March 30, 2020 | UHCL Staff
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members can all be a part of improving student success at University of Houston-Clear Lake by submitting topics for Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which represents the university's commitment/efforts to continually enhance student learning outcomes. The deadline to submit topic ideas is April 30.
The UHCL Topic Selection Committee will review the submitted topics and select one or a combination of several for the central topic or theme of the plan. The QEP is key to the reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
“The QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) affects and considers all of the university’s audiences as it relates to student success and urges everyone to be a part of the topic selection,” said Executive Director of Planning and Assessments Pat Cuchens. “Topics submitted can range from changes to the campus, which might lead to a topic of environmental sustainability, to developing new academic programs to meet a local need, which might lead to a theme of future needs of society. We want to hear from as many of you as possible about the selection of these topics.”
Cuchens explained that the topics submitted will be categorized in the four themes of UHCL’s Strategic Plan, Impact 2025 and Beyond, which rolled out to internal university audiences in early March. These themes include Educational Achievement, Inclusive Culture, Innovation through Collaboration and University Identity. After that process, the suggested topics will be narrowed down to support one key topic that not only supports the Strategic Plan themes but encompasses student success.
“While the university’s Strategic Plan, Impact 2025 and Beyond, sets the path for the future, the Quality Enhancement Plan focuses on student success and is a key factor in accreditation of the university presently,” said UHCL Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Wooten. “However, it is imperative that the Quality Enhancement Plan, and the topic as it relates to student success, supports the Strategic Plan as we move into the future.”
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. The organization first granted accreditation to the university in 1976 and last reaffirmed the accreditation in 2012. The topic chosen for that process was Applied Critical Thinking (ACT) for Lifelong Learning and Adaptability. Applied Critical Thinking has and will continue to remain the foundation for academic programs.
The next reaffirmation consideration will take place in 2022. The topic of the plan will be chosen this summer so that the Quality Enhancement Plan can be fully developed in the two years leading up to the reaffirmation.
To submit topics, visit the Quality Enhancement Plan select the Survey: QEP Topic Addressing UHCL’s Strategic Theme form.
