Elon’s QEP emerges directly from the LEARN theme of the Boldly Elon strategic plan, which calls for advancing students’ data competency. A more specific objective of this first goal is to “Develop curricula, short courses, and certificate programs across the curriculum in all colleges and schools to ensure all students are prepared to access, analyze, and manipulate complex data.” This QEP focuses on developing curricula and additional programs across the entire university to achieve this strategic objective.

As information has become more readily available and data have become “bigger,” both in the literal and figurative sense, we recognize that we need to prepare our students to handle complex quantitative and qualitative data through coursework and other outlets. For several years we have heard about the need for enhanced data competency from our graduates and their employers to keep up with these changes. The technology available to process and visualize data to make meaningful inferences is also evolving, and more fields of study are using such technology to make sense of data and systems.

The QEP builds on Elon’s ongoing efforts to bolster students’ abilities to be responsible, ethical and informed consumers and producers of data. Although a concern with aspects of data competency is not new to Elon, we know we can better support student learning to achieve higher levels of confidence and efficacy in their ability to work with data.