Numen Lumen: How can we enhance student learning? 1:40 - 2:40 p.m. Moseley 215
Enhancing student learning is central to the work of all of us, and our upcoming SACS review provides an ideal opportunity for us to focus on that topic. As part of our reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) we are required to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). In the QEP we will identify a topic that is vital to enhancing student learning at Elon, a plan for enhancing our work in that area, and a method of measuring student outcomes related to that topic. The institution will invest considerable resources in implementing the plan so it is important that we invest wisely.</p>
Other schools have used this opportunity to address topics such as writing throughout the curriculum, developing critical thinking skills, enhancing information literacy, strengthening mathematical ability, enhancing faculty skills in teaching and mentoring (among many other topics).
What we focus on in our QEP is up to us, but a successful QEP plan for SACS will: 1) involve new activities or approaches for our campus, not simply doing more of what we’re already doing, 2) show that ideas were solicited from throughout campus, 2) show how the topic that’s selected contributes to the goals and priorities of the institution, 3) provide an outline of significant milestones and measurement points in the process, 4) state clearly the student learning outcomes that will be assessed to measure our progress, 5) provide evidence of adequate leadership and support from the institution.
The QEP topic must be selected during fall 2012 and the proposal completed by late November 2013. SACS will review it and include it as a topic during their onsite visit in the spring of 2013. We will then implement our plan and assess student learning outcomes between 2013-2018. In 2018 we will conduct a 5-Year review for SACS to assess our progress. The QEP Steering Committee – David Copeland, Pam Kiser, Todd Lee, and Jodean Schmiederer – are leading Elon’s QEP development initiative. Let us hear from you! Please attend this session to learn more about the QEP and to share your ideas.