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The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is one part of
a two-component requirement for reaffirmation of accreditation of
Hampden-Sydney College by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS).
The Certificate of Compliance
The first part of reaffirmation of accreditation is a 79-item discussion of
all aspects of the function of the College. The SACS
standards
range from issues of trustee and administrative oversight of
college operations, through academics and student services, to a review
of the finances of the College. In March of 2006 the College submitted
the Certificate of Compliance to a SACS review panel. The Academic
Affairs Committee reviewed drafts of the Certificate in the springs of 2005
and 2006.
The Quality Enhancement Plan as a Part of Overall Planning
Before we discuss the Quality Enhancement Plan, the second component of
SACS reaffirmation of accreditation, the QEP Committee thinks it
would be beneficial to distinguish between two major College planning
efforts: long-range or strategic planning and academic quality enhancement planning.
For decades the College has engaged in long-range planning, a process that culminates
in a strategic plan. For example, in 2003 the Trustees approved a
Long-Range Plan Through
2005 containing four major goals with dozens of sub-goals. This
type of planning exercise envisions change over the wide range of College
operations, academic as well as non-academic. Further, this planning
process sets the stage for development (financial support) efforts.
In contrast, the SACS-mandated Quality Enhancement Plan focuses narrowly
on strictly academic projects that can be completed in a short span of
time. SACS is
clear in its documents that this QEP must:
- address a College need[s] that enhances student learning,
- be limited to one or just a few educational issues,
- have clear benchmarks for success,
- have widespread support,
- be able to be accomplished within five years, and
- be economically feasible (that is, the College must have the
financial resources to accomplish the plan within the five-year time
frame.)
While strategic planning is vital for the well-being of the College, the type of long-range
planning in which we have previously engaged does not meet the requirements of the SACS
Quality Enhancement Planning process.
The QEP Committee
A committee of faculty and staff members has been
considering the QEP for over two years. The membership of this committee
is:
Please feel free to contact any of these committee
members to discuss our QEP.
QEP Development Procedures
The QEP Committee examined the
Hampden-Sydney College Long-Range Plan
looking for educational objectives that met the SACS QEP criteria.
Additionally, the Committee reviewed external review reports for academic
departments and programs for the past five years. Further, the QEP
Committee solicited written suggestions for educational
improvements from all academic departments and programs. These
department/program submissions came from most
of the academic departments of the College.
Some items submitted to our committee are not suitable for a QEP.
However, we will ensure that these good suggestions go to the long-range
planning committee for consideration. Finally, over the
course of several lengthy meetings, the QEP Committee focused on
several possible plans. Discussions with the faculty led to the
development of several other plans. The QEP candidate plans considered (in no particular
order) were:
During the spring, summer and fall of 2005, the QEP Committee met to
discuss these plans. We make available the minutes of our
meetings so readers may appreciate the range of issues we
have examined. During the spring of 2006 several members of the QEP
Committee focused on the preparation of a final document for submission in the
summer of 2006.
Consultations with Stakeholders
During the Fall Semester of 2005 the QEP Committee met with campus constituencies to explain the QEP process, outline the candidate
plans, and solicit additional
input for the QEP. We also shared the
draft documents with the Academic Affairs and Faculty Affairs committees of the Faculty.
In October of 2005 the faculty discussed the various plan options, and
additional initiatives, at two committee-of-the-whole meetings.
Further, the AAC and the FAC conducted a preference survey to determine
faculty support for the various candidate plans.
At the November 2005 Board of Trustees meeting the Dean, with the support
of the QEPC members, briefed the Faculty and Academic Affairs and
Long-Range Planning committees of the
Trustees on the various QEP candidate plans. The QEP Committee developed
the final plan using faculty and trustee guidance that was provided during late Fall and early Spring
of the 2005/2006 academic year. The QEP Committee briefed the Trustee
Faculty and Academic Affairs and Long-Range Planning committees at the
February Trustee meeting and obtained final approval for the QEP at the May
Trustee meeting. The College submitted the final QEP to SACS in
early August of 2006.
Executive Summary of QEP
Final Quality Enhancement Plan
(pdf format)
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