Opportunities to Enhance Quality at EKU A Presentation by Jaleh Rezaie For Faculty Senate Meeting February 5, 2007

QUICK OVERVIEW Changes in the Accreditation Process SACS to reaffirm EKU accreditation in 2007 5-Year Review

DUAL FOCUS OF THE SACS REVIEW Compliance Review Quality Enhancement Plan

Time-line for the Reaffirmation Process Submission of Compliance report (Sept. 8, 2006) Off-Site Review (Nov. 6 – 9, 2006) Focused Report (by Feb. 27, 2007 ) Submit QEP (Feb. 27, 2007 ) On-Site Review (April 10 – 12, 2007) Commission’s final Decision (Dec. 2007) 5-year report

Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Developed by the institution describing a course of action for institutional improvement that addresses an issue or issues CRITICAL TO ENHANCING EDUCUATIONAL QUALITY AND DIRECTLY RELATED TO STUDENT LEARNING.

Why is SACS Concerned with Learning? Click image to play video clip (approx 5 minutes) From http://home.earthlink.net/~sarasohn/aboutgs.html

QEPing awound. . . So what is the QEP?

Vision of the QEP Committee The QEP will significantly change the students learning experience at EKU Mission of the QEP Committee Oversee the development, preparation and submission of a QEP that will result in long term improvement of student learning. Goals of the QEP Committee Engage the campus community in developing the theme, focus and description Analyze context and best practice Provide implementation plans for programs or initiatives to begin in fall 2007 Three years ago the QEP committee established vision and goals for EKU to develop; a plan to enhance student learning at EKU

Progress on the QEP Faculty, staff and student surveys Chats with faculty, staff and students Collecting and analyzing data THE THEME The final draft of the QEP will be distributed to the University community on January 18th. This is the end of a three year reiterative process of arriving at a plan for enhancing the quality of student learning at EKU. We will give you a brief overview of the process and the QEP that emerged through this process.

EKU will develop informed, critical and creative thinkers who communicate effectively. This theme was a result of feedback from facutly, staff and students. It is broad but as the process continued the committee made more specific both our student outcomes and methods to arrive at them.

What do we expect of our students as a result of the QEP? Explore (identify, discover) and use relevant information in order to gain knowledge and solve problems. Evaluate (analyze) information and ideas using appropriate methods. Expand (develop) and generate their own ideas. Express (clearly articulate) a point of view and develop it with awareness of alternatives.

The Integration of the QEP in the Strategic Plan * * Assessment of Critical and Creative Thinking and Communication

How will we meet this vision? (the “Infrastructure” of our QEP) Management structure Professional development process Program implementation Assessment of student learning outcomes Noiw that we had the broader vision and goals the question of how we would meet these lofty ambitions needed to be answered. An infrastructure was developed that the committee believed would assure the implementation and continued quality of student learning initiatives identied in the QEP.

Why have a Quality Enhancement Program? Students with the competitive edge Ongoing quality enhancement for improved teaching and learning Achieving national reputation for excellence

College Graduates Lack Key Skills, Report Says In a survey from the Association of American Colleges and Universities 305 executives were asked what they looked for in a job candidate, and the top three responses were: 1. Teamwork skills 2. Critical thinking and analytic reasoning skills 3. Oral/Written Communication Page A30 of the 2 February 2007 Chronicle of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=CB8tdbwqby54yVjtJyqKdPfjhBn8gwY8

Where are we in the process? Jan. 18: Review by University Community February 15: printing of the final copy February 27: Final copy to SACS March: orientation for on-site interviews

Where do we go next? April 10 -12: on-site visit By May 2007: “Quality Enhancement Workgroup” will be established Fall 2007: Implementation of the Quality Enhancement Program begins

What We Need From You? Develop a thorough understanding of our Quality Enhancement Plan. Assist in informing and energizing the university community. Appreciate how these Quality Enhancement initiatives affect the future of EKU (Faculty, Staff, and Students).