Quality Enhancement Plan
Quality Enhancement Plan History
In the Fall 2015 semester, the student body at McNeese State University selected Advising to be an integral component in its next Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). A visit by Dr. John N. Gardner of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education allowed faculty and staff to express their concerns regarding improving student learning by utilizing improved advising practices, among other recommendations, as a key tool for refining student success. Furthermore, focus groups held among faculty, staff, and student leaders during the Spring 2016 semester all stressed the need for advising to play a substantial role in improving student success.
The QEP is a core requirement for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on College (SACSCOC) accreditation and is an essential part of preparing for our Compliance Certification, to be completed in Fall 2016, and leading to reaffirmation of accreditation in Spring 2017. A QEP is a special project an institution undertakes to improve student learning and the campus environment in which learning takes place.
The QEP will be McNeese State University’s second one: from 2006-2008, the McNeese community engaged in a researched-based process that included constituent input to develop the Write to Excellence initiative. Write to Excellence transformed our campus community by introducing a “writing across the curriculum” program, which focused on emphasizing effective writing in the disciplines. The University also developed and implemented the Write to Excellence Center, a campus writing lab, which continues to enjoy success to this day. Finally, the last QEP developed a course called Freshmen Foundations, which is devoted to improving the freshman experience The Write to Excellence QEP, which formally launched in fall 2008, was central to our 2007 SACSCOC reaffirmation. The project reached its formal completion in 2013 with the submission of our 5th-Year interim report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Although Write to Excellence has reached its formal conclusion, the systemic improvements to student learning and the learning environment continue.
Beginning in Spring 2016, a QEP Implementation Team convened and held bimonthly meetings to further develop and refine the QEP. Although Advising is favored by the majority of University stakeholders—students, faculty, and staff—after much deliberation, the Committee came to the conclusion that improvements to Advising will be enriched by the addition of student learning outcomes related to professionalism and post-undergraduate career planning.
The QEP is currently in development with the Committee continuing to meet in the Summer 2016 semester to refine goals and student learning outcomes and to launch pilot improvements by Fall 2016. This page will serve as one of several resources for gathering and disseminating information on this process.
Topic Selection Process
The QEP topic selection process involved reviewing institutional data on student learning and gathering input from the broader university/community on issues, ideas, and methods that would enhance student learning or the learning environment. During 2013 and 2014 ideas were gathered from building meetings, town-hall meetings, student-led forums, and other venues, as well as through a topic submission form on this website. Those ideas are available at the links below, and a survey was distributed to choose top candidates.
Proposed Ideas
- QEP Topic Submission – December 1, 2014
- QEP Topic Submission – October 30, 2014
- QEP Topic Submission – September 30, 2014
- 2011 Strategic Planning Brainstorming Sessions – Responses to question on improving student learning
- IMPROVE Program – (Idea submitted by Dr. Chandra of the College of Engineering)
- QEP Proposal – Internships
- b. Internship and Co-op Study National Results 2013-2014
- c. Internship and Co-Op Study McNeese Results (Proposal submitted by Internship Coordinator and Advisory Committee)
Big Data
Institutional and external reports and links related to student learning and other related higher-education issues.
- Complete College America: 2011 Louisiana Data
- Summaries of QEPs from other Institutions, 2009-2012
- See also our “Survey Research” page.
Steering Committee
The QEP Steering Committee consists of a broad, cross-section of faculty, staff, students, and community involvement. The primary purpose of this committee is to support and advise on the topic selection process. Additional responsibilities follow.
Roles/Responsibilities of the Committee
- Understand the scope and purposes of a QEP
- Be fluent in SACSCOC QEP Guidelines
- Facilitate the collection of constituent input and ideas in the selection of topics and development of the plan
- Study institutional data and other sources of information in order to ascertain areas of greatest need in student learning
- Recommend topics to the university community for plan selection
- Contribute to the development of the plan once the topic has been selected
Working Timeline for Project Selection and Plan Development
The following table documents activities undertaken and planned for QEP selection and development.
| Time Period | Tasks | Responsible Parties |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2014 | Initiate campus dialogue and topic solicitation and selection process
| SACSCOC Liaison/QEP Administrator |
| Spring 2015 | Continue to foster campus dialogue and topic solicitations/selection
| SACSCOC Liaison/QEP Administrator |
| Summer 2015 | Topic Selection–Narrowing
| QEP Administrator/ Steering Committee / ARC |
| Fall 2015 | Choosing the QEP Topic
| QEP Administrator Steering Committee Campus Community McNeese President |
| Spring 2016 |
| QEP Administrator, support staff, lead personnel Assistance from Steering Committee and ARC, where necessary. |
| Summer 2016 |
1) institutional capability… 2) broad-based involvement…in development and…implementation… 3) goals and a plan to assess….
| QEP Administrator / Implementation Team |
| October 1, 2016 | Deadline for providing SACSCOC with prioritized list of potential QEP Lead Evaluators | QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team ARC |
| October 2016 | Review draft of plan with ARC: Assess based on SACSCOC QEP Guidelines | QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team ARC |
| December 2016 |
| QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team |
| January 2017 |
| QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team ARC |
| January 24 – February 7, 2017 | Submission Period–QEP Plan must be to SACSCOC during this timeframe | SACSCOC Liaison/QEP Administrator |
| March 7 – 9, 2017 | SACSCOC On-Site Review for Compliance Certification and Quality Enhancement Plan | All of Campus |
| Post Site-Visit | Review and Development of Response Report, if required. | QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team / ARC |
| 4 months post site-visit (July 7, 2017) | Absolute Deadline for Response Report Due to Commission (if necessary) | QEP Administrator/ Implementation Team /SACSCOC Liaison |
| Academic Year 2017-2018 | Refine Plan: additional piloting Transition Implementation Team to Advisory Group (adjust membership as needed) | QEP Administrator / Implementation Team–Advisory Group |
| Fall 2018 | First semester of full plan implementation | QEP Administrator/ Advisory Group / All Campus |
| March 2023 | Submit 5th-Year Progress Report on Quality Enhancement Plan to SACSCOC | QEP Administrator/ SACSCOC Liaison |
Implementation Committee Membership
| Committee Member | Role/Responsibility |
| Albarado, Alexis | General & Basic Studies |
| Guidry, Marshal (Non-voting) | General & Basic Studies |
| Boenig, Catrina | Registrar |
| Broussard, Jan | Burton College of Education |
| Carter, Katrina | College of Nursing and Health Professions |
| Fontane, Walt | Frazar Memorial Library |
| Griffith, John | College of Engineering and Computer Science |
| Guillory, Shannon | Financial Aid |
| Hutchings, Jessica (Non-voting) | Institutional Research and Effectiveness |
| Landry, Shawri | College of Science |
| Mai, Son (Chair) | College of Liberal Arts |
| Reinauer, Lisa | College of Liberal Arts |
| Thibodeaux, Raime | Counseling Center |
| Schmitt, Abigail | Student Body |
| Turpin, Lonnie | College of Business |
Steering Committee Membership
| Role/Responsibility | Committee Member |
|---|---|
| SACS-COC Liaison/IRE | Jessica Hutchings |
| At-Large | Corliss Badeaux – Writing Center/English and Foreign Languages |
| Library | Pati Threatt – Head Archivist/Special Collections |
| Library | Jerome Marcantel – Information Resources Librarian |
| Engineering | Paul Bender – Computer Science |
| Engineering | Jonathan Sullivan – Chem, Civil, & Mech Engineering |
| Liberal Arts | Jeff Lemke – Music |
| Science | Kathy Jackson- Biology and Health Sciences |
| Education | Jan Broussard – Educational Technology |
| Education | Dena Matzenbacher – Psychology |
| Nursing | Becky Riley – Undergraduate Nursing |
| Nursing | Troy Thompson – Undergraduate Nursing |
| Faculty Senate | Meghan Fleming – Visual Arts |
| Faculty Senate | Lonnie Beene – Library |
| Student | Amanda Runkle (Graduate Student) |
| Student | Dalton Hinton |
| Student | Toni Antoine |
| Student | Wesley Lejeune (Graduate Student) |
| Student | Heather Morrissey |
| Student | Hailey Veillion |
| Student | Kaitlyn Guillot |
| Alumni/Community | Brett Bordelon (Class of ’06) LHC Group |
| Staff | Raime Thibodeaux – Counseling, Career, and Student Development |
| Athletics | Bridget Martin – Associate Athletic Director/Compliance |
| General and Basic Studies | Alexis Albarado – General and Basic Studies |