Complete the QEP Survey on Student Engagement
New Principles of Accreditation issued by SACS require each university to prepare a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the reaffirmation process. Specifically, 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.” Working with this description in mind, and as a way to engage constructively UTC’s academic community, a QEP Planning Team has been assembled with the charge of identifying topics and areas upon which we agree as essential toward improved student learning. This team, with administrative support and with members chosen by the Advisory Committee of the Faculty Council, sees this process as a real opportunity for us ALL to identify important issues that will help to improve student learning on our own campus. This Planning Team, however, cannot work alone. We need your help!
To create a successful QEP, the Planning Team will work over the coming weeks and months to define student engagement. Additionally, the team will work to identify ways to measure student engagement and the means by which we ultimately promote a truly academic culture, our culture, at UTC. To help ensure inclusive and significant participation of faculty, staff, and students across the campus, the Planning Team will work to prioritize key elements of student learning, namely elements such as those identified on the National Survey of Student Engagement. As a follow up to this initial planning, a QEP Development Team will be established to implement a defined plan and to develop an assessment model that focuses on UTC’s definition of student engagement.
To get your input over the coming weeks and months, we will use surveys, focus groups, open meetings, and web/e-mail solicitations. That said, expect to see announcements about these opportunities. And please take time to participate in this process. Your QEP Planning Team welcomes your input. download a copy of this brochure (pdf)
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Note on Accreditation and the QEP
Through the accreditation process, programs at UTC are formally recognized and our students are eligible for Federal financial aid. In order to be accredited, our programs, indeed the University as a whole, must demonstrate quality, rigor, and accountability – all of which confirm the investments and confidence our students place in the institution. UTC is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and will be considered for “reaffirmation of accreditation” in 2010-2011 academic year.
Helpful links for this process
2005 QEP Planning Team
Vicki Steinberg (chair), 425-2309
Foreign Language & Literature
Karen Adsit, 425-4026 Teaching Resource
Center
John Fulmer, Assoc. Dean 425-4101 Business
Administration
Barbara Norwood, 425-4665 School
of Nursing
Stacy Ray, 425-4247 Theatre and Speech
Joe Wilferth, 425-4621 Department
of English