide evidence that it’s human, physical and financial resources are sufficient to implement, sustain and complete the QEP.
* The means for evaluating the success of the QEP and using the assessment results to enhance the program and the university must be clearly identified, described, and capable of being successfully implemented.
* There must be a broad-base of support for the QEP among students, faculty, staff and other constituencies of the university.

Developing a QEP Topic at UTPB

The QEP Team is responsible for the development of the QEP topic and plan. Although that group will be looking at the strategic plan, the Compact with the University of Texas System, the institutional assessments, and what other universities are doing, the most important source of ideas for the QEP is you. The Committee needs your input. Throughout the fall 2007 semester, the Committee has held open meetings and gone to a wide variety of student, faculty and staff meetings. If you have not attended one of these meetings, you can expect to be invited soon. Submit your topic ideas during one of these meeting or anytime on this website. Please take a few moments to send your ideas in short paragraph form to any member of the QEP team or through this website.
Please send your ideas for the QEP to qep@utpb.edu or use the process at www.utpb.edu/sacs/qep/