Quality Enhancement Plan
QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN (QEP)
What is a QEP?
Life University had its scheduled reaffirmation of its accreditation in February of 2021 by our regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). As part of this process, which takes place every 10 years, SACSCOC requires member institutions to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). A QEP is a carefully designed and focused plan of action that seeks to advance student success by addressing key issues identified from institutional assessment. Our QEP planning process began in 2019-2020 and it will be implemented over a five-year period.
What is Life University’s QEP?
Our QEP’s topic is Enhance, Engage, Excel: Changing the Retention Paradigm at Life University. Through our QEP, we seek to engage students in academic and co-curricular activities and resources to increase retention and student engagement. Our QEP includes three primary goals and associated outcomes:
The QEP Management Team, comprised of faculty and staff representatives from across the University, identified the topic and goals for our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) through an exhaustive examination of existing institutional data and initiatives tied to student success, as well as a thorough analysis of quantitative and qualitative data resulting from the institution’s strategic planning process. Through its review, the Team found the following areas of need for each goal:
Please view the QEP Narrative for additional information on the process used to develop Life U’s QEP.
To achieve the goals created for Enhance, Engage, Excel, Life U will enhance the tools and strategies it uses to identify and meet students’ unique academic and co-curricular expectations, needs and interests. Moreover, we will proactively seek to engage all students in opportunities and resources that foster a sense of belonging and connection to the University community. In doing so, Life U seeks to ensure current and future students excel in their journey at Life University. Specific actions the University will implement during the QEP include:
Additional information about the planned actions, including timelines for implementation, can be found in the QEP Narrative.
To measure the effectiveness of Enhance, Engage, Excel, Life University developed a comprehensive assessment plan to monitor the overall progress of the project and its planned outcomes. Assessment will be ongoing throughout the implementation of the QEP over the next five years, and the University will use the resulting data to continuously refine and improve the project and its associated strategies. Direct measures, including participation in co-curricular events and percentage of students receiving early alerts, will be assessed along with indirect measures, such as student satisfaction and engagement with the campus community. Additionally, Life U will use two key performance indicators, retention and student engagement, and associated assessments to monitor progress toward the overall goal of the plan. A detailed overview of the assessment plan can be found in Section IX of the QEP Narrative.
The QEP Management Team has completed their work with creating the QEP Narrative and they have been replaced by the QEP Student Engagement and Retention Committee (SERC). The QEP Management Team will be reconvened if necessary. We have formed 5 subcommittees who are diligently working towards planning and implementing our QEP action items as outlined in the QEP Narrative. These subcommittees include our: Eagle Proud Team, Early Alert Team, Lifeline Team, Retention Data Team, and Student Engagement Team and they are each chaired by a member of the SERC. We have also adopted an Early Alert system (Ellucian CRM Advise) and we look forward to implementing the system by Summer 2022 or Fall 2022. We will continue to revise our plans as needed for the best interest of our students and feasibility purposes.
Student Engagement and Retention Committee (SERC)
Bill Watson,
QEP Director and CETL Director
Dr. Michael Smith,
Dean of Students
Dr. Janna Holwick,
Provost
Dr. Leslie King,
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. Marc Schneider,
Vice President of Operations
Will Brooks,
Interim Director of Marketing
Dr. Tameka Glass,
Executive Director of University Advisement
Dr. Ron Lunk,
Interim Dean of the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
Sarah Burkett,
QEP Coordinator & CETL Project Coordinator