THE QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN MANDATE AND SACS-COC

Why have a QEP?

Every 10 years, UNO’s accreditation by the SACS Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) is reaffirmed through a process of self-study and external review.

In addition to a self-study, we must also prepare a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that focuses on a specific project to support student learning and to further the mission of the university. The QEP, implemented over 5-7 years, is intended to be a “game changer” with a significant impact on institutional quality and effectiveness. 

PICKING THE TOPIC

January 30, 2014: President Fos appoints a QEP Topic Selection Committee and issues a call for topics.

7 topics are proposed by various UNO academic units.

UNO holds 45 days of discussion of the topics at open forums and a campus wide poll to determine the one that will be chosen.

April 15, 2014: President Fos announces the topic and names QEP committee members and issues their charge.

THE CHARGEApril 15:

President Fos announces that the QEP topic will be “Global Engagement, . . . and professional communication, with the potential for a measure of general education reform.” The topic is relevant to and aligned with our strategic plan, UNO 2020, and it will allow for a measure of general education reform through the possible addition of globally-focused courses.

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSPresident Fos appoints the QEP Committee, made up of faculty and staff from units representing the entire campus:

The Executive Committee

Chair: John HazlettDirector, BA in International Studies Program Professor, Dept. of English

Vice-Chair: Steve Striffler Director, Zemurray Stone Center for Latin American StudiesProfessor, Dept. of Anthropology

Secretary: Alea Cot Assistant Vice President for International Education, Division of International Education

Scribe: Peter Schock Chair and Professor, Dept. of English

Consultant: Leslie CulverProgram Director, Institutional Effectiveness, Academic Affairs

Consultant: Bill SharptonAssociate Provost and SACS Liaison, Academic Affairs

Student Rep:In process

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSSubcommittee on Student Learning Outcomes:Chair: Bhaskar Kura

Chair and Professor, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Vice Chair: Dale O’Neill Student Involvement & Leadership

Secretary: Toni Slessinger Admissions Counselor, Enrollment Services

Rasheed AzzamDistinguished Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering

Alea Cot Assistant VP for International Education, Div of International Ed

Christy HeatonAssoc Director for Operations & Programs, Enrollment Services

Zhengchang Liu Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology

Ting WangProfessor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Peggy GaffneyAssociation Dean, College of Business

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSSubcommittee on Assessment

Chair: Sonnet Ireland Assistant Librarian/Documents, Earl K. Long Library

Secretary: Lora Amsberryaugier Associate Dean, Earl K. Long Library

Elaine S. Brooks Director, Interdisciplinary Studies ProgramProfessor of Spanish, Dept. of Foreign Languages

Gena Chattin Assistant Librarian, Earl K. Long Library

Barbara J Herlihy Professor, Education Leadership, Counseling, and FoundationsCollege of Education and Human Development

Joyce C Lambert Arthur Anderson Professor, Dept. of Accounting

Sathi Mahesh Professor, Department of Management

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSSubcommittee on QEP Literature and Best Practices

Chair: Richard SpeakerAssociate Professor, Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction

Secretary: Jeanne PavyAssociate Librarian, Earl K. Long Library

Guenter Bischof Director, Center Austria and Professor, Dept. of History

Darrell Kruger Dean and Professor, College of Education

Peter A Schock Chair and Professor, Dept. of English

Tumulesh Solanky Chair and Professor, Dept. of Mathematics

Ken WalshAssociate Professor, Dept. of Management

THE COMMITTEE’S WORK TO DATE

In May, 2014, the Committee met twice to discuss its charge, to organize its subcommittees, and to begin a discussion of the Student Learning Outcomes (SL0s) they believe would most closely reflect the intentions of the QEP Charge.

The Committee developed the following SLOs:

SLO 1: KNOWLEDGE• Students will demonstrate their grasp of knowledge that reveals the global imprint of their undergraduate experience at UNO whether derived from the disciplines of history, geography, languages, the arts or from study of the topics of diversity, sustainability, and global problems and opportunities. Students will understand the complexity, commonalities, and interdependence of the world’s cultural, national, human, and natural resources and incorporate that understanding into their general knowledge, academic specializations, and world views.

SLO 2: SKILLS

Students will demonstrate that they have gained skills in analysis, communication, and technology that allow them to engage the complexities of the world: that is, to problem-solve and effectively interact and work with people of different cultures, nationalities, and value systems.

SLO 3: ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR

Students will demonstrate that they have accepted the values of respect, sensitivity, and receptiveness to diverse perspectives and that they have embraced the ethos of global citizenship that prepares them to be ethically and socially responsible stewards of the world’s cultural, national, human, and natural resources. Such students will also exhibit a commitment to continued learning about global issues.

IDENTIFYING AN APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT TOOLOver the summer 2014, the Subcommittee on Assessment reviewed a number of assessment tool options and recommended that we begin our student assessment with the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI). This survey will be administered during October 2014 to three sets of students:

• 1) Incoming freshmen in UNIV 1000

• 2) First time transfer students

• 3) Students who participated in Study Abroad in Spring/Summer Semesters 2014

It will help us establish a baseline of where our students are now.

The Committee recognizes that other assessment tools will have to be developed to measure the outcomes of various programs.

REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES The Best Practices Subcommittee met in June-July 2014 and produced a summary of other universities’ global education programs. Among these are more than 20 schools that have chosen Global Engagement as their QEP, including:

• Appalachian State University• Florida International University• Texas A & M University• Kennesaw State University• University of Florida• University of South Florida• University of Tampa• University of Tennessee• Wake Forest University• Duke University• The University of Texas at Tyler

DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES FOR FOSTERING GLOBAL ENGAGEMENTThe Committee met in September to develop a preliminary list of implementation strategies for the QEP.

We divided our first list of strategies into seven groups:

• Student Life

• Courses & Curricula

• Professional Development

• Identification of Global Engagement Content/Resources

• Assessment Tools

• Metro Community Engagement

• Visibility/Publicity

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE STRATEGIES

Group 1. Student Life & Activities

Global affinity dormitory wing for students interested in global themes

First-year interest groups around global themes

Group 2. Courses and Curricula

Introduce required “global education units” in our UNIV 1000 course Develop new course on Intercultural Communication Develop pre- and post-Study Abroad courses

Group 3. Professional Development

Develop workshops for faculty to address QEP SLOs (student learning outcomes)

Group 4. Identification of Global Engagement Content

Identify global awareness courses, gather information on common website

Identify major-specific international issues

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE STRATEGIES

Group 5. Assessment

Create e-portfolio

Group 6. Metro Community Outreach

Help UNO Model UN partner with inner-city schools Engage the various international cultural organizations on campus Inform faculty and students of globally oriented community

organizations like WACNO, WTC, French-American Chamber of Commerce, and Deutsche Haus,

Group 7. Publicity & Visibility

Recognize study abroad students at graduation with colors, cords, etc.

Introduce an international element in graduation ceremony

OVERALL QEP TIME LINE• February 15, 2015: QEP Report due

• April 2015: SACS on-site visit 

• December 2015: Final approval

• 2015-16: Adjust QEP as needed, professional development for faculty/staff

• August 2016: 5-year QEP implementation begins

• 2016-17: Phase 1, select two general education courses/disciplines for implementation

• 2017-18: Phase 2, implement in all seven general education areas

• 2018-19: Phase 3, implement in all five colleges