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What is a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)?

A Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a thoughtfully designed, focused course of action that stimulates student learning and success while fulfilling a university’s needs and mission. The QEP is required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for an institution’s reaffirmation process.

What determines a successful QEP?

  1. The QEP includes a process identifying key issues emerging from institutional assessment,
  2. The QEP focuses on learning outcomes and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the institution,
  3. The QEP demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation, implementation, and completion of the QEP,
  4. The QEP includes broad-based involvement of institutional constituencies in the development and proposed implementation of the QEP,
  5. The QEP identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement.

See the SACSCOC QEP Guidelines

Why was Communication selected for the QEP?

To be successful in college and beyond, many sources indicate that communication competencies are essential. A 2015 survey of Sul Ross faculty and students supports that viewpoint and more specifically suggests that the instruction and learning of oral and written communication at Sul Ross needs improvement. Surprisingly, only 50% of students reported that they had orally presented work through coursework at SRSU. Interestingly, while SRSU students perceived that they have adequate written and oral communication skills, SRSU faculty disagreed with this general observation.

In addition, research suggests the following:

  • Communication enhances personal development
  • Communication raises social responsibility
  • Communication is vital to career success
  • All education is improved with better communication

Why does the QEP focus only on Junior and Senior level classes?  

SRSU’s QEP joins the Alpine and RGC campuses as one. Because RGC only teaches upper level students, our QEP focuses on them.

How will students’ Communication be assessed? 

Properly implemented institutionalized assessment can influence innovation in the curriculum, and provide quality data that can result in better curricular decisions. It is essential that assessment provide constructive evaluation to positively impact instruction to maximize students’ communication skills.  There will be a combination of direct and indirect assessments to monitor student proficiency.

How was the QEP Logo developed?

To further awareness and to customize and brand our QEP, the QEP Marketing and Communications subcommittee sponsored a campus-wide contest in the fall of 2017 for students to illustrate our QEP theme, “Compass: Navigating Excellence through Communication.” We had more than 20 student entries, and Maria Garza, a graduate student in Education at the Eagle Pass campus of RGC, designed the winning logo that she entitled, “Right Direction.” Ms. Garza won $500 in the QEP-sponsored contest for her excellent branding effort.

What was SRSU’s previous QEP?

The previous QEP (2005-2017) focused on outdoor learning and can be found here.

How can I get involved?

The QEP Oversight Committee meets monthly. Contact the QEP Co-Coordinators here.