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Volume 72, Issue 100,
Monday, February 26, 2007
News Committee to decide on QEP Long-range plans are a segment of University's re-accreditation bid, group narrows list to three ideas by MELANESE A. PHILBERT
The University is undergoing a major component in its academic re-accreditation process. As part of re-accreditation, done through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the University must devise a long-range plan that improves student learning, called the Quality Enhancement Plan. Elaine Charlson, executive associate vice president for Academic and Faculty Affairs, selected a committee of 13 to solicit ideas for the QEP within their departments. "SACS is essentially looking for in-depth problems, something that will create real change," Chris Stanich, executive director of Planning and Policy and Special Assistant to Government Relations, said. Selection committee members distilled the prospective academic changes into three suggestions. The first idea would require extensive undergraduate research for completing a bachelor's degree, with the goal of fostering ties between students and faculty. The second idea, called writing in the discipline, would require incorporating a writing requirement into the major. The final idea, mentoring, would allow students to work with someone who could serve as a guide for their academic career. After the topics were selected, committee members created concept papers detailing challenges the topics would address, the resources necessary to achieve the goals and possible benefits to the University. Once the committee compiled its findings, it decided that the ideas would be gauged by the University community in the form of an online survey. Stanich said that feedback from students will help build upon the plan. "Members of the committee value their insight," Stanich said. "Opening it up means that we get a perspective from the students that we as administrators and professors just don't have." Topic selection will be finalized in March. Once a topic is selected, a new committee will be appointed with experts that will engineer a final QEP, to be finished in December. The SACS representatives will evaluate the plan before implementation. Stanich said that the University is not going to be penalized if the selected topic doesn't yield results. "If upon review the goals are met then we continue, if not we will stop," Stanich said. "SACS sees this as an experiment for universities to help promote student success." Accreditation is an evaluation process that all state institutions must go through to ensure that certain standards established by experts in the field are satisfied. "It is a mechanism to ensure quality and speaks to the way we operate the University," Stanich said. The last day to complete the survey is Tuesday. The survey is available at www.sacs.uh.edu/qepsurvey. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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