I recently spent some time looking at the SACSCOC Class of 2024 Track A QEP summaries for a couple of reasons. Some of my clients are asking about recommendations for lead evaluators and others are in the early stages of development and may benefit from looking at approved projects. Anyway, I noticed some themes.
Career/Job/Professional readiness was a common theme. Some were pathways focused and some were job-readiness skills focused. This makes sense for these Track A institutions. I did find it interesting that transfer-readiness skills were not as commonly mentioned in the QEP summaries. Typically most students at a Track A institution are in a transfer pathway preparing them to enter a baccalaureate program.
QEPs focusing on increasing gateway math and English success were also common. The unfortunate truth is that many students at Track A institutions show up under-prepared in these subjects. It is easy to place the blame on our high schools, but at most, they are only part of the problem. Regardless of the ultimate cause, math and English under-preparedness is a widespread problem.
First-year onboarding and increasing distance learning success were equally represented within this cohort. Getting a good start is critical for long-term success and college students were not known for their ability to plan ahead, manage their time, and focus on necessary tasks before online learning became a thing and my experience has not shown that this has improved.
Finally the last theme I saw among this cohort was a re-design of advising processes and infrastructure. Many of these showed overlap with the career/job/professional readiness QEPs mentioned in the first paragraph. This has been an area of focus for many years, especially as it has become more and more difficult to deliver this service due to a variety of reasons.
It was my privilege to help design and/or refine two of the SACSCOC Track A Class of 2024 QEPs. At Southeastern Accreditation Consultants, we’re ready to collaborate and support your accreditation journey. We bring best practices, proven strategies, and experienced process review to the table. We offer individualized services to best meet your needs during the adventure to come. Contact us to get started.