Sorry this is a bit late, I was caught up in the process of moving my son to the University of Alabama for his freshman year. Move-in on that scale was a well-oiled and impressive machine.
I often work with institutions to support the development of the Quality Enhancement Plan. Sometimes as a component of a larger agreement to support a reaffirmation and sometimes as a stand-alone project. Either way, I often see convoluted plans to assess attainment of the QEP outcomes. The QEP, like assessment in general, is often considered to be this…extravagant and showy project that must be complex to be good. It doesn’t.
My first question is often, “Why aren’t you using your existing assessment protocols to monitor progress toward attaining the outcomes of the QEP?” Either the focus is on student learning and the protocols exist in the context of your 8.2.a processes or the focus is student achievement and the protocols exist in the context of your 8.1 or 8.2.c narrative. Yes, student achievement in 8.2.c. Maybe that will be next month’s post.
Using the existing protocols will, if your underlying processes are sound, provide the quality and quantity of data you need to evaluate the attainment of QEP outcomes. If your underlying processes are not sound, we should talk. No flashy QEP will counter underlying problems in your assessment processes. In fact, my experience indicates that when a review team finds compliance in 8.1, 8.2.a, 8.2.b, 8.2.c, and 7.3 they expect to see similar processes for QEP assessment rather than a re-inventing of the wheel. And yes, 7.3 is a bit different than the others on the list, but it should not be. There is a blog post from a ways back about this.
Anyway, meaningful assessment does not have to be complicated assessment. In fact, when assessment processes are complicated and labor-intensive, experience indicates that they become less effective and less meaningful. As you develop the next QEP, remember that it is OK to build it into the existing assessment processes at your institution.
At Southeastern Accreditation Consultants, we’re ready to collaborate and support your accreditation journey. We bring best practices, proven strategies, and experienced narrative review to the table. We offer individualized services to best meet your needs during the journey. Contact us to get started.