Quality Enhancement Plan Selection Process

The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) selection process includes three phases:

1. QEP Concept Papers
2. QEP Full Proposals
3. QEP Development

QEP Concept Paper Elements

A new Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is an integral component of ECU’s 2023 SACSCOC decennial reaffirmation of accreditation process. It reflects and affirms a commitment to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue our institution considers important to improving student learning outcomes and/or student success. The topic of the QEP may be something that is already underway, or it may represent a new initiative.

On October 1, 2020, the Academic Council issued a call for Quality Enhancement Plan concepts (PDF) as part of the decennial reaffirmation process.

When developing a QEP Concept Paper (Word), keep in mind the final QEP will be assessed by a rubric (PDF) including the elements outlined below.

QEP Concept Paper Rubric Criteria

• Coherence of topic
• Relationship to student learning/success
• Importance improving student learning/success in topic area
• Use of data to support topic
• Clarification of relationship of topic to University Mission and Goals
• Broad-based support for topic across campus

Concept papers will be reviewed holistically, based on a combination of scoring criteria (PDF) and the committee’s feedback back related to the topic’s strengths and perceived challenges to implementation.

QEP Concept Paper Results

The call for QEP Concept Papers was announced in Fall 2020, with a submission deadline of January 2021. Four concept papers were submitted to the QEP selection committee for review, of which three were recommended to the Academic Council for further consideration.

1. All Aboard: Building an Inclusive Pirate Nation
2. Building Major and Career Confidence
3. ECU Learns: Universal Design for Learning
4. Pirate Pathways in Mathematics: A Student Success Initiative

QEP Proposals Campus-wide Presentation

After careful review of the concept papers, scoring rubrics, and general committee feedback, the Academic Council invited two concepts to move forward to the proposal stage of the QEP selection process.  All Aboard: Building an Inclusive Pirate Nation and Pirate Pathways in Mathematics: A Student Success Initiative submitting proposals by October 8, 2021, with campus presentations (virtual via Microsoft Teams Live and in-person) on October 19, 2021.

Prior to the campus presentations held at the Black Box Theater, an electronic feedback survey was distributed via ECU Official listserv emails that provided access to the survey’s QR code and link. The presentations were also recorded, with a link to the recording and feedback survey also sent out via ECU Official. The feedback survey asked the attendees for comments on strengths and weaknesses of the proposed QEP topic, as well as recommendations for the faculty planners. Following the survey period, results were compiled in a final report of recommendations and submitted to the Academic Council for QEP topic selection.

In January 2022, the Academic Council announced via ECU Official listserv email that All Aboard: Building an Inclusive Pirate Nation was selected as the university’s 2023-2028 Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). ECU’s QEP Development Committee was formed to be faculty-driven with cross-campus representation, including participation from staff across the institution, as well as students. This committee was charged to undertake a year-long process to write, develop, and market the institution’s new QEP.

QEP Full Proposal Elements

• Program Design
  • Description of actions to implement: Where, when, how
  • Offices/departments involved: Involved parties and their roles
  • Target population of students: Expected benefit
  • Logistics and timeline
• Congruency with University Mission and Strategic Plan
• Current State of the Issues
  • Institutional data
  • External data
  • Literature review
• Student Learning Outcomes
• Assessment Plan
  • Assessment methods and instruments
  • Link between methods, instruments and expected outcomes
• Budget
  • Cost of plan
  • Existing resources and new resources

In February 2021, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Selection Committee will select three QEP Concept Papers to be developed into QEP Full Proposals. QEP Full Proposals will be due in October 2021. Required elements of the QEP full proposal template (Word), are outlined above.

QEP Full Proposal Rubric

QEP full proposals will be assessed based on a rubric (Word) using the following criteria.

QEP Full Proposal Rubric Criteria

• Clear identification of outcomes
• Detailed description of importance of topic
• Congruence with ECU’s Mission and Strategic Plan
• Ability to describe scope, stakeholders, and roles
• Appropriate and measurable assessment plan
• Strengths and weaknesses of plan

Does the proposal provide evidence that the topic is viable as a QEP? Does it address student learning and/or student success?  Are the actions assessable?  Is the topic important for ECU?  Is the topic interesting and broad enough to generate widespread support?