Documenting QEP Progress: Development of an On-Line Reporting System

1. Documenting QEP Progress: Development of an On-Line Reporting System Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University “Service is Sovereignty” Caula BeylDirector, Institutional Planning, Research, & Evaluation caula.beyl@email.aamu.edu

2. Changes • Criteria for Accreditation became the Principles of Accreditation • Focus changed from institutional effectiveness to • institutional effectiveness • student learning • continuous quality enhancement

3. New Requirements • In 2001, AAMU was still operating under the old Criteria • Halfway into our SACS self-study, we were told to use the new Principles for Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement • One component that we had no experience with was the new requirement for a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

4. What is aQuality Enhancement Plan? • Carefully designed focused course of action (framework, blueprint, plan of action, guide) • Addresses clearly defined issues, actions, or events related to enhancing student learning and development • Complements and evolves from the ongoing integrated institutional planning and evaluation process • Component of the accreditation process that affirms student learning as the centerpiece of the institution’s mission • Opportunity to enhance overall quality

5. Alabama A&M University’s Pathway to Reaffirmation of Accreditation • Compliance Report (August 15, 2003) • Off-Site Review And Findings (September-October 2003) • Focused Response (February 2004) • Quality Enhancement Plan (February 2004) • Onsite Review (April 6-8, 2004) • The Final Judgment (December 2004) Highest Possible Level of Reaffirmation with No Recommendations!

6. Blueprints to Excellence Enhancing Academic Support Services and the Campus Culture Quality Enhancement Plan Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University “Service is Sovereignty”

7. Essential Elements of theQEP Process • Started with understanding what a QEP actually was • Framework, blueprint, plan of action, guide • Addresses clearly defined issues, actions, or events related to enhancing student learning and development • The QEP affirms student learning as the centerpiece of the institution’s mission • Development of the QEP must involve broad-based participation of the entire university

8. The QEP should be an outgrowth of the planning process Focus 2015 Strategic Plan Blueprints for ExcellenceQuality Enhancement Plan Frameworks for Continuous Quality Improvement

9. The QEP should focus on enhancing student learning! Students are the heart of the University!

10. Affirmation and Transformation Acquisition of Knowledge Content Student Products Processes Learning Policies and Procedures Content Interactions

11. Management Plan • Formulate teams to carry out each objective • Monitor progress toward achievement of specific objectives • Perform annual assessment of adherence to timelines, and achievement of goals and objectives • Modify plans as needed • To insure continued involvement of the entire University community, project teams will be assigned to carry out the activities of each sub-project. • Formation of the QEP Implementation Steering Committee

12. QEP Impact Report SACS requires an “Impact Report” five years after the initial approval and implementation of the QEP • This report details QEP Implementation • Most importantly, the effect of implementation on student learning

13. Documentation is the Key • If it is not written down, it does not exist • A good documentation system will allow us to make a record of QEP initiatives • It will allow us to learn from initiatives of others

14. Three major on-line reporting systems for documenting university effectiveness • Planning and Budgeting System • First implemented in the 2004-5 budget year • Used again successfully in 2005-6 • Version 2.0 is being tested and will replace 1.0 before the next budget year • Learning Outcome Reporting System • Will be implemented incrementally as each program goes through the cyclic program review process • Allows open access to view outcomes and assessment • Quality Enhancement Plan Reporting System • Allows every level of the university community to participate in reporting QEP initiatives • Documents activities and outcomes for SACS

15. The QEP Documentation System • Patterned after two on-line systems developed by OIPRE at Alabama A&M University • The Planning and Budgeting System 2.0, in its second year of use at AAMU • The on-line Learning Outcome Reporting System (to be implemented for some programs by January 2006)

18. OIPRE developed a conceptual framework and prototype screen layouts Actual software development was outsourced to: MindGate Technologies www.mindgate.com 1-800-MGT-6840 ext. 800 A beta version of the system is now being tested We hope to implement the system by January 2006 Can be customized to fit different institutions Software Development

19. The software is faster than earlier versions of the other systems because it takes advantage of a new architecture

20. Key features of the QEP Documentation System • Since the QEP development was broad-based and implementation of the QEP involves every facet of the University, any person involved at the University should be able to report QEP initiatives. • Faculty - Board of Trustees • Staff - Alumni • Students - Administration • Log-in and making documentation entries in the system requires the QEP Initiative Owner to have an AAMU e-mail address, but viewing will be completely open to the public

21. The first step for all users (new and previous) is to log in

22. The User Information Page collects demographic and contact information from the initiator

23. Approval process for new users

24. Approval process for existing users

25. Other decisions about the design of the system • Our QEP has two major goals • Goal A – To improve mechanisms for placing, characterizing, and educating the whole student with a focus toward the successful development of competent graduates prepared to attain excellence in professional life. • Goal B – To improve the campus culture to embrace diversity and the arts, foster scholarly attainment, and promote mature, society-conscious behaviors among all the parts of the university family. • To document progress in a more detailed manner, we decided to link each initiative to the major expected outcomes rather than goals

26. Twenty Desired Outcomes of the QEP... • Improve the GPA of freshman students by 10% for the core curriculum and general education in five years. • Structure and implement an assessment and placement system. • Assure 100% placement of all students in the core curriculum and general education courses based on the approved assessment measurements. • Reduce the number of students on probation down to 2%. • Increase retention by 10% over five years. • Increase graduation in four years by 10%, five years by 10% and six years by 10% in five years. • Implement a degree auditing system that tracks students’ academic progress from entry to exit (early alert, comprehensive academic advising, etc.). • Increase by 30% the number of mentoring relationships between faculty and students and student to student. • Establish informal study groups. • Improve faculty instructional performance. • Implement a comprehensive advising and counseling system.

27. Twenty Desired Outcomes of the QEP... • Increase the level of scholarly productivity of faculty and students. • Establish a student leadership institute. • Form mini-centers addressing academic coaching, tutoring, e-tutoring, etc. • Improve student, faculty, staff and the general community’s satisfaction with services provided by the University. • Increase the participation of faculty, staff and students in various social, civic, educational, and cultural activities on and off campus. • Provide for students to acquire fundamental life skills necessary for survival in the world of work. • Assure the integration of the University’s core values into its programs and services. • Develop and implement a multivariate prediction model that will help to identify incoming students at greatest risk for non-retention and those factors most related to persistence at AAMU. The model will use socioeconomic and high school performance data from student database records for the last ten years. Identification of factors that lead to persistence. • To create “a positive mystique of The Hill.”

30. QEP changes are tracked by date

31. Changes are subject to approval by the administrator

32. Search and Sort Features • Flexible Sort: • Sort by creation date • Sort on QEP Initiator • Sort by department • Flexible Search Feature: • Show all records • Find by email address • Find by QEP Initiator • Find by department • Find by date range • Find by text in the content

33. Advantages of the System • It allows those involved in QEP Initiatives to showplace their work and view the work of others • OIPRE is able to document on what outcomes work is being done and see a track record of sustained progress in each area • Provides a structure for assessing progress so that changes may be made in where effort and funding are invested as necessary • The execution and reporting phases are shared by the whole university, consistent with the philosophy of the QEP development phase.

34. The time for innovation is not just during the development of a QEP! But also occurwhen doing it and documenting it!