| The institution has developed an acceptable Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that (1) includes a broad-based institutional process identifying key issues emerging from institutional assessment, (2) focuses on learning outcomes and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the institution, (3) demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation, implementation, and completion of the QEP, (4) includes broad-based involvement of institutional constituencies in the development and proposed implementation of the QEP, and (5) identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement. (Quality Enhancement Plan) (Note: This requirement is not addressed by the institution in its Compliance Certification.) |
Judgment of Compliance
|
Narrative
Sam Houston State University is in partial compliance with core requirement 2.12 because the QEP has not been completed at this time. The President placed the Associate Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs in charge of beginning the process of soliciting ideas for a QEP from the university community. The Leadership Committee discussed a process for the QEP, discussed QEP ideas, and selected the QEP Committee after requesting nominations from the Deans [1] [2] [3].
The Leadership Committee consists of the following members:
| James F. Gaertner | President (Chair) |
| David E. Payne | Provost (Co-Chair) |
| Mitchell J. Muehsam | SACS Liaison |
| Ben Marcus Gillespie | QEP Director |
| Rita Caso | Director, Institutional Research |
| Debra Price | Faculty Representative |
| Keri Rogers | Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Director, First Year Experience |
| Heather Crowson | VP Enrollment Management |
| Keith Jenkins | Associate VP for Student Services |
| Jack Parker | VP for Finance and Operations |
| Bobby Williams | Director, Athletics |
The QEP Committee consists of the following members:
| Richard Eglsaer | Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs |
| Maria Busby | Assistant Registrar |
| Rita Caso | Director, Institutional Research and Assessment |
| Frank Fair | Professor of Philosophy |
| Mark Frank | Associate Professor of Economics |
| Ben Marcus Gillespie | Associate Professor of Geology |
| Marsha Harman | Professor of Psychology |
| Joan Maier | Associate Professor of Education |
| Carroll Nardone | Associate Professor of English |
| Daughn Pruitt | Associate Dean of Students |
| Mary Robbins | Professor of Education |
| Keri Rogers | Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Director, First Year Experience |
| Mike Vaughn | Professor of Criminal Justice |
Campus-wide conversations were held about improving student learning. The goal was to solicit broad-based input by encouraging members of the University community to submit ideas to the Leadership Committee, the Compliance Committee, or the QEP Committee, as well as by completing an electronic submission [4] and/or by attending Town Hall Meetings. Town Hall meetings were conducted for faculty and staff to solicit ideas for the QEP on the following dates: October 5, October 9, October 17, October 27 and November 1, 2007. The University Faculty Senate and Staff Council were involved in encouraging faculty and staff to attend the Town Hall meetings and in informing faculty and staff about the meetings [5] [6] [7] [8]. Input was solicited from the University Faculty Senate and the Staff Council [9]. Throughout this process, the Academic Policy Council (APC) was informed about the QEP and encouraged to help publicize the QEP process [10] [11] [12].
To reach as broad an audience as possible, the Associate Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs met with various groups to discuss the QEP and request input. The Associate Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs met with the Academic Program Council, the Alumni Board, and the Council of Academic Deans to discuss the QEP, to solicit ideas, and to inform the committees about the QEP process [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]. A request for additional faculty input was made through the academic deans. Specifically, faculty were asked by e-mail, “If there is one thing you could do to improve student learning on the SHSU campus, what would it be?”. Subsequently, a website was created to encourage faculty and staff to contact the Leadership Committee, the Compliance Committee, or the QEP Committee to submit ideas [4].
After collecting the suggestions, the QEP Committee narrowed the list to the top six ideas for a QEP. Each of the six ideas were assigned to a member of the QEP Committee to develop. Their task was to outline the basic strategy for implementing the idea and identifying potential sources of data to substantiate the educational need. Based on the respective presentations and looking at the data supporting each of the ideas the QEP Committee selected three prospective QEP topics: reading, writing, and mastery of science. Three programs that addressed these concerns were then chosen: Common Reader Program, Writing Across the Disciplines, and Integrated Science Course. For each of these three ideas a one-page synopsis was developed and distributed to all faculty, by e-mail [16]. The three programs were then presented at college-wide meetings by program champions. Faculty members were given a chance to ask questions about each of the suggested QEPs. A survey was sent to the faculty to determine the level of faculty appeal for each of the three plans. After analyzing the data, the QEP Committee selected the Integrated Science option for the QEP Data from survey [17].
During Spring 2008, Dr. Marcus Gillespie was named chair of the reconstituted QEP committee. This committee was charged with the task of fully designing the new course, developing an assessment process, and coordinating efforts between university faculty and administrators. The primary goal of the QEP is to enhance the scientific reason abilities of non-science majors. The committee contained representatives from each of the natural science departments, as well as colleagues involved in the general sciences.
Supporting Documentation