Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

The QEP is a five-year plan that helps us focus on an important topic for improving student learning outcomes and student success. Its goal is to enhance the overall institutional quality and effectiveness of UNCW.

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What is the Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP)?
Why is
the QEP
Important?
QEP Topic
Selection
Process
Explore
the Selected
QEP Topic

What is the QEP?

The Quality Enhancement Plan, often referred to as the QEP, is a five-year plan UNCW uses to increase student learning and student success. As part of our regional accreditation, the QEP is an integral component of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) accreditation process to ensure institutions continue to meet member-driven standards of quality. The QEP reflects and affirms a commitment to enhancing the overall institutional quality and effectiveness of UNCW by focusing on an issue that we consider important to improving student learning outcomes and/or student success. Some of the critical requirements of a proposed QEP topic include a process-driven selection approach with community feedback. UNCW is currently in the process of selecting its next QEP.

Why is the QEP Important?

Previously, when QEP was selected and implemented, UNCW focused its resources and instructors’ professional development efforts to promote successful practices in applied learning to help our students have engaging learning experiences.

The last QEP was eTEAL, which stands for experiencing Transformative Education through Applied Learning. This initiative integrated critical reflection in applied learning experiences that helped students pursue personal and professional growth and foster content mastery in their courses.

Looking at the Last QEP & Its Impacts: eTEAL

98% of faculty respondents felt that applied learning contributed significantly.
75% of respondents indicated that the university's investment in applied learning initiatives led them to change their philosophy on curricular and / or co-curricular instruction.
85.6% of faculty reported continuing to use the principles of Best Practices in applied learning which they employed for their eTEAL-funded Pedagogy Initiative.
76.5% felt that these applied learning practices had either a considerable or a great deal of positive impact on their students' learning.

Faculty / Staff Participation

380 attendees at Applied Learning Summer Institute (2013-3017)
35/36 departments awarded competitive funding
171 eTEAL Pedagogy Initiatives funded over five years
186 faculty / staff funded from original eTEAL Pedagogy Initiative
258 faculty / staff managed initiatives through QEP funding (including SURCA and Sustainability 2.0 projects)

Applied Learning Teaching Community (ALTC)

29+ faculty / staff served as fellows, assistant fellows, and other leadership roles
18 units, offices and departments represented
1,000+ faculty / staff reached through programming

Student Impacts / Learning Outcomes

Student Engagement in eTEAL Through the Years:

3,437 (2015-2016)
3,435 (2016-2017)
4,052 (2017-2018)
4,689 (2018-2019)

Student Performance Increases (2015-2018):

+15.5% Evaluation of Impact
+23.9% Critical Reflection
+27.0% Application of Knowledge
+30.8% Intention

See more impacts of the previous QEP topic, eTEAL.

QEP Topic Selection Process

Stakeholders from across campus submitted pre-proposals on what our next QEP topic should be. Then, a team of faculty, staff and students, from multiple UNCW divisions and departments, worked collaboratively to select finalist topics.

Did you know? There's so much more to this valuable process, check out the entire timeline below.

QEP Topic Selection Process Timeline

Timeline of QEP Selection Process
Spring 2021	Identification of QEP Topic Selection Committee (QEPTSC) co-chairs Identification of committee members
Summer 2021	Committee planning workshops
Fall 2021	Committee solicits topic pre-proposals Committee selects finalists Committee holds campus virtual forum for proposal presentations and distributes survey for feedback Committee reviews data and recommends final topic to Provost and Chancellor
Spring 2022	Recommendation reviewed by Provost and Chancellor Topic announced by Offices of the Provost to campus community QEP Implementation Committee (QEPIC) named QEP Director named Committee drafts full QEP
Summer 2022	SACSCOC Summer Institute Conference Committee finalizes QEP
Fall 2022	University submits QEP to SACSCOC by September 1 Committee nominates external evaluator for SACSCOC
Spring 2023	On-site SACSCOC visit March 28-30 Committee revises QEP based on external evaluator feedback
Summer - Fall 2023	Committee prepares for QEP launch University launches QEP for 2023-2028

Explore the Selected QEP Topic

Topic:

Cultivating the Collaborative Campus: High-Impact Interdisciplinary Research & Teaching

*Pending final approval from SACSCOC

Read the Abstract:

This QEP would sponsor interdisciplinary faculty/staff teams selected by completitive process, dedicated to researching/teaching around "important questions" they identify that are connected to the UNCW mission and learning goals, particularly diversity and global learning.

Teams would:

Integrate questions with curriculum, creating innovative opportunities for teaching, especially learning communities and general education
Advance research that prioritizes student participation
Promote diversity/global learning (per the AACU definition and the UNCW SLOs of Diversity and Global Citizenship) by exploring "difficult difference," especially through applied learning/community engagement and/or by study abroad
Disseminate inclusive of students; apply for external funding
Offer programming designed to connect group efforts to the wider community

Funding would support from 3-6 teams; up to $25K each in Year 1, up to $15K in Year 2. Institutional commitment to 3 funding cycles.

This QEP offers a flexible approach, encouraging creativity and channeling it to support the identified priorities of the interdisciplinary task force and emerging strategic plan.