What is a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)?
Quality Enhancement Plan is a 5 year project developed by an institution that describes a course of action for institutional improvement crucial to enhancing educational quality that is directly related to student learning. The selected topic should be focused with clear goals along with planning as to how the objectives will be evaluated. It is essential that the QEP have broad-based university participation in the selection of the topic and be accepted by the university community as having significant value for the university in enhancing student learning.
Why is a QEP Important?
The concept of quality enhancement is at the heart of Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS), the regional accrediting body for Christopher Newport University, philosophy of accreditation. Therefore, SACS requires, as part of its ten-year re-affirmation of accreditation process, the creation of a Quality Enhancement Plan. The purpose of a QEP is to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing one or more issues the university considers important to improving student learning.
QEP Topic Selected
First Year Seminars - The re-affirmation process requires development of a QEP to enhance student learning. The CNU Community via the QEP Task Force and QEP Leadership Committee selected "Enhancing Critical Thinking Through First-Year Seminars" as its QEP topic. First-Year Seminars (FYSM) require every first- year student to take one of 63 theme-based courses that is designed to emphasize critical thinking along with other foundational disciplines at the core of liberal learning. A course is 3 credit hours and is limited to 19 students in each section.
QEP Update: Project Revision, Activities, and Highlights
Check back in late July for an account of how the QEP was revised and relocated in ENGL 123. The Washington State Critical Thinking Rubric (pdf) is one measure that faculty have used through the entire project.
