quality enhancement plan pioneering pathways: learn by doingquality enhancement plan i pioneering...

T E X A S W O M A N ’ S U N I V E R S I T Y

Quality Enhancement PlanPioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing

Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsCommission on Colleges

Dates of Onsite Visit: April 9-11, 2013

DENTON DALLAS HOUSTON

Quality Enhancement Plan i Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing

Executive Summary

TWU’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing, focuses on enhancement of student learning

through student engagement in experiential learning. The purpose of the QEP is to equip students with knowledge, experience, and readiness to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives. Developed with broad-based input from faculty, staff, students, and alumni, the QEP provides a systematic, institutionally-supported plan for supporting and assessing experiential learning at TWU. Student initiatives, faculty development, and internal and external partnerships are foundational elements of the QEP.

Learning by doing and applying theory to practice is considered crucial for student success in an ever-changing, increasingly connected, and global world. Graduates face complex challenges which require skills in critical thinking and problem solving, a greater awareness and appreciation for multiple perspectives, and collaboration and teamwork with diverse individuals to achieve common goals. Experiential learning provides an ideal means for equipping students with these skills and is an effective strategy for increasing student engagement among at-risk students.

Experiential learning at TWU may take many forms and includes service learning and civic engagement, internships, co-curricular collaboration, scholarship, and creative activities. QEP implementation is guided by the following goals:

• Develop and expand experiential learning opportunities focused on the success of students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.

• Integrate and align university infrastructures and resources that support collaborative and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities and student success initiatives.

• Cultivate and strengthen educational, civic, and business partnerships that increase opportunities for experiential learning, interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship, and creative activity.

The QEP will enhance student learning by increasing opportunities for students’ participation in experiential activities and projects within their academic disciplines. Guided by best practices and grounded in experiential learning theory, the QEP will create a culture of experiential learning at TWU, and revitalize the University’s dedication to bridge theory with practice and to learn by doing.

Contents

Executive Summary......................................................................................................... i

Institutional Context ........................................................................................................ 1

Institutional Need, Topic Selection, and Alignment ......................................................... 7

Literature Review & Best Practices .............................................................................. 27

Leadership Structure & Implementation ....................................................................... 35

Assessment Plan .......................................................................................................... 47

Budget Justification ...................................................................................................... 61

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 65

References ................................................................................................................... 66

Appendix A ........................................................................71Appendix B ........................................................................73Appendix C ........................................................................74Appendix D ........................................................................79Appendix E ........................................................................86Appendix F .........................................................................88Appendix G ........................................................................89Appendix H ........................................................................90Appendix I ..........................................................................93Appendix J .........................................................................95Appendix K ........................................................................96

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TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITYDENTON DALLAS HOUSTON

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing 1 Quality Enhancement Plan

Institutional Context

TWU has enjoyed many successes over the last ten years, including unprecedented enrollment growth, new facilities on

all campuses, elevated admission standards, and thriving graduate programs; however, the university faces significant challenges with retention, graduation rates, and the high number of first-generation and at-risk students. These issues draw attention to questions about the extent to which students are engaged in their disciplines, invested in their learning, and prepared for success in life and work. Thus, TWU has selected a QEP topic focused on student learning to incorporate real world experiences and foster a commitment to life-long learning and service. Experiential learning will serve as one cornerstone, among other strategies, to improve student learning and success by proactively engaging students in their disciplines both within and outside the University.

Overview

Texas Woman’s University offers high quality education in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies, and also conducts research to enhance the progress and welfare of the people of Texas, the nation, and the world in a time of rapid technological and social change. TWU is a Doctoral Research public university, primarily for women, offering baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. TWU is the largest university primarily for women in the United States.

Quality Enhancement Plan 2 Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing

Texas Woman’s University

The University is committed to creating a campus environment which empowers students of different ages, social status, and ethnicity to obtain the essential knowledge, skills, independence, and confidence needed to enhance their prospects of success. Students are provided numerous opportunities to express their points of view, to test ideas, to make decisions, and to succeed as leaders. TWU serves as a source of knowledge and as a repository of information about women and their contributions to the history and advancement of the State of Texas, the nation, and the world.

Health-related studies and graduate education are integral to the mission of TWU. TWU has for many years been a regional and national leader in offering nursing and health science programs. These programs have evolved, as knowledge and technology in the health sciences have changed, to meet diverse health care needs. TWU continues as the largest provider of nursing and allied health professionals in the state and one of the largest in the nation.

TWU is a pioneer in preparing women to pursue careers in such fields as allied health, librarianship, nursing, nutrition, social work, and teaching. Undergraduate and selected graduate programs are offered to increase the participation of women in fields in which women have been historically under-represented. Doctoral programs are offered in allied health sciences, education, family sciences, kinesiology, library science, nursing, and selected areas of the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences.

The University includes the College of Arts and Sciences (including the School of the Arts and the School of Management), the College of Professional Education (including the School of Library and Information Studies), the College of Health Sciences (including the Schools of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy), and the College of Nursing. The Graduate School administers graduate programs in each of these schools and colleges. Now in its twelfth decade, the University has become a major public university served by approximately 400 full-time faculty members and more than 15,000 students enrolled in Fall 2012. The curriculum, which led to the award of baccalaureate degrees for the first time in 1915, now accommodates studies that lead to doctoral degrees in each of the colleges of the University.

“Our region anticipates tremendous growth and needs more workforce ready graduates. Real world experience and the ability to use critical thinking in the workplace is a repeated request we get from our business members. Combining coursework with hands-on programs will benefit our local businesses.”

Angela Farley Vice President

Public Policy and Education, Dallas Regional Chamber


White 43.8%

African American 21.6%

Hispanic 23.3%

Asian American & Pacific Islander 8.8%

American Indian & Alaskan Native 1.4%

International 1.4%

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Figure 1. The percent distribution of undergraduate students among ethnic groups at TWU, Fall 2012.

Institutional ContextDoingLearn by

Student Profile

TWU’s enrollment has grown consistently and rapidly in the last decade. In Fall 2012, 15,168 students were enrolled at TWU. Eighty-nine percent of enrolled students are female, and 38% stem from an under-represented minority group. Undergraduates represent 62% of total enrollment, 44% of which are Hispanic or African American (Figure 1) and 12% of which are First Time in College (FTIC). Thirty-five percent of undergraduates enrolled in Fall 2012 are first generation, meaning neither parent attended college. Approximately 50% of undergraduates enrolled in Fall 2012 had at least one parent who attended but did not complete college. Master’s students constitute 31% of TWU’s student population, and 7% are doctoral students.

Figure 2 and Figure 3 demonstrate the magnitude of enrollment growth at TWU. In particular, minority enrollment has outpaced growth in other areas for the entire student population (Figure 2) and within undergraduates (Figure 3). The TWU Office of Institutional Research and Data Management predicts that by 2014 Hispanic students will constitute 25% of the undergraduate student population, making TWU eligible to apply for designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).


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Institutional ContextDoingLearn by

One-year retention rates for FTIC students are 65% for all students and 66% for minority students. The FTIC 6-year graduation rate is 48% for all students, and 44% for minority students. The 6-year graduation rate for transfer students is 63%. The graduation rates for masters students are: 53% in 2 years; 73% in 4 years; and 76% in 6 years. The doctoral graduation rate is: 51% in 4 years; 64% in six years; and 75% in 10 years.

Campus and Centers

TWU, with its main campus in Denton and health science centers in Dallas and Houston, serves not only the north central region, but also the entire state of Texas. The T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences - Dallas Center, located in the vicinity of UT-Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital, offers academic programs in a variety of health science fields to serve this major area of Texas. The Houston Center, located in the Texas Medical Center, provides an excellent setting for students of health science and related fields. The graduate programs in health care administration, nursing, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, and physical therapy offered in Houston are in the vanguard of graduate-level, professional health education in the Southwest.

TWU graduates more health care professionals than any other higher education institution in Texas. The Houston Center is unique to the greater metropolitan Houston and Galveston area educating health care professionals at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels in nursing, occupational and physical therapy, nutrition and food science, and health care administration.

Historical Perspective

Established in 1901 by an act of the 27th Legislature as the Girls Industrial College, the institution began classes in 1903. In 1905 the Legislature changed the name to the College of Industrial Arts. The college grew in academic excellence, in size and scope, and in reputation. The rising academic qualifications of the faculty, the building of a substantial library and research and instructional facilities, and the increasing demand for graduate education for women led to the establishment of graduate studies at the college in 1930.



In 1934 the name of the institution was changed to the Texas State College for Women to describe more accurately the scope of the school. Doctoral degrees were first awarded in 1953. Since 1957 the name has been Texas Woman’s University, indicative of its status as a major institution of higher learning offering baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. As is indicated by the name, TWU has historically been a single-sex institution. However, in 1972 the University began accepting qualified men into the Institute of Health Sciences and the Graduate School. Effective in 1994, all areas of the University were opened to qualified male and female applicants.

Of particular relevance to TWU’s QEP, TWU founders recognized the importance of experiential learning and adopted the University motto, “We learn to do by doing.” Stemming from a quote from Comenius (considered the father of modern education) and recommended by Helen Stoddard, one of TWU’s first Regents, the motto captures the unique focus of a TWU education so well that it was engraved on the University’s first building (Bridges, 2001, p. 7). The QEP represents a renewed commitment to TWU’s historical focus on the connection between experience and learning.


Institutional Need, Topic Selection, and Alignment

Learning by doing and applying theory to practice is considered crucial for student success in an ever-changing, increasingly

connected, and global world. Graduates face complex challenges that require skills in critical thinking and problem solving, a greater awareness and appreciation for multiple perspectives, and collaboration and teamwork with diverse individuals to achieve common goals. Experiential learning provides an ideal means for equipping students with these skills. TWU’s QEP will assist in meeting challenges identified by educators, employers, and recent college graduates to provide students with greater opportunities to develop skills necessary for personal and professional success. The QEP will also assist in increasing meaningful interactions and long-lasting relationships between TWU students and community organizations - public, private, and non-profit.

Institutional Need

As illustrated in the student profile, TWU serves a large population of females and underrepresented minority groups. Research indicates minority and first-generation college students face unique and different barriers to academic success (Blankenship, 2010; Dolan, 2008; Kirby, White, & Aruguete, 2007; McKay & Estrella, 2008; Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010). Scholars also suggest women and minorities face similar challenges for academic study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (Espinosa, 2011; Ong, Wright, Espinsosa, & Orfield, 2011; Reyes, 2011).

Given TWU’s student population and desire to improve persistence and graduation rates among underrepresented minority groups, a QEP addressing both the unique challenges of the student population and the need to better prepare students for personal success and workforce readiness was warranted. Experiential learning is a key element in enhancing student engagement, and increased student engagement favorably impacts retention and graduation rates. Student engagement through experiential learning has been identified as a supporting factor for persistence to graduation, advanced study, and improved workforce readiness (Eyler, 2009; Hart Research, 2006, 2008, 2010; Kelly, 2011; Lee, 2007). Experiential learning through internships, service learning and civic engagement, and experiential research has also proven impactful in increasing persistence rates, graduation rates, and pursuit of advanced study in underrepresented minority groups (Dolan, 2008; Espinosa, 2011; Kelly, 2011; Stocks, 2011). Engaging



female students in experiential research has shown favorable results in transitioning women and underrepresented minority groups into the STEM fields (Espinosa, 2011; Higgins et al., 2011; Johnson, 2011; Jones, Barlow, & Villarejo, 2010; McDaniel, 2011; Ong et al., 2011; Reyes, 2011; Stocks, 2011).

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing offers new and enhanced opportunities for experiential learning at TWU. This QEP allows TWU to better prepare students for entry into the workforce and to strategically focus on increasing persistence and graduation rates through enhanced student engagement.

Timeline and Development of Topic

TWU’s QEP selection process has been broad-based, involving numerous faculty, staff, and students. The QEP topic selection and planning effort was conducted in three phases: information sharing and awareness, topic selection, and plan development. During development, the QEP evolved from a wide array of topics, to service learning, and then to a broader emphasis on experiential learning.

Phase 1: Information Sharing and Awareness

In Fall 2010, Dr. Barbara Lerner, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies & Academic Partnerships and TWU SACS liaison, conducted two informational sessions about TWU’s reaffirmation effort and requirements for the QEP. These sessions were open to the university community and were intended to raise awareness for the reaffirmation process and to initiate idea generation for a QEP topic.


Institutional Need, Topic Selection, and AlignmentDoingLearn by

In Spring 2011, a QEP Committee of faculty, staff, and students was formed to guide and manage the QEP development and selection process. Also during this timeframe, students enrolled in an Applied Business Environment course prepared a marketing model to generate awareness for the QEP and conducted a survey of faculty, staff, students, and alumni to identify potential QEP topic ideas. Students used various promotional avenues including town hall meetings, flyer distribution on all campuses, social media, Blackboard announcements, the QEP website, announcements on television monitors in the Student Union, direct email communication to alumni, and direct email to all TWU faculty, staff, and students. The students consulted university stakeholders, including the Faculty Senate and Student Government, to increase awareness for the QEP and to encourage survey responses. Guided by survey results and after conducting a qualitative thematic analysis of more than 1100 survey responses, the QEP Committee identified 12 potential concept areas:

• Critical thinking• Improved writing skills• Improved faculty training to improve student learning• Peer-to-peer mentoring for incoming freshmen• Utilization of technology to enhance course content• Information literacy• Enhanced research techniques and integration of research

across the curriculum• Global perspectives• Volunteerism and service learning• Improved communication skills• Enhanced and increased internship opportunities• Class sizes.



The QEP Committee initiated a call for pre-proposals on the 12 concept areas in April 2011. The call also invited pre-proposals on topics beyond the 12 previously identified. Criteria for pre-proposals included:

• Ability to enhance student learning in a well-defined, focused topic

• Ability to addressed a defined need for students• Centered on a concept that would excite and motivate TWU

constituents, including faculty, students, staff, and community members

• High probability of effective implementation over a five-year period, given institutional human and financial resources

• Specific and measurable student learning outcomes (SLOs)• A clear connection to the mission and strategic direction of

TWU.

Eleven pre-proposals were submitted to the QEP Committee for review in June 2011.

Phase 2: Topic Selection

In June 2011, the QEP Committee shifted focus from topic idea generation to topic development and selection. Using the pre-proposal criteria, institutional needs, and initial research on QEPs from other institutions, the committee evaluated 11 pre-proposals and recommended 6 for further development and expansion. Members of the university community were invited to form writing teams to expand the 6 pre-proposals. Individuals volunteered to serve, and self-selected the writing team for which they would serve. A summary of the six pre-proposals is provided in Table 1. In July 2011, the QEP Committee held a workshop for the writing teams to assist the teams in securing institutional data and in writing student learning outcomes. Many writing teams solicited input from the university community on their respective topic via direct emails and online surveys. The 6 pre-proposals were submitted for review to the committee in September 2011.

As part of its review process, the committee solicited input from the university community via the QEP website and an online survey in October 2011. The university community was provided with the Executive Summary and a full proposal for each of the six topics. The QEP committee also produced a video on each proposal topic and utilized the campus newspaper, university website, social media, campus banners, word of mouth, and focus groups to generate awareness and secure input on the topics. More than 1200 faculty, staff, and students responded to the online survey. In November 2011, the QEP Committee hosted an open forum on each campus to acquire additional input.



Table 1. QEP Six Finalist Pre-Proposal Topics

Pre-Proposal Title Summary

Communicate IT! (Later called iCommunicate:

The Power of Effective Communication)

Creation of a new undergraduate infrastructure incorporating successful technology use and written and oral communication skills throughout the undergraduate curriculum while preparing students for their professional life beyond TWU.

ICUC: Inspiring Cultural Understanding through

Creativity

Integration of multicultural elements across the curriculum using a module that consists of best practices and creative pedagogical techniques. Sought to strengthen institutional commitment to create culturally competent students and employees.

iPioneers Managing a World of Information: Building

Skills for Scholarship and Learning

Empower students to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively and form a basis for lifelong learning.

Enhancing Student Success and Career Sustainability through Quality Research

Skills

Enhance the student experience at TWU by providing students with the research skills needed for academic success as well as preparation for job sustainability and/or graduate school success.

Bringing Education to Life: Service Learning and

Student Success at TWU (Later called iServe: Learning by Doing)

Make for-credit service learning a defining focus and a signature activity at TWU and provide more institutional support for faculty and more service learning opportunities for students.

Sustainable Literacy Integrate sustainable principles and values into all aspects of education and learning, thereby giving TWU students the knowledge needed to address the social, economic, legal, human health and wellness, P-16 academics, cultural and environmental problems facing humanity in this millennium. A multi-disciplinary approach for integration into a coherent program of study was proposed using undergraduate research and civic engagement tools to increase student learning.



The Committee reviewed survey results and input provided through focus groups and open forums in conjunction with a custom rubric to evaluate proposals. Regardless of the topic, each proposal included a focus on preparing students for personal and professional success.

Two topics were strongly supported by the online survey results and by the QEP Committee: iServe: Learning by Doing and iCommunicate: The Power of Effective Communication. In December 2011, the QEP Committee highlighted the advantages and challenges of each topic and ultimately recommended iServe, a QEP centered on service learning. The Committee also recommended integration of elements included in other proposals that were aligned with service learning. The Committee acknowledged the challenge of measuring student learning outcomes for service learning, but felt strongly that service learning should be pursued given its potential to enhance student learning and address the institutional needs of TWU. The Committee recommended further refinement and development of the service learning topic. The QEP topic of service learning was approved by the Chancellor and President in late December 2011 and by the Board of Regents in February 2012. The topic identification process is highlighted and summarized in Table 2.

Phase 3: Plan Development and Pilot Project

In late February 2012, the QEP Committee transitioned from topic development and selection to a planning and advisory committee. The committee began refining and developing the service learning topic. Guided by input from the university community, the committee broadened the topic to experiential learning to ensure inclusion of all types of applied learning and to most appropriately represent the varied disciplines at TWU. In April 2012, TWU sought external expertise and guidance in developing the final plan. Dr. Veronique Tran, Director of the University of Houston’s Learning through Discovery QEP, conducted a two-day workshop centered on plan development, awareness generation, implementation, and assessment.

The committee met throughout Summer 2012 and entitled TWU’s QEP project Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing. During this time frame, the Provost requested applications from members of the university community to serve as Interim Director of the QEP. In late July 2012, an Interim Director for the QEP was selected from the pool of applicants. The Interim Director and committee held monthly meetings in Fall 2012 to finalize the plan, goals, and student learning outcomes, implementation and assessment strategies, and tactics for generating awareness for the QEP. The QEP planning and advisory committee also developed the QEP Pilot Project



Table 2. Topic Identification Timeline

Time Frame Action

Fall 2010 SACS Reaffirmation and QEP Informational Sessions

March 2011 QEP Topic Selection Committee formed with 2 faculty co-chairs, 10 additional faculty members, 3 staff members, and 2 students (1 undergraduate and 1 graduate) Applied Business Environment students conducted a university-wide awareness campaign and disseminated a survey to acquire topic ideas.

April 2011 First committee meeting conducted for data analysis of campus-wide survey; 12 potential topics identified and a call for 2-page pre-proposals distributed.

June 2011 11 pre-proposals were reviewed and were reduced to 6 semi-final topics; authors for the white papers were identified and team members were recruited.

July 2011 QEP Campus Workshop held for semi-finalist white paper authors on retrieving institutional data and writing student learning outcomes.

September 2011 6 white papers were received with massive exposure to staff, faculty, students, alumnae, and community members. Media included a videotape, newspaper advertisement, university website, Facebook, campus banners, word of mouth, and focus groups.

October 2011 Call for public comment from TWU community (staff, faculty, students, alumnae, and community members) conducted and survey placed online for ranking and discussion of the 6 semi-finalist topic proposals. Over 1200 interested parties participated in the online survey.

November 2011 Early November: QEP Topic Selection Forum held on all 3 campuses for TWU community feedback on 6 semi-finalist proposals.Late November: Final QEP Topic Selection Committee meeting to determine final topic(s). A topic centered on service learning was selected.



which began in January 2013. The Pilot Project is discussed in detail in the Assessment Plan section of this document.

TWU’s Foundation for Experiential Learning

TWU has a strong foundation in place for experiential learning. The University was recognized in 2007 as one of 16 universities nationally to participate in the Civic Agency Initiative. This initiative of the American Democracy Project of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities was designed to increase the level of community service and engagement among college and university students nationally. TWU also garnered national recognition when it was selected in 2010 as one of only six regional Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibility (SENCER) centers in the country.

As part of the Civic Engagement Initiative, TWU marketing students developed and administered an institutional assessment of community service and engagement in 2008. Approximately 500 TWU students, 79 faculty members, 107 staff members, and 17 administrators responded. Student respondents indicated high levels of personal satisfaction after volunteering in the community. Faculty respondents expressed strong support for community and civic engagement with 53% noting that such activity

Time Frame Action

December 2011 Early December: QEP Committee Co-Chairs met with SACS Leadership Team to present topic recommendations.Late December: Service learning topic approved by Chancellor and President.

February 2012 QEP topic approved by Board of Regents.QEP Committee transitions to plan development and advisory committee.

April 2012 QEP Workshop conducted by Dr. Veronique Tran, Director for the University of Houston’s Learning through Discovery Quality Enhancement Plan.

Summer 2012 Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing selected as title for QEP with a broad emphasis on experiential learning.



should be “very important” and another 43% indicating it should be “somewhat important” at TWU (Civic Agency Initiative, 2008). The 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) indicated that fewer than 20% of TWU freshmen “often or very often participated in a community-based project.” Given the demonstrated value of experiential learning in enhancing student learning, the QEP topic is particularly warranted. For example, Hurtado and DeAngelo (2012) indicated that “students who frequently participated in community service as part of a class in the first-year of college were also more likely to see gains of habits of mind… it is important to note that these campus practices were significant in changing students’ academic behaviors regardless of grades or prior abilities” (p. 18).

Faculty are key to establishing a culture of experiential learning throughout the institution because they design the academic learning experiences for students (Hurtado & DeAngelo, 2012). In the Fall 2011 QEP topic survey, to which 91 faculty responded, more than half indicated that they perceived their students benefited from increased job-related skills, self-confidence, and community awareness. Approximately one-third perceived their students benefited from increased employment opportunities. Additionally, faculty utilizing service learning in their courses reported enhanced professional satisfaction from their experience as instructors. While the overall support for experiential learning was strong, faculty also reported several challenges in cultivating these types of opportunities for students. Included among those were coordination of resources, collaborations, and faculty development. Faculty respondents identified a variety of incentives and resources that would facilitate and enhance experiential learning at TWU including:

• a master list of organizations with which to partner on experiential learning projects

• a university-wide system for addressing challenges and liability issues

• a dedicated individual for development and coordination of relationships with business and civic organizations.

The QEP will intentionally provide resources to faculty to improve results. Many TWU disciplines include a requirement for pre-professional experiences. For example, degrees in Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech/Language Pathology, education, and counseling-related fields require either clinical or practical experience for licensure or certification. Despite these requirements, TWU does not currently have a systematic, institution-wide strategy to support and assess experiential learning across all disciplines. Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing builds on the foundation of experiential learning at TWU and provides a centralized, institutionally supported plan for developing new opportunities and enhancing existing opportunities to equip students with knowledge, experience, and readiness to lead



personally and professionally fulfilling lives. The plan addresses the challenges outlined in the Fall 2011 QEP Topic Survey by establishing personnel to direct and coordinate experiential learning initiatives and incentivizing the development of new experiential learning opportunities and the enhancement of existing experiential learning opportunities.

Alignment

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing aligns with the institutional mission by increasing student participation in experiential learning opportunities and supporting pre-professional development. Experiential learning at TWU may include the following opportunities:

• Internships are typically discipline-specific “on-the-job training” in which a student earns course credit. Internships may also have a service learning or civic engagement focus when appropriate.

• Service Learning includes classroom, university, or student-organized community projects or activities. It also includes scholarly/creative activity that benefits, serves, and engages the community.

• Civic Engagement includes classroom, university, or student-organized civic projects or activities. These activities may also include scholarship and creative activity and are related to specific civic-oriented issues or community partnerships.

• Scholarship includes scholarly activities emphasizing experiential learning or collaborative civic or service learning-focused scholarship.

• Creative Activities include projects in the creative arts that provide students with real-life, hands-on experiences.

To achieve the goal of increased student involvement in experiential activities, the QEP will offer faculty and staff professional development focused on experiential learning pedagogies and assessment. Development activities will center on training and activities such as:

• designing experiential learning/research projects for: º undergraduate and graduate students º distance learners º non-traditional students º commuters º and other student groups with unique needs

• assessing experiential learning• conducting advising workshops targeted at programmatically

guiding students on the basis of their needs and risk factors• sharing best practices through forums and peer-to-peer

mentoring.

“Bank of Texas also supports Texas Woman’s University’s choice of experiential learning as their ‘QEP’. Employers who hire and engage TWU graduates will be a step ahead with the practical experiences their students have been able to acquire. We are also an advocate of the idea that various approaches to the process-one choice is not always a good fit for everyone – is timely and fitting. This particular plan provides options to the students and the potential employers.”

Norman P. Bagwell Chairman and CEO

Bank of Texas



Experiential learning also presents TWU with an opportunity to address its low persistence and graduation rates, particularly among underrepresented minority groups. In collaboration with the Division of Student Life, the QEP will offer pre-professional development opportunities for all students and special programs and initiatives specifically targeted at increasing persistence and graduation among underrepresented minority groups at TWU. Such programs will include:

• Face-to-face and online workshops and seminars on topics such as:

º Balancing academic life with social and personal commitments

º Maximizing study time º Interviewing strategies and protocols º Workplace ethics º Working in teams and effective collaboration º Linking coursework to personal and career goals º Managing financial obligations º Designing experiential learning research projects and

securing a faculty mentor º Preparing for and selecting a graduate school for

advanced study• Experiential learning funding for students engaging in

experiential projects and research• Summer bridge programs and peer-to-peer mentoring for

FTIC and at-risk students.

A more detailed explanation of QEP resources and support is provided in the Implementation section.



Mission and Core Values

TWU’s mission states:

Texas Woman’s University builds on its long tradition as a public institution primarily for women by educating a diverse community of students to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives. TWU prepares women and men for leadership and service through high quality undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on campus and at a distance. A TWU education ignites potential, purpose and a pioneering spirit.

TWU’s core values serve as the foundation for its mission and include:

Educational Opportunity: Supporting learning among engaged students from varied backgroundsScholarly Inquiry: Creating a community that encourages intellectual curiosity, creative expression, research, collaboration, innovation, and contributions of new knowledgeIntegrity: Cultivating personal and social responsibility, ethical behavior, respect for self and others, and accountabilitySuccess and Sustainability: Preparing students for purposeful lives and careers of leadership, service, and lifelong learning in an ever-changing worldStewardship: Developing and allocating resources to address immediate needs and ensure future opportunities.

With its emphasis on experiential learning, the QEP supports the institutional mission and core values. Its goals, student learning outcomes (SLOs), and institutional outcomes (IO) are highlighted in subsequent paragraphs and in Table 3.

QEP Goals

Goal 1: Develop and expand experiential learning opportunities focused on the success of students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.Goal 2: Integrate and align university infrastructures and resources that support collaborative and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities and student success initiatives.Goal 3: Cultivate and strengthen educational, civic, and business partnerships that increase opportunities for experiential learning, interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship, and creative activity.


Table 3. Alignment of QEP Goals, Student Learning Outcomes, and Institutional Outcomes with TWU Mission and Core Values

QEP Goal QEP SLO/IO TWU Mission Core Value

Goal 1: Develop and expand experiential learning opportunities focused on the success of students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.

SLO 1: Develop career and life skills related to the respective discipline.SLO 2: Identify practical, real-world issues and relate these issues to relevant coursework, programs of study, or life and career goals.SLO 3: Design and construct an appropriate action plan for acquiring the skills needed to continue to grow personally and professionally.

To lead personally and professionally fulfilling livesPrepares women and men for leadership and serviceA TWU education ignites potential, purpose and a pioneering spirit.

Success and Sustainability: Preparing students for purposeful lives and careers of leadership, service, and lifelong learning in an ever-changing worldEducational Opportunity: Supporting learning among engaged students from varied backgrounds

Goal 2: Integrate and align university infrastructures and resources that support collaborative and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities and student success initiatives.

IO 1: Integrate and align QEP efforts with university student success programs and initiatives.IO 2: Develop and offer professional development activities for faculty and staff that focus on experiential learning, assessment, and student success.

Prepares women and men for leadership and service . . . through high quality undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on campus and at a distanceA TWU education ignites potential, purpose and a pioneering spirit.

Stewardship: Developing and allocating resources to address immediate needs and ensure future opportunitiesScholarly Inquiry: Creating a community that encourages intellectual curiosity, creative expression, research, collaboration, innovation, and contributions of new knowledge

Goal 3: Cultivate and strengthen educational, civic, and business partnerships that increase opportunities for experiential learning, interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship, and creative activity.

IO 1: Integrate and align QEP efforts with university student success programs and initiatives.


Success and Sustainability: Preparing students for purposeful lives and careers of leadership, service, and lifelong learning in an ever-changing worldScholarly Inquiry: Creating a community that encourages intellectual curiosity, creative expression, research, collaboration, innovation, and contributions of new knowledgeEducational Opportunity: Supporting learning among engaged students from varied backgrounds



Table 3. Alignment of QEP Goals, Student Learning Outcomes, and Institutional Outcomes with TWU Mission and Core Values

QEP Goal QEP SLO/IO TWU Mission Core Value




Success and Sustainability: Preparing students for purposeful lives and careers of leadership, service, and lifelong learning in an ever-changing worldEducational Opportunity: Supporting learning among engaged students from varied backgrounds



Prepares women and men for leadership and service . . . through high quality undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on campus and at a distanceA TWU education ignites potential, purpose and a pioneering spirit.

Stewardship: Developing and allocating resources to address immediate needs and ensure future opportunitiesScholarly Inquiry: Creating a community that encourages intellectual curiosity, creative expression, research, collaboration, innovation, and contributions of new knowledge




Success and Sustainability: Preparing students for purposeful lives and careers of leadership, service, and lifelong learning in an ever-changing worldScholarly Inquiry: Creating a community that encourages intellectual curiosity, creative expression, research, collaboration, innovation, and contributions of new knowledgeEducational Opportunity: Supporting learning among engaged students from varied backgrounds




QEP Student Learning Outcomes


QEP Institutional Outcomes


Academic Strategic Plan

TWU’s Academic Strategic Plan (Appendix A) was developed collaboratively through the establishment of a planning/steering committee. To implement the plan, four cross-cutting committees representing each strategic direction and an overarching steering committee designed and recommended prioritized tactics for implementation. More than 100 faculty, staff, and administrators throughout the University, including the Faculty Senate, Council of Chairs, and Academic Council, participated in the development and implementation of the plan. TWU’s QEP aligns directly with Strategic Directions 3 and 4 of the Academic Strategic Plan:

Strategic Direction 3: Foster a learning environment focused on students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.Strategic Direction 4: Ensure stewardship of university resources through responsible operations and investments in the mission of the university.



Each strategic direction includes several strategic objectives with which the QEP aligns and supports:

Direction 3, Objective 2: Utilize learning outcomes assessment as part of systematic program evaluation to guide ongoing improvement in student learning and critical thinking.Direction 3, Objective 3: Support University initiatives such as curricular and co-curricular efforts in Global Connections, Wellness Connections, and Business Connections.Direction 3, Objective 4: Provide and strengthen university infrastructures that support teaching, learning, service, and scholarship, including access to scholarly information and instructional resources.Direction 3, Objective 5: Develop educational, civic, and business partnerships that enrich student learning, address community needs, and provide opportunities for service.Direction 4, Objective 1: Allocate academic resources, including physical space and technology, curricular and program resources, library, and financial resources, to best support faculty and student achievement.Direction 4, Objective 2: Allocate resources to preserve the reputation of recognized academic programs, strengthen growing and high demand programs, and develop promising programs, as determined by the academic community and guided by the mission of the university.

Table 4 highlights the alignment of QEP goals with the strategic directions and objectives in the Academic Strategic Plan.



Table 4. QEP Goal Alignment with Academic Strategic Plan

QEP Goal Academic Plan Strategic Direction

Academic Plan Strategic Directional Objective


Strategic Direction 3: Foster a learning environment focused on students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.

Direction 3, Objective 2: Utilize learning outcomes assessment as part of systematic program evaluation to guide ongoing improvement in student learning and critical thinking.Direction 3, Objective 3: Support University initiatives such as curricular and co-curricular efforts in Global Connections, Wellness Connections, and Business Connections.


Strategic Direction 3: Foster a learning environment focused on students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world. Strategic Direction 4: Ensure stewardship of university resources through responsible operations and investments in the mission of the university.

Direction 3, Objective 4: Provide and strengthen university infrastructures that support teaching, learning, service, and scholarship, including access to scholarly information and instructional resources.Direction 4, Objective 1: Allocate academic resources, including physical space and technology, curricular and program resources, library, and financial resources, to best support faculty and student achievement..Direction 4, Objective 2: Allocate resources to preserve the reputation of recognized academic programs, strengthen growing and high demand programs, and develop promising programs, as determined by the academic community and guided by the mission of the university..


Strategic Direction 3: Foster a learning environment focused on students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.

Direction 3, Objective 3: Support University initiatives such as curricular and co-curricular efforts in Global Connections, Wellness Connections, and Business Connections.Direction 3, Objective 5: Develop educational, civic, and business partnerships that enrich student learning, address community needs, and provide opportunities for service.



Community and Public Relations Outcomes (CPRO)

Many experiential learning opportunities may extend into the public domain and benefit both students and citizens in the community. Service learning and civic engagement aligns with TWU’s community and public relations outcomes (CPRO):

CPRO 1: Relate and extend degree programs and student development initiatives into the community.CPRO 2: Provide opportunities for students to develop leadership and service.CPRO 3: Provide opportunities for faculty to achieve service goals.CPRO 4: Benefit the community or public by sharing TWU’s experience and resources.

Table 5 highlights QEP alignment with TWU’s CPROs.

University Student Success Initiatives

The QEP aligns, supports, and integrates with numerous university student success initiatives. Planning for a curricular and co-curricular set of programs and resources, TWU is currently searching for a Director of the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence. The Director will work collaboratively with the Director of the QEP and QEP Advisory Council to strategically integrate and enhance QEP efforts and partnerships with student success initiatives.

The Director of the QEP and QEP Advisory Council will build upon existing partnerships with the Division of Student Life to integrate and align resources such as Volunteer Services and Career Services as well as other programs to enhance students’ experiential learning opportunities. Academic advisors will be regularly consulted to maintain awareness for the QEP and to encourage increased student participation.

Additionally, the QEP will integrate with numerous high-impact practices and resources supportive of student success at TWU including:

• AVID for Higher Education (Advancement Via Individual Determination; a program for underprepared students) – supports institutional efforts to increase student engagement

• MAPWorks (automated student success and retention system) – supports collaboration and coordination among student success initiatives to identify at-risk students and allows for tracking the impact of specific initiatives on student success

• Study Abroad – provides opportunities for students to gain experience and awareness in a global marketplace



• Experiential Learning Course Structure in Blackboard (online learning management system)– Blackboard course structure that encourages reflection, collaboration, and idea sharing through blogs and round table discussion

• Undergraduate Research initiatives including the Undergraduate Research Micro-grant Program.

State Initiatives

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) developed the Closing the Gaps initiative to ensure an educated population and workforce within the state. The initiative identifies goals in participation, success, excellence, and research; and each public institution in Texas strives to meet annual institutional goals and overall benchmarks in these areas as determined by THECB. In collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission, THECB tracks Gainful Employment rates for students graduating from public institutions in the state. With its focus on experiential learning, the QEP goals and SLOs align with THECB’s Closing the Gaps initiative, which focuses on increasing educational opportunities among underrepresented minority groups to meet the workforce needs of Texas.

Currently, House Bill 22 (HB 22) is under consideration by the 83rd Texas Legislature. Should HB 22 be implemented, it would create a program entitled Service to Texas in which each undergraduate student at an institution of higher education performs a minimum 20 hours of unpaid public service, effective September 1, 2013. The QEP aligns with HB 22; and the Director of the QEP, the QEP Advisory Council, and the Director for the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence would develop a more precise plan to incorporate the Service to Texas requirements as part of QEP implementation.



Table 5. Alignment of QEP Goals and SLOs with TWU Community and Public Relations Outcomes (CPRO)

QEP Goal QEP SLO/IO TWU Community & Public Relations Outcomes (CPRO)



Relate and extend degree programs and student development initiatives into the community.Provide opportunities for students to develop leadership and service



Provide opportunities for students to develop leadership and serviceProvide opportunities for faculty to achieve service goals.


IO 2: Develop and offer professional development activities for faculty and staff that focus on experiential learning, assessment, and student success.

Relate and extend degree programs and student development initiatives into the community.Provide opportunities for students to develop leadership and serviceBenefit the community or public by sharing TWU’s experience and resources.Provide opportunities for faculty to achieve service goals.


Literature Review & Best Practices

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing encourages experiential learning and opportunities for students to learn and reflect

on real-world experiences. At TWU, experiential learning may include internships, service learning projects, civic engagement, scholarship, and creative activities. The following overview of relevant literature highlights research regarding experiential learning and best practices in developing an institutional focus on experiential learning.

Value of Experiential Learning

Most employers, as well as recent college graduates, believe students need to balance general education with knowledge and skills in a specific field. Critical thinking and analytical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and the ability to understand varying perspectives on issues are among the traits valued by employers in evaluating job applicants. A majority of employers, however, believe that too many recent graduates lack the skills to be successful in the global economy. Experiential learning can help students integrate and apply skills and knowledge in “real- world” settings and situations, and thus accelerate their success (Hart Research Associates, 2006).

The benefits of experiential learning for students and students at risk have been well-documented among many disciplines (Dallimore, Rochefort, & Simonelli, 2010; Espinosa, 2011; Hagenbuch, 2006; Jarmon, Traphagan, Mayrath, & Trivedi, 2009; Jones et al., 2010; Kindelan, 2010; Martin, Fleming, Ferkins, Wiersma, & Coll, 2010; McKay & Estrella, 2008; Mirrer, 2010; Mundkur & Ellickson, 2012; Scovill & Waite, 2012; Teixeira-Poit, Cameron, & Schulman, 2011; Thiry, Laursen, & Hunter, 2011; Turnbull & Madsen, 2006). The generalized lessons of surveys of employers are reflected in trends in graduate and professional fields such as law. Although graduate programs such as medicine, nursing, and dentistry have long required extensive practical education, the legal field once resisted experiential education, except as a small and marginalized aspect of the curriculum. However, a growing trend in law school education today is to integrate the traditional focus on theory and case analysis with experience in learning to practice law. This cultural transformation, demanded by employers in a tight economy, is gaining momentum (McArdle, 2011). The law school experience extends to international practice, in which students at some schools now spend the fall on campus preparing for internships in subjects such as human rights



law, and then spend the spring working with local people on human rights issues around the world (Zeder, 2011). The incorporation of experiential learning into fields such as law illustrates its value in enhancing learning and preparation for the workforce after graduation.

Eyler (2009) suggests the benefits of experiential learning extend beyond the development of professional and work-place skills and include:

• “a deeper understanding of subject matter than is possible through classroom study alone;

• the capacity for critical thinking and application of knowledge in complex or ambiguous situations;

• the ability to engage in lifelong learning including in the workplace” (p. 26).

Various types of experiential learning have proven useful in attracting high-quality students and in enhancing student engagement, retention, and graduation rates among at risk students and in underrepresented minority groups (Blankenship, 2010; Kelly, 2011; Kurtz & Vazquez, 2010; Lee, 2007; McGlynn, 2009). Experiential learning provides a means to both enhance student engagement and to better prepare students for success after graduation.

Types of Experiential Learning

Experiential learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom in many forms. Discussed below are internships, community-related activities, and experiential scholarship and creative activity, which are the foundation for TWU’s QEP.

Internships as Experiential Learning

Internships represent a traditional and common form of experiential learning in which students gain “on-the-job” experience related to their respective discipline. Pierson and Troppe (2010) stress the importance of internships that allow students to integrate coursework with applied experiences. “Students do not benefit as much from mastering vast quantities of content as they do from learning how to synthesize and contextualize that knowledge” (Pierson & Troppe, 2010, p. 12). Similarly, in describing the impact of internships for students in Washington, DC, Alex-Assensoh and Ryan (2008) note “the specialized knowledge that students gain


Literature Review & Best PracticesDoingLearn by

during their internships is progressive, experience-based, and far deeper than they realize” (p. 34). Gavigan (2010) illustrates the importance of the internship experience for students in Wheaton College’s (Massachusetts) summer internship program and stresses “it is really the only opportunity for students to ‘try on’ a career, to apply and strengthen what they have learned in the classroom, to validate a chosen major or career path, and sometimes most important, to reflect and change directions while time allows” (p. 18).

Tremaine (2012) surveyed members of the defense acquisition workforce to assess factors impacting career readiness. While academic preparation was considered foundational, workforce and on-the-job training, as well as the ability to share knowledge and engage in information sharing with colleagues, was found to be most impactful on employees. Internships provide an ideal means for students to apply academic knowledge while gaining on-the-job training. The findings of the 2011 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Internship and Co-op Survey revealed that 40% of new hires stem from company internship or co-op programs (NACE, 2011, p. 1).

Internships, when integrated into academic learning, provide students with opportunities to engage in applied learning through problem-solving and critical thinking. Bridging the academic foundation with real-world, hands-on learning provides an impactful experience for students (Nutefall, 2012; Shoenfelt, Kottke, & Stone, 2012; Brundiers, Wiek, & Redman, 2010).

Connecting Experiential Learning to the Community

Jacoby (1996) describes service learning and civic engagement as “a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts in experiential learning” (p. 5). Some experiential education promotes civic engagement, a form of learning emphasizing students’ contributions to the community, while


“This program can expand existing partnerships between TWU and the local business and civic communities while allowing students the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of making a meaningful contribution outside the classroom as they complete their undergraduate or graduate degree plans.”

Paul Chandler President

Meridian Bank - Denton Market


connecting classroom and distance learning with professional practice in the real world. Service learning and civic engagement involve students “working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the skills, values and motivations to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes” (Civic Agency Initiative, 2008, p. 2) and may include such activities as helping to organize a town-hall forum, developing an action plan for Smoke-Free Denton, or participating in hunger awareness events.

Creating an institutional vehicle to connect community-focused experiential learning with the curriculum can develop reciprocal partnerships that produce long-term change in campus-community relationships. At Occidental College, for example, a model was developed that assessed faculty and community partner interest in service learning, built a leadership team of faculty and community partners, and then integrated service learning to connect the campus to the community (Avila, Knoerr, Orlando, & Castillo, 2010). These connections provided additional spaces for student service and learning as well as increased levels of appreciation and understanding between the college and the community.

Such experiential learning opportunities have the potential to improve the quality of life of residents within the community. At Pennsylvania State University, for example, students in a field project worked with poor residents of West Philadelphia to improve their health, build their sense of dignity, and promote a spirit of community. Students worked with the residents on “household economy” issues, helping them improve their lives through preventative health, home renovations, and green building and maintenance strategies (Yapa, 2009).

Increased student-community interaction may serve to counteract important trends in civil society noted by many social researchers. Institutions and actors composing the “public sphere” transform



information into relevant knowledge that may be used for public purposes and connected to practical action. In support of the public sphere, an “information ecosystem” developed, relying heavily upon discussion among various associations and dissemination of information through newspapers. Over the last 30 years, however, newspaper readership, attendance at community association meetings, and participation in community projects has dramatically declined (Levine, 2011). As Putnam (2000) suggests, citizens in the contemporary United States are increasingly “bowling alone” in their communities, rather than working collectively on common issues, problems, and challenges.

To rebuild the public sphere, the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy recommended strategies to promote community engagement, which included employing universities as community information hubs, generating public “relational” knowledge, and building networks to debate and defend public information and knowledge. These goals can be readily related to experiential learning. For example, communication students may promote the use of social media tools to share information with local communities. Students in library science may work with local public libraries and schools to provide needed information more readily to a broader and more inclusive population of consumers. Universities may serve as neutral hubs to sponsor, broker, and disseminate information to serve communities, and make a real investment in their welfare (Levine, 2011).

Experiential learning may promote civic engagement when students relate community service to its political context. For example, a class tutoring Montagnard adults and children relocated from Vietnam to the United States not only helped them learn English, but also involved students in assessing the limits of resettlement benefits for refugees, the processes to secure additional community services, and the role of churches in supplementing government issued benefits (Bloch-Schulman & Jovanovic, 2010).

Experiential Scholarship and Creative Activity

Engaging students in experiential research and creative activity reinforces academic knowledge and establishes a foundation for academic, personal, and professional growth. Student research experiences may extend beyond the classroom and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. Universities have recognized the benefits of experiential research for students and are increasingly incorporating such opportunities into the curriculum and institutional



offerings (Karukstis, 2010; Lopatto, 2010; Malachowski & Dwyer, 2011; Sheardy, 2010; Sloane, 2010).

Brundiers et al. (2010) examined experiential research in the sustainability field and suggest “a functional and progressive model of real-world learning opportunities seems most conducive to introduce students (as well as faculty and community partners) to collaborative research between academic researchers and practitioners. The stepwise process combined with additional principles allows building competencies such as problem-solving, linking knowledge to action, and collaborative work while applying concepts and methods from the field of sustainability” (p. 308). Similarly, Thiry et al. (2011) note, “Undergraduate science education should be augmented by student engagement in high quality, ‘real-world’ experiences that meet students broad range of interests, talents, and career goals. Well-designed experiences supplement classroom learning in many ways, but our evidence indicates that undergraduate research, in particular, is an integral source of such learning for future scientists” (p. 384).

In a survey of employers’ perspectives on college learning commissioned by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Hart Research Associates (2010) found that students’ “development of ability to conduct research and develop evidence-based analysis” was one of three educational practices encouraged by employers (p. 1). Educational pedagogies promoting “students’ acquisition of both depth of knowledge in their major and broad skills and students’ ability to apply their college learning in real-world settings” were also strongly endorsed (p. 1). Lopatto (2010) indicates the benefits of experiential research for students extend beyond potential employment and encourage personal growth. Benefits include “growth of self-confidence, independence, tolerance for obstacles, interest in a discipline, and sense of accomplishment” (Lopatto, 2010, p. 36).

Best Practices for Institutionalizing a Culture of Experiential Learning

The National Society for Experiential Learning identified eight principles for good practice when developing experiential learning activities. These include intention, planning, authenticity, reflection, training and orientation, monitoring continuous improvement, assessment and evaluation, and acknowledgement. These principles emphasize



the importance of intentional strategic planning and consistent evaluation to maintain and develop rigorous experiential learning opportunities for students. In developing effective engagement with communities through experiential learning, institutions must be sensitive to several practical challenges. These challenges include understanding the needs and goals of community organizations, effectively managing and evaluating student performance, and making the community service experience productive and meaningful. Soliciting and responding to community agency input is vital to both meeting community needs and fulfilling learning objectives (Tryon & Stoecker, 2008). Experiential learning requires active collaboration, coordination, and communication with community partners, who otherwise may perceive that they are being used as student laboratories without appropriate reciprocity (Vernon & Ward, 1999). Moore (2010) suggests that, when experiential learning is structured and designed appropriately, it can favorably impact student learning while enhancing the overall educational strength of the university. These type of experiences “have the potential to transform higher education, to broaden and deepen the nature of knowledge and learning that goes into college, and to alter the relationship between student and teacher and between university and community” (p. 11).

Dallimore et al. (2010) highlight Northeastern University’s emphasis on experiential learning as a best practices model. To maximize student learning and maintain a strong focus on experiential learning throughout the institution, Northeastern centers its efforts in four key areas:

• developing partnerships, both within the university and in the community

• providing support including resources and professional development opportunities

• developing student leaders by integrating experiential learning opportunities throughout multiple disciplines

• continuous assessment by regularly evaluating progress toward goals, recognizing efforts of individuals, and communicating support services and accomplishments.

In a case study examination of Merrimack College’s efforts to initiate and grow experiential learning, Cowart (2010) suggests



institutions should focus on several key elements as they move through the varying stages of experiential learning implementation. These include:

• generating awareness and “buy-in” among faculty and staff• developing sound strategic plans• establishing faculty and staff mentoring programs and support

groups• providing institutional support and resources including

development grants.

Donovan, Porter, and Stellar (2010) note the importance of developing experiential learning initiatives that encompass the breadth of the institution. Including faculty in the development of experiential learning initiatives is paramount to implementation. Professional development activities, including support groups and mentorship programs, and continuous monitoring and assessment of the plan is central to its success (Donovan et al., 2010).

Farrar-Myers and Dunn (2010), responsible for implementation of the University of Texas at Arlington’s QEP, note that, when implementing an institutional plan centered on experiential learning, leaders must consider university culture and use it as a foundation for plan development. Additionally, institutional plans should be purposeful, meaningful, and integrated with other initiatives (Farrar-Myers & Dunn, 2010). Similarly, Fleming and Schantz (2010), in highlighting the Odyssey initiative at Hendrix College, suggest that building on existing opportunities while creating new opportunities sets a strong foundation for implementation. Odyssey also encouraged student development of projects as part of its initiative. Donovan et al. (2010) support student development of such projects noting, “It is well demonstrated, especially at open houses or panel sessions, that students are good ambassadors for any program in which they have successfully participated. To stop there, however, would be to miss an opportunity for administrators to both get help in running the program and to offer students a chance for further growth in different contexts” (p. 93).

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing is grounded in theory and is guided by best practices in developing and implementing such experiential learning initiatives. The plan builds on the university’s strong foundation for experiential learning, addresses the needs of TWU’s students, and includes a platform for both faculty and student participation.


Leadership Structure & Implementation

The Director of the QEP will oversee and facilitate the implementation of the QEP. In doing so, the Director will

collaborate with various units to align resources and services to maximize QEP initiatives (Appendix B). The Coordinator of Experiential Learning will assist in implementing facets of the QEP and will coordinate various QEP initiatives. The Coordinator will also serve as a liaison to the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence and other university student success initiatives. A full-time faculty member will be added as an Assessment Analyst in Year 2 to assist with QEP assessment. This individual will receive a course release to serve in this role. A senior secretary will provide clerical and office management support for the QEP Leadership.

Figure 4 illustrates new organizational units and positions created to manage the QEP and highlights how the QEP interrelates with other university units.

QEP Advisory Council

The QEP planning and advisory committee will transition to the QEP Advisory Council in May 2013 and begin monthly meetings in Fall 2013. The purpose of the QEP Advisory Council is to support and provide guidance for the development, implementation, assessment, and marketing of the Quality Enhancement Plan (Appendix C). The QEP Advisory Council will be broad-based in nature including faculty, staff, administrators, and students. Responsibilities of the QEP Advisory Council are outlined below.

• serve as ambassadors and advocates for QEP initiatives university-wide and to the member units represented

• serve as liaisons to the units and organizations represented• ensure broad-based university participation and input for QEP

initiatives• review and recommend QEP initiatives and procedures• review, provide input and guidance, and make

recommendations for continuous improvement of QEP initiatives including the following:

º pilot projects º implementation º assessment º professional development º grant proposals and funding º honors and recognition º marketing of initiatives



º annual reports º QEP 5-year report º provide guidance and make recommendations for

integration and alignment of the QEP with other institutional initiatives

• provide input and guidance on issues, initiatives, and other elements as requested by the QEP Director or SACS liaison

• serve as requested on QEP standing committees and special committees.

Standing committees of the QEP Advisory Council include Professional Development, Assessment, and Grants & Recognition.

Professional Development: The purpose of this committee is to develop and provide input regarding professional development activities for faculty and staff and pre-professional development for students. It will also review proposals and recommend funding for QEP Mentors and Scholars.Assessment: The purpose of this committee is to review, provide input, and assist in the analysis of QEP assessments.

Coordinator, ExperientialLearning

AssessmentSubcommittee

Honors &Recognition

Subcommittee

Director, QEP

QEPExecutive

Team

QEPAdvisoryCouncil

ProfessionalDevelopment

Subcommittee

New Position

New Groups

Figure 4. Leadership and Support Structure of the TWU QEP


Leadership Structure & ImplementationDoingLearn by

Grants & Recognition: The purpose of this committee is to review grant proposals and make recommendations for funding. It will also review nominations and recommend honorees for recognition of QEP honors and awards.

In addition to the standing committees, the chair of each committee, a member at large, and the QEP Director will form the QEP Executive Team. The full organizational structure for oversight of QEP is depicted in Figure 5.

QEP Standing Committees

QEP Advisory Council

QEP Executive Team

Director of the QEP

Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies& Academic Partnerships

Provost and Vice President for Academic A�airs

Chancellor and President

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Figure 5. Organizational structure for oversight of QEP initiatives

Implementation

Building on Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Model of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation, TWU’s model includes a continuous cycle of theoretical foundations, experience, reflection, application, and active engagement to prepare students for personal and professional fulfillment (Figure 6). These elements are key to maximize the impact of experiential activities on student learning.



Central Elements of the Plan

The QEP implementation is appropriately focused on student and faculty development. To maximize the value of experiential learning for students and faculty, TWU has developed a comprehensive strategy consisting of three essential elements:

• student initiatives• faculty participation and development• partnerships.

These elements dovetail in a comprehensive model to integrate activities at the Academic Affairs – Student Life interface. The QEP is designed as a hub for student and faculty interactions and divisional interactions, as depicted in Figure 7. The QEP lies at the intersection of multiple student-focused efforts at TWU.

To maximize the value of any experiential learning activity, the QEP includes a plan for coaching students on appropriate professional behaviors and dispositions. To enhance students’ persistence and graduation, QEP

TheoreticalFoundations

Experience

Application

ActiveEngagement

StudentSuccess

Re�ection

QEP

Figure 6. TWU’s model for a continuous cycle for experiential learning (adapted from Kolb, 1984).



implementation also includes the development of programs that specifically target at-risk students.

Faculty must be trained in experiential learning pedagogies to provide a high quality experience for students. Professional development activities will provide faculty with the skill and resources necessary to ensure their success in motivating students.

Internal and external partnerships are pivotal in QEP implementation. The development of such partnerships benefits both faculty integration of experiential learning pedagogy and increases the number of experiential learning opportunities for students.

Figure 7. Academic Affairs –Student Life Interface



Student Initiatives

Pre-Professional Development

In collaboration with the Division of Student Life and the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence, workshops, seminars, and online training modules will be developed and offered that focus on topics such as interviewing skills, workplace ethics, balancing academics with social and personal responsibilities, budgeting and financial management, designing research projects and securing a faculty mentor, maximizing study time, and other appropriate topics.

Resources and Support

During Year 1 of QEP implementation, a strategic plan will be developed in consultation with the Division of Student Life and the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence. The strategic plan will serve as the foundation for development of additional student resources and support for engaging students in experiential learning activities. The strategic plan will include a focus on experiential learning activities specifically intended to increase engagement among at-risk students. The viability and effectiveness of peer-to-peer mentoring, summer bridge programs, and programs designed to enhance experiential scholarship will be considered.

Annual Showcase

Students will have the opportunity to network and share their experiences in an annual showcase. The experiential learning showcase event will feature experiential learning projects and recognition of excellent performance by individuals and organizations in experiential learning. The event will also highlight opportunities for future involvement in experiential activities and projects.

Experiential Student Scholar Program

During Year 1 implementation, criteria for an Experiential Student Scholar Program will be developed. The program will include elements such as engaging in experiential research projects with faculty mentors, mentoring of peers, a capstone project, and development of an online portfolio. Experiential student scholars will log a specific number experiential learning hours, and will integrate their experiential learning activities into their respective courses. The Experiential Student Scholar Program will be initiated in Year 2 of implementation.



Faculty Initiatives

QEP Enhanced Project Grants

QEP Enhanced Project Grants are intended to encourage the development of new experiential learning opportunities and the expansion of existing experiential learning opportunities throughout TWU (Appendix D). Faculty, staff, and student organizations are eligible to submit proposals. Interdisciplinary projects, collaboration among university units (including academic and non-academic), and partnerships with the community are strongly encouraged. Two categories of grants will be supported: QEP Enhanced Mini Project Grants and QEP Enhanced Major Project Grants.

QEP Enhanced Mini Project Grants are intended to support small-scale experiential learning projects. For example, mini grants may focus on experiential learning activities in initial development or activities in support of expanded knowledge in experiential learning.

QEP Enhanced Major Project grants are intended to encourage large experiential learning projects that provide new opportunities for experiential learning or strengthen existing experiential learning opportunities. Major grants may focus



on major unit or departmental initiatives, major disciplinary or interdisciplinary initiatives, expanded community partnerships, and projects that require additional resources to maximize experiential learning opportunities.

QEP Experiential Learning Fellows

The QEP Experiential Learning Fellows program will pair a faculty member (mentor) with extensive experience in experiential learning pedagogy with a faculty member (scholar) desiring to utilize or to enhance experiential learning pedagogy. The mentorship program provides incentive funding for both the mentor and the scholar to use in development or expansion of experiential learning project. Participants in this program must disseminate and share the results of their respective projects with the university community through faculty development sessions, university teaching and learning activities, mentorship programs, or other appropriate university forums.

Experiential Learning Professional Development Activities

Using the results of the Spring 2013 FSSE survey and data from the Pilot Project focus groups, the QEP Advisory Council will recommend professional development activities. Each year, this team will review data and recommend the amount and type of professional activities needed.

Development of Internal and External Partnerships

During Year 1 (2013-2014) of plan implementation, the QEP Advisory Council will develop a strategic plan for developing internal university partnerships and external partnerships with business and community organizations. These partnerships are intended to create bridges for faculty development and scholarship focused on experiential learning opportunities and to increase the variety of experiential learning opportunities for students. The initial process of identifying external partners has begun as represented by letters of support (Appendix E).

“Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton has partnered with TWU for more than five years to provide students with hands-on experience to cultivate and strengthen their skills in the hospital setting. This mutually beneficial relationship has assisted THDN and TWU in our efforts to elevate quality improvements and enrich the lives of people in our community. I am confident that you will find evidence of TWU’s commitment to the QEP project beyond the achievements of their students.”

Stan Morton President

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital



Implementation Timeline

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing will be implemented in three phases: Pilot & Planning, Initial Implementation, and Expansion & Enhancement. Currently, a pilot project is being conducted to evaluate the utility of the proposed QEP Assessments and to assess QEP processes. Modifications will be made as appropriate to prepare for implementation in Fall 2013. The QEP will be assessed annually, as outlined in the Assessment Plan, and modifications will be made as needed each year. The five-year implementation timeline for the plan is highlighted in Table 6.



Table 6. Implementation Timeline

Year Focus Actions

Year 02012-2013

Pilot & Planning • Conduct pilot project• Evaluate the utility of proposed assessments and examine

QEP processes• Analyze pilot data and make any necessary modifications

to the QEP plan for Year 1 (2013-2014)• Administer NSSE and FSSE to serve as a benchmark for

overall impact of QEP initiativesFaculty Initiatives• Develop QEP Enhanced Project grant criteria and invite

RFPsStudent Initiatives• Initiate discussions with Student Life and other units

regarding integration and alignment of student success efforts

Year 12013-2014

Initial Implementation

• Develop a strategic plan for securing internal university partners and external business and community partners

• Establish an external advisory board • Conduct a QEP experiential learning showcase event

featuring experiential learning projects, opportunities for involvement, and recognition of students, faculty, staff, and organizations for excellence in experiential learning

• Begin establishing a clearinghouse and repository for experiential learning opportunities

• Collaborate with students to generate a marketing plan for awareness and consumption of QEP services and resources

• Perform annual QEP assessment and conduct QEP Assessment Retreat

Faculty Initiatives• Develop the Experiential Learning Fellows mentorship

program and invite proposals for participation• Initiate professional development activitiesStudent Initiatives• Initiate pre-professional development workshops • Develop online training modules• Collaborate with Student Life to acquire additional student

data and develop a strategic plan for the development of programs specifically targeting at-risk students

• Develop and establish criteria for Experiential Student Scholar Program and invite applicants



Year Focus Actions

Year 22014-2015

Evaluation, Expansion, & Enhancement

• Seek internal and external business and community partners on the basis of the strategic plan

• Administer NSSE, FSSE, and the Graduate Student Survey• Conduct a QEP experiential learning showcase event



Faculty Initiatives• Expand professional development activities and

opportunities • Expand QEP Enhanced Project Grant Funding• Expand participation in the QEP Experiential Learning

Fellows mentorship programStudent Initiatives • Expand pre-professional development for students• Assess the viability of initiatives specifically targeted at at-

risk students such as Summer Bridge programs and peer to peer mentoring

• Pilot an Experiential Student Scholar program

Year 32015-2016


• Seek internal and external business and community partners on the basis of the strategic plan

• Conduct a QEP experiential learning showcase event featuring experiential learning projects, opportunities for involvement, and recognition of students, faculty, staff, and organizations for excellence in experiential learning


Faculty Initiatives• Expand professional development opportunities• Expand number of QEP enhanced projects• Expand participation in Experiential Learning Fellows

mentorship programStudent Initiatives• Expand pre-professional development • Expand initiatives targeted at at-risk students • Fully implement Experiential Student Scholar Program



Year Focus Actions

Year 42016-2017


• Increase number of internal and external partnerships• Fund QEP Enhanced Projects and initiate funding for

additional incentive programs if appropriate• Administer NSSE, FSSE, and Graduate Student Survey• Conduct a QEP experiential learning showcase event



Faculty Initiatives• Maintain participation levels in QEP Experiential Learning

Fellows mentorship program • Initiate additional mentorship programs for faculty if

appropriate• Maintain and enhance professional developmentStudent Initiatives• Maintain and enhance student pre-professional

development• Maintain and enhance initiatives targeted at at-risk students• Expand Experiential Student Scholar program

Year 52017-2018

Sustain or Modify • Sustain existing QEP efforts from previous years• Evaluate the overall impact of the QEP and determine

whether Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing will continue to be the focus of TWUs QEP for the next five-year cycle

• Determine modifications needed for enhancement and improvement for implementation in next five-year cycle


Assessment Plan

On the basis of the QEP Goals, the QEP planning and advisory committee identified and developed three student learning

outcomes, two institutional outcomes, and the assessment plan. The assessment plan includes both direct and indirect measures. In finalizing the assessment plan, the Interim Director for the QEP worked in consultation with the Director of Academic Assessment and Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Data Management. The assessment plan is multi-faceted and requires collaboration among multiple units to develop and utilize the appropriate assessment tools and to use data for continuous improvement of QEP initiatives and student success efforts.

Mechanisms to measure the outcomes of experiential learning courses include interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, surveys, and individual reflection through journals (Cooks & Scharrer, 2006; Driscoll, Gelmon, Holland, & Kerrigan, 1996; Kiely, 2005). With experiential learning, reflection is considered an essential link between community experience and academic learning (Ash & Clayton, 2009; Qualters, 2010a; Qualters, 2010b; Raelin, 2010). Eyler, Giles, Stenson, and Gray (2001) suggest, “Reflection is the hyphen in service learning; it is the process that helps students connect what they observe and experience in the community with their academic study” (p. 35). Reflection, then, “acts as a bridge between conceptual understandings and concrete experiences” (Felten, Gilchrist, & Darby, 2006, p. 38). Qualters (2010b) notes, “Reflection is the key to making the most of experiential learning. Only by seriously addressing reflection as a curriculum strand can we insure that students really do integrate and transform their experiences into meaningful learning” (p. 95).

Among the best practices for encouraging effective experiential learning are:

• providing structured opportunities for students to reflect critically on their experience

• articulating clear service and learning goals for everyone involved

• scheduling regular time for reflection• using journals and class discussions that encourage reflection

and critical thinking• providing guidance and clear instructions for all activities• communicating clear expectations and assessment criteria

(Goldsmith, 1996; Honnet & Poulsen, 1989).



In a meta-analysis of current research on service learning’s effectiveness, Hurd (2006) concludes that this type of learning, with properly designed reflection, deepens students’ understanding of course content while simultaneously developing “knowledge, skills, and cognitive capacities to deal effectively with complex social issues and problems” (p. 1). As a growing body of literature suggests, experiential learning may not only be appropriately used in traditional face-to-face courses, but may also provide great benefits to students in online and hybrid distance education courses (Bennett & Green, 2001; Jarmon et al., 2009; Munkdur & Ellickson, 2012; Strait & Sauer, 2004). Recent studies by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA affirm that curricular-based initiatives which include experiences that challenge students’ “embedded worldviews” are associated with improved civic awareness and the development of the complex thinking skills essential to living in a diverse democracy (Hurtado & DeAngelo, 2012).

QEP Pilot Project

To examine the utility of the assessment measures, a pilot project is currently in progress throughout Spring 2013. The QEP Pilot Project serves multiple purposes:

• to examine the assessment tools and determine their utility in assessment of QEP student learning outcomes

• to evaluate the process of assessment and determine its appropriateness

• to establish an assessment framework for implementation in Fall 2013

• to discover student and instructor perceptions of requirements for QEP participation and assessment tools and processes

Undergraduate students in UNIV 1011, KINES 4003, the student organization Enactus, the Honors Scholars Program, and the Leadership Institute are participating in the pilot project. Graduate students in sport management internships and doctoral students studying sport management are also participating in the pilot. Table 7 highlights the participation.


Assessment PlanDoingLearn by

Table 7. Student Participation in QEP Pilot Project

Unit Type of Experiential Learning

Freshman Seminar

UNIV 1011 Students log approximately 10 experiential learning hours as part of the course requirements.

Student Organization

Enactus (formerly Students in Free Enterprise) organization

focused on entrepreneurial endeavors, teamwork, and

sustainable business practices

Students engage in a service learning project in San Antonio Rio Hondo, Belize. Students focus on assisting citizens in the village with establishing sustainable business pursuits.

Upper Division

KINES 4003 Low Ropes Experiential Activities

Students create experiential learning activities appropriate for use in teaching elementary and secondary students and for use in athletic and workplace environments

Graduate

KINES – Sport Management Internships

Internships – Students perform various duties related to the specific internship and to the sport management field.

KINES Doctoral Students Scholarship – Doctoral students develop scholarship for presentation at the Texas Graduate Student Sport Management Symposium and at the TWU Student Creative Arts & Research Symposium.

Honors Scholars Program & Leadership Institute

Students in the Honors Scholars Program and Leadership Institute develop, create, and facilitate online discussion forums designed for students to share their experiential learning experiences and to assist in better defining their personal and professional goals



The pilot project utilizes several tools for assessment. Students, regardless of the type of experiential learning, complete a pre-experience reflection (Appendix F). Throughout the Spring 2013 semester, these students are engaging in an online discussion via Blackboard to share their respective experiences and perspectives. Students are also encouraged to write and maintain a weekly journal highlighting their experiences, but the journal is not required as part of QEP assessment. Students in the Honors Scholars Program and Leadership Institute will develop tips and checklists for maintaining a weekly journal. Online discussion serves as a reflective forum and learning activity designed to assist students in evaluating the appropriate personal and professional skills needed to achieve their respective goals. Students in the Honors Scholars Program and the Leadership Institute are developing, creating, and facilitating the online discussion for the other students participating in the pilot project. Students in the Honors Scholars Program and the Leadership institute will also complete the pre-experience reflection.

At the end of the experience, students will complete a post-experience reflection (Appendix G). The post-experience reflection will be evaluated and assessed by members of the QEP committee using a rubric (Appendix H). Students will also complete a post-experience survey to ascertain their perceptions of the skills acquired as a result of the experience (Appendix I). At the conclusion of the pilot project, assessment measures will be examined for their utility. In consultation with the Director of Academic Assessment and the Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Data Management, the Director of the QEP and the QEP Council will make any needed modifications to the assessment measures and overall assessment plan. Any necessary modifications will be made prior to Year 1 implementation. The Interim Director of the QEP will consult with faculty members and students participating in the pilot project to secure input regarding the experience. This input will be used in conjunction with assessment evaluation to make improvements prior to Year 1 implementation.



Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes

Measurable student learning outcomes were developed to support the purpose of the QEP and to align with TWU’s definition of experiential learning.

Through participation in a QEP Enhanced Project, students should:


The SLOs and proposed assessments are outlined in Table 8 and in subsequent paragraphs.

Direct Assessments

Pre- and post-experience reflections and project-embedded assessments will serve as direct assessments for QEP enhanced projects.

Pre- and Post-Experience Reflections

Students participating in QEP Enhanced Projects will complete pre- and post-experience reflections. Because of the variation among types of experiential learning projects, pre- and post-experience reflections will allow for a standard assessment of each experience, regardless of its nature. Although each QEP Enhanced Project will vary, each will align with the purpose and goals of the QEP and will focus on achievement of the desired learning outcomes. Reflections are a well-documented means for assessing student learning (Ash & Clayton, 2009; Eyler et al., 2001; Felten, 2006; Qualters, 2010a; Qualters, 2010b; Raelin, 2010) and, when linked to desired project outcomes, serve as a direct measure of assessment (Suskie, 2009).

The pre- and post-experience reflections (Appendices G & H) were developed using the model and framework of Ash & Clayton (2009) and their use of the DEAL model for critical reflection. The DEAL model centers on students describing concepts, examining concepts, and articulating learning. The DEAL model is appropriate for TWU’s QEP because it prompts applied learning by encouraging students to examine what was learned through their respective experience and how that learning occurred. The DEAL model prompts students to detail why the learning was impactful to them, how what they learned relates to their personal and professional



Table 8. SLO Assessment

QEP SLO Assessment Measure Assessment Type Timeline for Assessment

SLO 1: Develop career and life skills related to the respective discipline.

Project embedded by principal investigator

Direct End of experience

Student-led post experience focus groups

Indirect End of experience

Student post-experience survey Indirect End of experience

SLO 2: Identify practical, real-world issues and relate these issues to relevant coursework, programs of study, or life and career goals.

Pre- and post-experience reflection

Direct Pre- and post-experience

Project Embedded by Principal Investigator


Student-led post-experience focus groups



SLO 3: Design and construct an appropriate action plan for acquiring the skills needed to continue to grow personally and professionally.

Pre- and post-experience reflection

Direct Pre- and post-experience

Project embedded by principal investigator


Student-led post-experience focus groups





goals, and what next steps they may take to purposefully act on what they learned. The DEAL model and Ash & Clayton’s (2009) framework was used to develop and align the pre- and post-experience reflections to assess SLOs 2 and 3.

The pre-experience reflection serves as a baseline assessment of student perspectives about the experience and their respective life and career goals. The pre-experience reflection encourages students to think more critically about the experience, its relationship to their discipline, and the learning outcomes. The post-experience reflection serves as a culminating assessment of student perspectives and as a means to assess how student perspectives changed as a result of the experience. The post-experience reflection prompts the students to more comprehensively detail how the experience relates to their respective discipline and what actionable steps may be taken to help them achieve their life and career goals. When the Spring 2013 QEP Pilot Project is completed, the pre- and post-experience reflections will be assessed via an evaluation rubric (Appendix I).

Project-Embedded Assessment

Each QEP Enhanced Project (Appendix D) must include: 1) measurable student learning outcomes that align with QEP goals and student learning outcomes, 2) a project-embedded direct assessment measure for QEP SLO 1, and 3) utilization of designated QEP assessments. Because each project will vary in the nature and type of experiential learning, each project must include a direct assessment to measure SLO1 in addition to the QEP designated assessments. Project-embedded assessments will be used in annual QEP reporting and assessment.



Indirect Assessments

Post-experience surveys and student-led focus groups will serve as indirect assessments of the student learning outcomes.

Student Post-Experience Focus Groups

Students in the Honors Scholars Program and Leadership Institute will facilitate post-experience focus groups each semester. These students will receive training in designing, conducting, and facilitating focus groups. The Director of the QEP, the QEP Advisory Council, faculty, and appropriate units such as the Center for Qualitative Inquiry will provide student facilitators with guidance and training. Focus groups will be used as an assessment of student perceptions of the experience relative to the student learning outcomes and will also provide a forum for students to share and learn from others’ QEP experience.

Student Post-Experience Survey

Students will complete a post-experience survey (Appendix I) to assess their perceptions of the experience’s impact on their learning and on their respective life and career goals. The post-experience survey was designed specifically to align with and to measure the SLOs. The survey draft will be examined by experts in assessment and in experiential learning pedagogies prior to its dissemination as part of the pilot project in Spring 2013. The utility of the survey will be evaluated annually.

Descriptive statistics will be calculated and examined in aggregate form. In collaboration with the Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Data Management, additional analyses may be performed to provide a more robust examination and to continuously improve the instrument.



Institutional Outcomes

The QEP Committee developed two measurable institutional outcomes to support the purpose and goals of the QEP. Institutional outcomes include:


To maximize the impact of the QEP, it is imperative for QEP initiatives to align and integrate with other university student success programs and initiatives. This approach allows for pooling of resources and for maximizing each initiative’s impact on student learning. It also allows for integrated assessment efforts and continuous improvement of student success initiatives. TWU is currently developing the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence, and the QEP will align with the center via faculty development and resources focused on experiential learning pedagogies. The QEP office is planned to be housed inside the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence, and the QEP will provide a point of entry for students seeking professional development resources and support, funding, and opportunities to engage in experiential learning. The QEP will coordinate with the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence and the Division of Student Life to offer workshops focused on enhancing students’ personal and professional development via experiential learning.

Additionally, the university is currently examining the core curriculum for revision. The core curriculum must include assessment of students’ teamwork and personal and social responsibility. Discussions are ongoing regarding the potential to include the QEP as part of the university’s core. Core curriculum modifications must be submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for implementation in Fall 2014.

Equally important to alignment with student success initiatives is providing meaningful professional development opportunities that support faculty and staff in development and expansion of experiential learning opportunities for students. Data will be collected annually to assess progress toward both institutional outcomes. Additionally, results of the Spring 2013 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) as well as the Fall 2013 results of the graduate student survey will serve as benchmark data for assessment of institutional outcomes. Focus groups of project grant recipients will also be utilized annually to measure progress toward institutional outcomes and to assess the overall impact of the QEP. The IOs and proposed assessments are outlined in Table 9.



Table 9. Institutional Outcomes, Assessment Measures, and Timeline

QEP SLO Assessment Measure Timeline for Assessment


Annual Analysis AY 2012-13; Annually

FSSE Spring 2013, 2015, 2017

NSSE Spring 2013, 2015, 2017

Grant recipient focus groups Each semester

Graduate Student Survey Fall 2013, 2015, 2017


Annual Analysis Annually

FSSE Spring 2013, 2015, 2017

NSSE Spring 2013, 2015, 2017

Grant recipient focus groups Each semester

Graduate Student Survey Fall 2013, 2015, 2017



National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

The NSSE will be administered to undergraduate students in Spring 2013 to supplement current data regarding participation levels in experiential learning. Specifically, the NSSE will be used to determine the following:

• percentage of undergraduate students that have engaged in experiential learning at TWU

• differences in percentage of engagement on the basis of classification, FTIC, and transfers

• percentage of undergraduate students planning to engage in experiential learning

• differences in percentages among the populations of interest at TWU.

The NSSE will be used in conjunction with Graduate Student Survey to assess the following:

• differences in percentage of engagement between undergraduate and graduate students

• differences in percentage of graduate and undergraduate students planning to engage in experiential learning

• percentage of undergraduate students interacting with those of diverse opinions and backgrounds and how this percentage differs from graduate students

The NSSE will be administered again in Spring 2015 and Spring 2017 to evaluate the growth of experiential learning throughout the university on the basis of the aforementioned parameters. Research questions and alignment of NSSE items and the Civic Engagement module appears in Appendix J.



Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE)

The FSSE and its Civic Engagement module will be administered to instructors in Spring 2013 to acquire benchmark data, and it will again be administered in Spring 2015 and Spring 2017 to evaluate the growth of experiential learning pedagogies among instructors. Specifically, the FSSE will be used to assess the following:

• percentage of instructors engaging students in experiential learning

• difference in percentage of graduate and undergraduate instructors engaging students in experiential learning

• difference in percentage of instructors engaging students in experiential learning on the basis of course delivery type (i.e., online, hybrid, and face-to-face delivery)

• overall faculty perceptions of experiential learning at TWU• differences in perceptions of experiential learning among

faculty.

Research questions and alignment of FSSE items and the Civic Engagement module may be viewed in Appendix K.



TWU Graduate Student Survey

Currently, the TWU Graduate School is developing a graduate student survey. Because the NSSE and FSSE focus on the undergraduate population, questions will be added to the TWU graduate student survey to assess graduate student engagement in experiential learning. Specifically, the questions will assess:

• percentage of graduate students that have engaged in experiential learning at TWU

• differences in percentage of engagement between undergraduate and graduate students

• percentage of graduate students planning to engage in experiential learning

• differences in percentage of graduate and undergraduate students planning to engage in experiential learning

• percentage of graduate students interacting with those of diverse opinions and backgrounds and how this percentage may differ from undergraduate students.

The survey will be administered in Fall 2013 to acquire benchmark data. The survey will be administered again in Fall 2015 and Fall 2017 to evaluate the growth of experiential learning at the graduate level.

Annual Analysis

In consultation with the Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Data Management, an annual analysis will be conducted to assess overall impact of the QEP on faculty and students.

Analysis will examine the following:

• number of faculty participating in professional development activities focused on student learning

• expansion of experiential learning opportunities provided for students

• expansion of student resources and support focused on experiential learning

• persistence and graduation rates among those participating in QEP enhanced projects, programs, and other initiatives

• development of internal and external partnerships centered on expanding experiential learning opportunities for students

• number of students engaged in experiential learning activities• number of faculty utilizing experiential learning pedagogies.

Annual Reporting and Dashboarding

The Director of the QEP assumes primary responsibility for QEP assessment and will work collaboratively with the QEP Advisory Council to coordinate an annual QEP Assessment retreat. The



purpose of the QEP Assessment retreat is to review the QEP assessment data and make recommendations for improvement to the assessment plan. The Director of the QEP and the QEP Advisory Council will work collaboratively with various university units in making recommendations and implementing improvements to the assessment plan.

In addition to annual review of the QEP Assessment Plan, the Director of the QEP, in consultation with the QEP Professional Development Committee, will conduct an annual evaluation of professional development activities and make recommendations for improvements and additional professional development activities.

The Director of the QEP, in collaboration with the QEP Advisory Council, will provide an annual QEP report to the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Academic Partnerships, the SACS liaison, the Provost, and the university community. In addition, availability of information to both internal and external constituencies is imperative; thus, a website with up-to-date dashboards of QEP metrics will be developed.


Budget Justification

The draft budget was developed in Fall 2012 to outline the fiscal resources necessary to fully implement the QEP. The Interim

Director of the QEP developed the budget in consultation with the QEP Committee, the SACS liaison, and the Provost.

The budget illustrates TWU’s institutional commitment and support for the QEP. The budget grows each year to accommodate anticipated growth and participation in the QEP. Increased funds are included annually for QEP Enhanced Projects and the Experiential Learning Fellows mentorship program. Each component of the budget is discussed in subsequent paragraphs.

Personnel

Director

The Director of the QEP is a full-time position. The Director is responsible for overseeing and facilitating the development and implementation of TWU’s QEP. The Director will work in consultation with administrators, faculty, staff, instructors, students, and university units to administer and evaluate the QEP.

Experiential Learning Coordinator

The Experiential Learning Coordinator will assist in implementing all facets of the QEP and will coordinate various QEP initiatives. The Coordinator will also serve as a liaison to the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence and other university student success initiatives.

Assessment Analyst

In Year 2, an Assessment Analyst will be added to the QEP Leadership Team to assist with assessment of QEP initiatives and projects. A full-time faculty member will serve in this role and will receive a course release.

Senior Secretary

A senior secretary will provide clerical and office management support for the QEP Leadership Team.



Maintenance and Operations (M&O)

M&O will be utilized to purchase necessary software for implementation and database management and supplies. Funds will also be used to recognize faculty, staff, and students for excellence in experiential learning, for professional development, and for assessment costs. M&O funds will be used to provide funding for QEP Enhanced Project Grants, the Experiential Learning Fellows mentorship program, Experiential Student Scholar Program, and the annual Experiential Learning Showcase.

Travel

Travel funds will be used for the QEP Leadership team to attend professional conferences and for travel associated with the development of internal and external partnerships. Students and faculty will be funded as appropriate to attend and present at professional conferences.

Marketing

Marketing funds will be utilized to promote QEP incentives, professional development, resources, and support to faculty, staff, and student organizations. Some strategies include promotional giveaways, flyers, student produced videos, posters, banners, and speaking engagements.

Capital

Capital funds will be used to purchase office equipment to support the QEP.


Budget JustificationDoingLearn by

FRINGES

PERSONNEL

M & O

TRAVEL

MARKETING

CAPITAL

FY 14 - Year 1 FY 15 - Year 2 FY 16 - Year 3 FY 17- Year 4 FY 18 - Year 5A Director (Faculty PhD Level TBD) $85,000 $86,700 $88,434 $90,203 $92,007 AB Faculty release (estimated cost of one adjunct each FA/SP semester) 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 BC Senior Secretary (@ .50 FTE Year 1; Full time Year 2-5) 13,000 26,023 26,543 27,074 27,616 CD Coordinator (Start in Spring 2014) 20,000 40,800 41,616 42,448 43,297 DE GRA @ doctoral level 20,334 E

PERSONNEL TOTAL 118,000 160,523 163,593 166,725 190,254 F Director @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 23,450 23,739 24,034 24,334 24,641 FG Faculty release @ 17% 1,190 1,190 1,190 1,190 GH Senior Secretary @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 11,210 13,424 13,512 13,603 13,695 HI Coordinator @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 12,400 15,936 16,075 16,216 16,360 IJ GRA @ 8% + $250 / mo health insurance 4,627 J

FRINGE BENEFITS TOTAL 47,060 54,289 54,811 55,343 60,513 K Sofware 1,500 1,500 2,000 2,000 2,000 KL Supplies 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 LM Honor Cords 500 500 500 500 500 MN Experiential Learning Awards 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 NO External expertise 2,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 OP Assessment 1,500 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 PQ Experiential Learning Fellows 8,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 7,000 QR Mini Project Grants 5,500 7,500 7,500 10,000 12,500 RS Major Project Grants 7,500 11,250 15,000 18,750 22,500 ST Experiential Student Scholar Program 4,000 4,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 TU Experiential Learning Showcase Event 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 U

M&O TOTAL 39,000 44,250 51,500 59,750 67,000 TRAVEL TOTAL 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 MARKETING TOTAL 6,500 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000

V Desktop computers (1) 1,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 VW Laptop 1,000 1,000 WX All-in-one laser printer/copier 2,000 2,000 X

CAPITAL TOTAL 4,000 1,000 5,000 1,000 TOTAL $219,060 $269,562 $279,404 $296,318 $328,267



FY 14 - Year 1 FY 15 - Year 2 FY 16 - Year 3 FY 17- Year 4 FY 18 - Year 5A Director (Faculty PhD Level TBD) $85,000 $86,700 $88,434 $90,203 $92,007 AB Faculty release (estimated cost of one adjunct each FA/SP semester) 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 BC Senior Secretary (@ .50 FTE Year 1; Full time Year 2-5) 13,000 26,023 26,543 27,074 27,616 CD Coordinator (Start in Spring 2014) 20,000 40,800 41,616 42,448 43,297 DE GRA @ doctoral level 20,334 E

PERSONNEL TOTAL 118,000 160,523 163,593 166,725 190,254 F Director @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 23,450 23,739 24,034 24,334 24,641 FG Faculty release @ 17% 1,190 1,190 1,190 1,190 GH Senior Secretary @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 11,210 13,424 13,512 13,603 13,695 HI Coordinator @ 17% + health insurance @ $750 / mo 12,400 15,936 16,075 16,216 16,360 IJ GRA @ 8% + $250 / mo health insurance 4,627 J

FRINGE BENEFITS TOTAL 47,060 54,289 54,811 55,343 60,513 K Sofware 1,500 1,500 2,000 2,000 2,000 KL Supplies 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 LM Honor Cords 500 500 500 500 500 MN Experiential Learning Awards 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 NO External expertise 2,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 OP Assessment 1,500 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 PQ Experiential Learning Fellows 8,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 7,000 QR Mini Project Grants 5,500 7,500 7,500 10,000 12,500 RS Major Project Grants 7,500 11,250 15,000 18,750 22,500 ST Experiential Student Scholar Program 4,000 4,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 TU Experiential Learning Showcase Event 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 U

M&O TOTAL 39,000 44,250 51,500 59,750 67,000 TRAVEL TOTAL 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 MARKETING TOTAL 6,500 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000

V Desktop computers (1) 1,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 VW Laptop 1,000 1,000 WX All-in-one laser printer/copier 2,000 2,000 X

CAPITAL TOTAL 4,000 1,000 5,000 1,000 TOTAL $219,060 $269,562 $279,404 $296,318 $328,267


“We advocate that clinical experiences and internships are mutually beneficial and essential in providing practical, on-the-job learning, as well as helping insure meaningful employment following graduation.”

E.C Fremaux Chair of the Board

Denton Chamber of Commerce

Charles W. Carpenter President

Denton Chamber of Commerce

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing includes elements for students and faculty, with a focus on building internal and

external partnerships. The project will provide students with experiential learning opportunities that enhance their knowledge, skills, and readiness to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives. The QEP focuses on experiential learning with an emphasis on service learning, internships, co-curricular collaboration, scholarship, and creative activities.

Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing builds on the foundation of experiential learning at TWU and provides a centralized, institutionally supported plan for developing new opportunities and enhancing existing experiential learning opportunities. The plan is student-focused and faculty-driven with broad university impact. It aligns with TWU’s institutional mission, supports the Academic Strategic Plan, and integrates with numerous existing student success initiatives.

Learning by doing and applying theory to practice is considered crucial for student success in an ever changing, increasingly connected, and global world. Graduates face complex challenges that require skills in critical thinking and problem solving, a greater awareness and appreciation for multiple perspectives, and collaboration and teamwork with diverse individuals to achieve common goals. Experiential learning provides an ideal means for equipping students with these skills.

Conclusion


References

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reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25-48.Avila, M., Knoerr, A., Orlando, N., & Castillo, C. (2010). Community organizing practices in academia:

A model, and stories of partnership. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 14(2), 37-63.

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Appendix A

Academic Strategic Plan 2011-2014 Strategic Direction 1:

Pursue planned growth based on academic priorities that address opportunities for students, and pressing needs of Texas, while maintaining excellence in the diverse fields that support such growth.

Objective 1: Pursue targeted enrollment growth at levels that can be adequately supported, and that will promote the state’s emphasis on student retention and timely graduation by strengthening undergraduate student academic qualifications.

Objective 2: Pursue targeted growth to emphasize graduate program growth, hybrid course delivery, and no more than 35% of SCHs through distance education offerings.

Objective 3: Maintain academic integrity and diversity by creatively consolidating “low-producing programs,” or, if necessary, phasing them out to comply with THECB mandates.

Objective 4: Establish a process to develop new programs for emerging fields that meet the needs of the state and are consistent with the mission of the university.

Strategic Direction 2:

Support excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service to recruit and retain students and faculty, and to increase institutional recognition.

Objective 1: Increase external research grant awards to $3 million annually (currently $1.8mm) and total external funding to $6.9 million annually (currently $5.7mm).

Objective 2: Strategically target some internal research funding to position TWU for further recognition and success in scholarly and creative achievements.

Objective 3: Increase the number of faculty participating in the Chancellor’s Research Fellows program, and broaden its vision.

Objective 4: Increase publications and other peer-reviewed scholarship, as defined by the THECB’s 18 Characteristics of Doctoral Programs, on a targeted basis by providing faculty with additional funding or support, such as teaching or research assistants, or workload adjustments.

Objective 5: Expand recognition of TWU as a source of knowledge about women and women’s issues.

Objective 6: Support and recognize excellence in teaching and service that emphasizes the university’s mission and academic vision.


Appendix A


Foster a learning environment focused on the success of students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world

Objective 1: Increase 5-year average THECB success rates by 2%, emphasizing the role of faculty involvement in student retention.

Objective 2: Utilize learning outcomes assessment as part of systematic program evaluation to guide ongoing improvement in student learning and critical thinking.

Objective 3: Support university initiatives such as curricular and co-curricular efforts in Global Connections, Wellness Connections, and Business Connections.

Objective 4: Provide and strengthen university infrastructures that support teaching, learning, service, and scholarship, including access to scholarly information and instructional resources.

Objective 5: Develop educational, civic, and business partnerships that enrich student learning, address community needs, and provide opportunities for service.

Objective 6: Promote an awareness and appreciation for the richness that is brought by embracing all forms of diversity and multicultural perspectives.


Ensure stewardship of university resources through responsible operations and investments in the mission of the university.

Objective 1: Allocate academic resources, including physical space and technology, curricular and program resources, library, and financial resources, to best support faculty and student achievement.

Objective 2: Allocate resources to preserve the reputation of recognized academic programs, strengthen growing and high demand programs, and develop promising programs, as determined by the academic community and guided by the mission of the university.

Objective 3: Allocate resources to adequately fund summer sessions and distance education based on student interests and needs.

Approved: 5/9/11


Appendix BDirector of the QEP – Job Description

Job Summary The Director of the QEP oversees and facilitates the development and implementation of TWU’s Quality Enhancement plan. The Director works in consultation with administrators, faculty, staff, instructors, students, and other university units to administer and evaluate the QEP. Reporting The Director of the QEP reports to the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies & Academic Partnerships in the Division of Academic Affairs. Essential Responsibilities

• Facilitate and oversee the development and implementation of TWU’s Quality Enhancement Plan including professional development, assessment, grants and recognition and other quality enhancement initiatives;

• Facilitate collaboration among university units to implement QEP initiatives and in determining issues to address regarding quality enhancement;

• Assign and coordinate committees utilized for implementing and evaluating the QEP; • Serve as a primary resource for faculty, staff, and students in providing technical and

operational support to departments and units and respond to requests for assistance, data, and analyses;

• Disseminate QEP information such as deadlines, assessment, and plan evaluation to the Division of Academic Affairs and the university community;

• Manage QEP data, assessment, documentation, and reporting, including distribution of an annual report to the university community;

• Administer professional development program related to the QEP and other quality enhancement efforts in conjunction with the QEP Advisory Team and the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence;

• Assess and recommend personnel needs and fiscal resources necessary for QEP implementation;

• Market and promote QEP initiatives; • Collaborate with the Office of Institutional Improvement and Institutional Research and

Data Management to conduct annual QEP evaluation and assessment and to ensure quality processes for quality enhancement initiatives;

• Ensure QEP alignment with SACS standards; • Develop and submit a 5 year report and evaluation to SACS and the university

community; • Serve as Chair of the QEP Advisory Team and make regular reports to this group.

Minimum Qualifications

• Earned doctorate degree and experience demonstrating knowledge of teaching and assessment;

• Knowledge of SACS standards and guidelines for QEP implementation; • Knowledge of SACS standards and requirements for Institutional Effectiveness and

Planning; • Experience developing and assessing student learning outcomes; • Experience writing reports; • Ability to apply appropriate research methodologies, analyze data, and use data to

improve processes and procedures; • Experience managing and leading committees; • Experience facilitating cooperation among diverse groups; • Experience in planning and development of university initiatives; • Five (5) years undergraduate/graduate teaching experience


Appendix CTexas Woman’s University

QEP Advisory Council BYLAWS

ARTICLE 1: NAME AND INCEPTION Beginning in May 2013 (Year 1 of QEP Implementation), the former QEP Planning and Advisory Committee will be known as the QEP Advisory Council and will operate under the QEP Advisory Council Bylaws. ARTICLE 2: PURPOSE The purpose of the QEP Advisory Council is to support and provide guidance for the development, implementation, assessment, and marketing of the Quality Enhancement Plan. Responsibilities of the QEP Advisory Council are outlined below.

• Serve as ambassadors and advocates for QEP initiatives university wide and to the member units represented;

• Serve as liaisons to the units and organizations represented; • Ensure broad-based university participation and input for QEP initiatives; • Review and recommend QEP initiatives and procedures; • Review, provide input and guidance, and make recommendations for continuous

improvement of QEP initiatives including the following: o Pilot Projects; o Implementation; o Assessment; o Professional Development; o Grant Proposals and Funding; o Honors & Recognition; o Marketing of Initiatives; o Annual Reports; o QEP Five Year Report

• Provide guidance and make recommendations for integration and alignment of the QEP with institutional initiatives;

• Serve as requested on QEP standing committees and special committees; • Provide input and guidance on issues, initiatives, and other elements as requested by

the QEP Director or SACS liaison.


Appendix CARTICLE 3: STANDING COMMITTEES Members should be elected to the following standing committees. Professional Development: The purpose of this committee is to develop and provide input regarding professional development activities for the advancement of QEP initiatives. It will also review proposals and recommend funding for QEP Mentors and Scholars. The professional development committee will also establish criteria for the Experiential Student Scholar program and recommend activities for students’ pre-professional development. Assessment: The purpose of this committee is to review, provide input, and assist in the analysis of QEP Assessments. Grants & Recognition: The purpose of this committee is to review grant proposals and make recommendations for funding. It will also review nominations and recommend honorees for recognition of QEP honors and awards. Section 4.1 Standing Committee Leadership At the beginning of each academic year, each standing committee shall elect a chair and vice-chair. The Chair of each standing committee shall serve as a member of the QEP Executive Team. ARTICLE 4: SPECIAL COMMITTEES The QEP Executive Team shall form special committees as needed. When forming a special committee, the QEP Executive Team shall seek nominations for appointment from the full QEP Advisory Council. ARTICLE 5: MEMBERSHIP Section 5.1 Faculty Representation The Provost shall appoint 18 faculty representatives to the committee. The number of faculty members per college is determined by the percentage of total credit hour generation (both undergraduate and graduate) for the respective college as of May 2013. Every two years thereafter, the allocation of representation will be reassessed on the basis of total credit hour generation (both undergraduate and graduate). Each College should have a minimum of two (2) representatives, and the Libraries should have at least one (1) representative. Special consideration should be made to appoint individuals that may also serve as representatives for the Dallas and Houston campuses. At least one representative from the Faculty Senate should be appointed in consultation with the Speaker of the Faculty Senate. Section 5.2 Staff Representation The Provost shall appoint the following staff representatives: One (1) representative from Staff Council from different units, in consultation with the President of the Staff Council;


Two (2) representatives from the Division of Student Life, in consultation with the Dean of Student Life; One (1) representative from the Office of Teaching and Learning with Technology, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning with Technology; Section 5.3 Administrative Representatives The Provost shall appoint the following administrative representatives: One (1) representative from the Council of Chairs, in consultation with the Chair of the Council of Chairs; One (1) representative from the Academic Council, in consultation with the Senior Associate Provost Section 5.4 Student Representatives The Provost shall appoint the following administrative representatives: One (1) representative from the Student Government Association, in consultation with the Dean of Student Life and Student Government Association President; One (1) undergraduate student representative, in consultation with the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies & Academic Partnerships; One (1) graduate student representative, in consultation with the Dean of the Graduate School Section 5.5 Standing Members The Provost shall appoint the following standing members: QEP Director; Director of the Pioneer Center for Student Excellence; Director of Academic Success Section 5.6 Ex Officio members The Provost shall appoint the following Ex-Officio members. Ex-Officio members provide guidance and support for QEP initiatives and are non-voting members of the QEP Advisory Team. QEP Project Coordinator; Assessment Coordinator; Director of Academic Assessment; Assistant Provost for Institutional Research & Data Management; Director of Corporate and Community Relations Additional ex-officio members may be appointed as deemed appropriate by the QEP Advisory Council, SACS liaison, and Provost. Section 5.7 Officers At the beginning of each academic year, the QEP Advisory Council shall elect one (1) member to serve as Member at Large on the Executive Team as a representative for the full committee. Section 5.8 QEP Executive Team The QEP Executive Team serves as the Executive Leadership group for the QEP Advisory Council. The QEP Director shall serve as Chair of the QEP Advisory Council and Executive Team. The Executive Team shall consist of the following Advisory Council members:

Appendix C


QEP Director; Chair, Professional Development Committee Chair, Assessment Committee Chair, Grants & Recognition Committee Member at Large. ARTICLE 6: TERMS OF SERVICE AND ROTATION To maintain continuity in QEP implementation, current members of the former QEP Planning and Advisory Committee should be granted first right of refusal for appointment to the QEP Advisory Council in May 2013. Additional members should be appointed in May 2013 on the basis of Article 6. Members serve one-year terms, beginning in the Fall semester. Members may not serve more than two consecutive one-year terms. Former members of the Advisory Team may serve again in the future after a one-year absence. Section 6.1 Appointment Members should be appointed every May for the coming Academic Year. Section 6.2 Unexpired Terms of Service If a member must resign or cannot fulfill the terms of service, the Provost will appoint a replacement in consultation with the appropriate Unit administrator and in accordance with Article 6. ARTICLE 7: MEETINGS The Advisory Council will meet each month beginning September through May of each academic year. Meeting dates and times will be determined in May prior to appointment of committee members. Currently, meetings are scheduled the first Friday of every month from 1:30 – 3 pm. The QEP Director, as Chair of the Advisory Council, will set the agenda in consultation with the QEP Executive Team. Agenda packets should be shared with the QEP Advisory Council at least four (4) business days in advance of the regularly scheduled meeting. Special meetings may be scheduled as necessary. QEP Advisory Council meetings are open to the university community and general public. Section 7.1 Quorum For the purposes of QEP meetings, a quorum is defined as 51% of eligible voting members. Voting shall not occur without a quorum. Section 7.2 Executive Team Meetings The QEP Executive shall meet monthly to report and assess QEP initiatives and to set the agenda for QEP Advisory Council monthly meetings. Section 7.3 Committee Meetings Standing committees should meet monthly or as necessary to fulfill the duties and responsibility of the committee.

Appendix C


Section 7.4 Proxies for Voting Members of the Advisory Team may vote by proxy if unable to attend a meeting. Members wishing to utilize a proxy must submit written notification of the proxy to the QEP Director. Eligible proxies are current voting members of the QEP Advisory Council. Section 7.5 Meeting Minutes Meeting minutes shall be published on the QEP website and kept on file in the QEP Director’s office or in the office of the SACS liaison. ARTICLE 8: CHANGES TO ADVISORY TEAM BYLAWS The Bylaws may be amended at any QEP Advisory Council full meeting by a two-thirds vote. To vote on amendments to the bylaws, the following conditions must be met: A quorum (51% of eligible voting members) of voting members must be present; Proposed amendments were submitted and reviewed at a previous QEP Advisory Council full meeting; Proposed amendments are included as an item on the agenda. ARTICLE 9: ANNUAL REPORTING AND RECOMMENDATIONS At the end of each Academic Year and no later than July 1 of each year, the QEP Director, in consultation with the QEP Executive Team, will submit to the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies & Academic Partnerships, the SACS liaison, the Provost, the QEP Advisory Council, and the university community a QEP Annual Report which includes assessment of QEP initiatives and recommendations for continuous improvement. The Annual Report will be published on the QEP website and kept on file in the QEP Director’s office and in the office of the SACS liaison. ARTICLE 10: DEFINITIONS, CHAIN OF ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REPORTING Organizational Structure and Reporting of QEP initiatives is outlined below. QEP Sub-Committees

QEP Advisory Council QEP Executive Team Director of QEP Associate Provost of Undergraduate Studies & Academic Partnerships (SACS Liaison) Provost Chancellor and President Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Updated February 5, 2013

Appendix C


Appendix DPioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing

QEP Enhanced Project Grant Guidelines 2013-2014

Proposal Deadline: March 29, 2013

Notification of Award: May 1, 2013

Contact:

Dr. Kimberly MilochQEP Interim [email protected]@[email protected]

Purpose

QEP Enhanced Project Grants are intended to encourage the expansion of existing experiential learning opportunities and the development of new experiential learning opportunities throughout TWU. Experiential learning provides students with real-life, hands-on experience, and includes practical experiences through a variety of means. These real-life experiences are often interrelated and are not typically mutually exclusive. Eligibility

Faculty, staff, and student organizations are eligible to submit proposals. Interdisciplinary projects, collaboration among university units (including academic and non-academic), and partnerships with the community are strongly encouraged.

QEP Enhanced Project Grant Categories

QEP Enhanced Project Grants may be utilized to advance or expand existing experiential learning opportunities or to develop new opportunities and pathways for experiential learning. Additionally, proposals may also be submitted for the acquisition of resources in support of QEP goals and experiential learning opportunities.

QEP Enhanced Mini Project Grants

QEP Enhanced Mini Project Grants are intended to support small scale experiential learning projects. For example, mini grants may focus on experiential learning activities in initial development or activities in support of expanded knowledge in experiential learning. Additional examples include but are not limited to the use of mini grants to support travel for faculty or staff to attend experiential conferences or workshops; to support the development of faculty, staff, or student organizational partnerships with industry professionals and community organizations; to support interdisciplinary pilot


Appendix Dprojects focused on experiential learning; or to support acquisition of resources to enhance the potential for experiential learning within university units. Funding requests for mini project grants should not exceed $1250.

QEP Enhanced Major Project Grants

QEP Enhanced Major Project grants are intended to encourage large experiential learning projects that provide new opportunities for experiential learning or strengthen existing experiential learning opportunities. Major grants may focus on major unit or departmental initiatives, major disciplinary or interdisciplinary initiatives, expanded community partnerships, and projects that require additional resources to maximize experiential learning opportunities. Funding requests for major project grants should not exceed $4400.

Criteria

All QEP Enhanced Project Grant proposals must align with the QEP’s purpose and goals. Proposals must align with at least one QEP student learning outcome and must include at least one direct assessment measuring SLO 1 which centers on students’ development of career and/or life skills related to the respective discipline. QEP SLOs and institutional outcomes are provided for reference in Appendix A.

Proposals must also address and include the following elements:

A focus and strategy for developing new opportunities for experiential learning or for enhancing existing experiential learning opportunities;Detailed explanation illustrating how the proposed project aligns with QEP purpose, goals, student learning outcomes or institutional outcomes;At least one measurable student learning outcome that align with QEP SLO 1; In addition to the QEP designated assessment, provide a direct measure to assess QEP SLO 1;Clear and specific project implementation plan including a plan for assessing the overall effectiveness and impact of the project;Clear and detailed budget;Explanation outlining how the proposed project aligns with the respective unit’s institutional improvement plan;Plan for disseminating project results to the university community;Identification of the project’s potential for replication in other university units or for institutionalizing the project; if it is deemed effective and appropriate for replication.


Appendix DRequirements for Funded Projects

• Funding recipients must agree and adhere to the following requirements:• Provide input and advice for members of the QEP Professional Development or

Assessment Team;• Disseminate and share project results with the university community through

faculty development sessions, university teaching and learning activities, mentorship programs, or other appropriate university forums;

In addition to project assessments, utilize and administer QEP designated assessments;Within the last 45 days of the project funding period, submit a detailed QEP Enhanced Project Report and Summary. The format for the summary and report will be provided and include a detailed summary of the project results and budget summary describing how funds were utilized.

Proposal Evaluation

Members of QEP Advisory Council will evaluate proposals. The following elements will be evaluated utilizing the rubric provided in Appendix B:

• Strategy for experiential learning;• Alignment of project with QEP goals, student learning outcomes, and institutional

outcomes;• Specificity and measurability of student learning outcomes;• Specificity and rigor of assessment for measuring QEP SLO 1; • Specificity of project implementation strategy and assessment of its

effectiveness;• Appropriately developed budget;• Clarity of dissemination plan for project results;• Potential for project replication;• Degree of collaboration (interdisciplinary, inter-university, or community

collaboration and partnership).



QEP Enhanced Project Proposal Submission 2013-2014Cover Sheet

Project Title:

Unit Name:

Primary Contact Person:

Email: Phone:

Secondary Contact Person (if applicable):

Email: Phone:

Additional faculty and/or staff on project

List any similar project proposals under review:

QEP Enhanced Projects must meet the QEP Enhancement Project Grant criteria and guidelines.

Primary Contact/Principal Investigator Signature Date

Secondary Contact/Co-Investigator Signature Date

Unit/Division Head Signature Date(Signature denotes unit approval of project)

Dean/Vice President Signature Date



QEP Enhanced Project Proposal Template 2013-2014

Project Title:

Primary Contact/Investigator and Contact Information:

Secondary Contact/Co-Investigator and Contact Information:

Additional Contacts/Co-Investigator Contact Information:

Abstract:Provide a short summary (no more than 250 words) which describes and clearly outlines the project proposal and its expected outcomes.

Project Rationale: Include a short rationale for selection of this project. Include why and how this project was selected and how it aligns with unit goals for institutional improvement. Also include how this project will either develop new opportunities for experiential learning or expand and strengthen existing opportunities for experiential learning. You may also wish to include a theoretical framework in support of the project activities.

Alignment with QEP Goals, Student Learning Outcomes, and Institutional Outcomes:Include a summary detailing how this project aligns with QEP Goals, Student Learning Outcomes, and Institutional Outcomes.

Project Student Learning Outcomes:List student learning outcomes for this project. Illustrate the alignment of the project’s student learning outcomes with the QEP goals and student learning outcomes. You may wish to illustrate alignment by using the table format below.

Project SLOs QEP Goal QEP SLOs

Assessment Plan:In addition to utilizing the designated QEP assessments, describe your plan for assessing the project’s student learning outcomes. You should include the designated QEP assessments as part of your assessment plan. You should include at least one direct measure for assessing QEP SLO 1. You may wish to illustrate your plan by using the table format below.

Project SLO Learning Activity Assessment Measure


Appendix DImplementation Plan:Provide a clear and specific description outlining how you will implement your project. Also include a plan for assessing the overall effectiveness of the project.

Budget:Provide a detailed budget describing the resources needed to implement and complete the project. Include items such as salary support (if appropriate), personnel (including graduate assistants and student workers), technical resources such as computer hardware or software and equipment, course materials (if applicable), and additional costs such as travel. You may wish to use the table format below or a similar format to outline your budget.

Item Description Unit Cost Total Item Cost

Dissemination of Results:Include a plan for disseminating your project results to the university community in consultation with the QEP Director and/or QEP Professional Development Committee. Outline which university development workshops, forums, or QEP Professional Development seminars are most appropriate venues for dissemination of your results.

Potential for Replication:Describe the potential for replication of this project in other units.

Submission:Proposals should be submitted via email to Dr. Kimberly Miloch, Interim Director of the QEP, at [email protected].


Appendix DAPPENDIX A

QEP Purpose

To equip students with knowledge, experience, and readiness to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives.

QEP Goals

Develop and expand learning opportunities focused on the success of students to live, work, and lead in a diverse and complex world.

Integrate and align university infrastructures and resources that support collaborative and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities and student success initiatives.

Cultivate and strengthen educational, civic, and business partnerships that increase opportunities for experiential learning, interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship, and creative activity.

QEP Student Learning Outcomes

SLO 1: Develop career and/or life skills related to the respective discipline.

SLO 2: Identify practical, real-world issues and relate these issues to relevant coursework, programs of study, or life and career goals.

SLO 3: Design and construct an action plan for acquiring the skills needed to continue to grow personally and professionally.

QEP Institutional Outcome




Appendix E


Appendix E

500 N. AKARD STREET, SUITE 2600 | DALLAS, TEXAS 75201 | 214-746-6600 | DALLASCHAMBER.ORG

February 6, 2013 SACS On-Site Review Team Dear Members, I am pleased to write in support of TWU’s Quality Enhancement Plan Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing. This plan is intended to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and readiness to lead personal and professional lives. TWU’s QEP bridges coursework with real-life, hands-on, practical skills benefiting students and potential employers. Having a skilled workforce is imperative for innovation in industry and in meeting the needs for a robust Texas economy. The Dallas Regional Chamber is committed to making this region the most prosperous and most desirable place to live in the country. Our region anticipates tremendous growth and needs more workforce ready graduates. Real world experience and the ability to use critical thinking in the workplace is a repeated request we get from our business members. Combining coursework with hands-on programs will benefit our local businesses. TWU’s QEP is timely and well-positioned to meet the needs of students and Texas employers. I support TWU’s efforts and look forward to potential collaboration as the plan is implemented. Sincerely,

Angela Farley VP, Public Policy and Education Dallas Regional Chamber


Appendix FQEP Pilot Project Assessment

Pre-Experience Reflection

Identify the real-world issues that you think will impact your experience this semester? Explain these issues, and outline how you think they will impact your experience.

What are your perceptions, assumptions, or expectations about your life and career goals? Explain your perceptions, assumptions, or expectations in a manner in which one of your peers can understand.

Write at least two life goals and two career goals. Explain how you think your experience this semester will relate to the goals you have written.

Identify and list the personal characteristics you think you need to acquire to achieve your life or career goals.

Identify and list the professional skills you think you need to acquire to achieve your life or career goals?

Identify and list the personal characteristics and professional skills you want to acquire through your experience (internship, volunteering, service learning, civic engagement, creative activity, scholarship).


Appendix GQEP Pilot Project Assessment

Post-Experience Reflection

Prior to this experience, you identified real-world issues you perceived would impact your experience. Explain how the real-world issues you identified impact your experience. Evaluate how these real-world issues will shape trends and research in your major or field of study.

What were your perceptions, assumptions, or expectations prior to this experience? Explain how the perceptions, assumptions, or expectations you identified were reinforced or were changed as a result of your experience?

Describe and provide examples of how you interacted and collaborated with other individuals to complete the activities required of this experience. Articulate how your opinions and viewpoints may have differed from other individuals. Describe and explain how you worked with other individuals to complete projects when your opinions differed.

You wrote life and career goals prior to your experience. Describe how these goals were reinforced or changed as a result of your experience.

Prior to your experience, you identified personal characteristics that you felt you needed to acquire to achieve your life and career goals. Describe how this experience helped you acquire the personal characteristics you identified. Articulate how this characteristic will be beneficial to you as you pursue your life and career goals. Outline additional personal characteristics you may need to achieve your life and career goals.

Prior to your experience, you identified professional skills that you felt you needed to acquire to achieve your life and career goals. Describe how this experience helped you acquire the skills you identified. Articulate how this characteristic will be beneficial to you as you pursue your life and career goals. Outline additional professional skills you may need to achieve your life and career goals.

Develop and write a short-term plan for improving your skills. Describe and summarize how your plan will assist you in achieving your life and career goals. Select one or two strategies from your plan that you will implement immediately to improve your skills.

Summarize how the real-world issues you encountered through your experience relate to concepts and theories discussed in your courses.


Appendix HQEP Pilot Project Assessment

Element 4 3 2 1 Scoring

Identification & Explanation of Real World Issues

Clearly identifies two to three real-world issues. Provides comprehensive and sound explanation of the issues, and clearly describes how the issues impacted the experience

Appropriately identifies two to three real-world issues. Provides a sound explanation of the issues, and describes how the issues impacted the experience. Some clarity and further explanation is needed.

Significant clarity and much greater explanation are needed in identifying and explaining real-world issues.

Inappropriately identifies or lacks identification of real-world issues. Little explanation and description is provided.

Perceptions, Assumptions, & Expectations

Clearly outlines and explains perceptions, assumptions, or expectations. Comprehensively describes how these were reinforced or changed as a result of the experience.

Appropriately outlines and explains perceptions, assumptions, or expectations. Adequately describes how these were reinforced or changed as a result of the experience.

Attempts to outline and explain perceptions, assumptions, or expectations. Attempts to describe how these were reinforced or changed as a result of the experience. Significant clarity and further description are needed.

Little or no outline, explanation, and description of perceptions, assumptions, and expectations is provided.

Teamwork Comprehensively describes interactions with others with diverse viewpoints. Provides examples of collaboration and illustrates strategies utilized to complete projects.

Describes interactions with others with diverse viewpoints. Provides examples of collaboration and describes strategies utilized to complete projects. More detailed description is needed.

Attempts to describe interactions. Attempts to outline examples and strategies for completion of projects. Significant detail is needed to provide an appropriate description.

Little or no description of interactions or strategies for collaboration to complete projects.



Life & Career Goals Clearly written life and career goals. Comprehensively illustrates the impact of the experience on life and career goals.

Life and career goals are outlined. Impact of the experience on life and career goals is documented. Some clarification or further detail may be needed.

Attempts to outline life and career goals and attempts to illustrate impact of the experience on life and career goals.

Outline of life and career goals needs significant detail. Significant clarification and major details are needed to illustrate impact of the experience on life and career goals.

Personal Characteristics

Clearly identifies personal characteristics needed. Comprehensively describes how the experience assisted in acquiring desired personal characteristics. Clearly articulates benefits of the characteristics and identifies additional characteristics that may be needed to achieve life and career goals.

Identifies personal characteristics needed and soundly describes how experience assisted in acquiring desired characteristics. Appropriately articulates benefits of the characteristics and identifies additional characteristics needed to achieve life and careergoals.

Some difficulty in identifying personal characteristics. Some description of how experience assisted in acquiring desired characteristics. Attempts to articulate benefits of the characteristics and identify additional characteristics needed.

Significant difficulty in identifying personal characteristics. Little or no description of how experience assisted in acquiring desired characteristics. Lacks articulation of benefits of characteristics and lacks identification of additional characteristics.

Professional Characteristics

Clearly identifies professional skills needed. Comprehensively describes how the experience assisted in acquiring desired professional skills. Clearly articulates benefits of the skills and identifies additional skills that may be needed to achieve life and career goals.

Identifies professional skills needed and soundly describes how the experience assisted in acquiring desired professional skills. Appropriately articulates benefits of the skills and identifies additional skills that may be needed to achieve life and career goals.

Some difficulty in identifying professional skills. Some description of how experience assisted in acquiring desired professional skills. Attempts to articulate benefits of professional skills and identify additional professional skills needed.

Significant difficulty in identifying professional skills. Little or no description of how experience assisted in acquiring desired professional skills. Lacks articulation of benefits and need for additional professional skills.

Appendix H



Short-Term Improvement Plan

Plan comprehensively describes strategies for improvement and clearly identifies one to two appropriate strategies for implementation.

Plan describes strategies for improvement, and identifies one to two appropriate strategies for implementation. Some clarificationand further detail are needed.

Plan needs significant enhancement in description of strategies. Significant clarification and much greater detail are needed.

Plan lacks strategies and identification of strategies for implementation.

Summary Comprehensive and clear description of real world issues. Appropriately describes and relates real-world issues to concepts and theories discussed in courses.

Sound and appropriate description of real-world issues. Sound description and relation of real-world issues to concepts and theories discussed in courses. Some clarification and further detail are needed.

Summary needs significant enhancement in description of real-world issues and in relating these issues to concepts and theories discussed in courses.

Summary lacks description of real-world issues. Little or no relation to concepts and theories discussed in courses.

Points Possible: 32

Appendix H


Appendix I

QEP Pilot Project Assessment – Post Experience Student SurveyAlignment with SLOs and IOs

As a result of this experience, I can identify and describe the personal characteristics that I need to develop or improve to assist in achieving my life or career goals. (SLO 1)

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

As a result of this experience, I can identify and describe the professional skills that I need to develop or improve upon to assist in achieving my life or career goals. (SLO 1)


As a result of this experience, I can relate real-world issues and experiences to theories and concepts discussed in my coursework. (SLO 2)


As a result of this experience, I have developed a plan and strategies to assist me in acquiring the personal characteristics and professional skills that I need to assist in achieving my life and career goals.(SLO 1, 3)


As a result of this experience, I have identified strategies for improving my skills as they relate to my life or career goals. (SLO 1, 3)


Because of this experience, I believe I am better prepared to achieve my life or career goals. (SLO 1, 3)


Because of this experience, I now plan to volunteer or engage in other hands-on, applied learning experiences. (SLO 1, 3)


As a result of my experience, I have a better understanding of the concepts and theories presented in my major. (SLO 2)



Appendix IDuring my experience, I worked effectively as a member of a group or team to accomplish a specific goal. (SLO 1)


During my experience, I worked with a diverse group of individuals to accomplish a specific goal. (SLO 1)


Open Ended Questions

What personal skills did you acquire through this experience that will help you achieve your personal or professional goals? (SLO 1, 3)

What professional skills did you acquire through this experience that will help you achieve your personal or professional goals? (SLO 1, 3)

What did you learn from this experience that you think is most valuable to you in achieving your life or career goals? (SLO 1, 3)

How has this experience impacted your attitudes about working with others? (SLO 1, 3)

What did you enjoy most about your experience? (IO 1, 2)

What recommendations do you have for improving this experience? (IO 1, 2)

Student Demographics(This section of the survey will be utilized to assist in developing specific QEP initiatives targeted at student populations of interest, specifically FTIC students and students from underrepresented minority groups)

What is your age?

What is your classification?

What is your major?

Are you a first generation college student?

Is this course required for your major?

What is your ethnicity?

Do you live on-campus?

Do you commute to campus from a distance greater than 10 miles?

How many children under the age of 18 live with you?

Do you work full or part-time?

What is your marital status?


Appendix JQEP - NSSE Survey Rationale and Justification

This document outlines the rationale and justification for using the NSSE survey as an indirect assessment of TWU’s QEP: Learn by Doing.

RelevanceLearn by Doing is focused on experiential learning with emphasis on service learning, internships, co-curricular collaboration, scholarship, and creative activities. Its purpose is to equip students with knowledge, experience, and readiness to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives through these experiences. The NSSE instrument is well-suited as an indirect assessment for the QEP given its focus on student engagement. 2013 NSSE results will also help establish a benchmark for experiential learning and student engagement at TWU. This benchmark will serve as a means for comparison when examining the QEP’s annual impact and when assessing progress toward meeting the goals and institutional objectives outlined by the QEP.

Population of Interest

Undergraduate Students, FTICUndergraduate Students, TransferGraduate

Relevant Research Questions and Targeted NSSE Questions

Research Question Corresponding NSSE Question

What is the percentage of students that have engaged in experiential learning at TWU? How does this percentage differ among undergraduate and graduate students? How does this percentage differ among FTIC and transfer students?

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 25

Civic Engagement Module Questions 1, 2

What is the percentage of students that plan to engage in experiential learning at TWU? How does this percentage differ among undergraduate and graduate students?

12, 20, 25

What is the percentage of students at TWU that interact and engage with those of diverse opinions and backgrounds?

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17


How does experiential learning differ among the populations of interest at TWU?

1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Civic Engagement Module Questions 1, 2, 3

Timeline for Follow-Up Survey

Survey will be administered in Spring 2013 and again in Spring 2015 and 2017.


Appendix KQEP - FSSE Survey Rationale and Justification

This document outlines the rationale and justification for using the FSSE survey as an assessment of TWU’s QEP: Learn by Doing. Specifically, the FSSE will be utilized in to provide baseline data regarding faculty and staff involvement in experiential learning pedagogies, to acquire data for annual QEP assessment, and to assist in determining professional development activities.

Relevance

Learn by Doing is focused on experiential learning with emphasis on service learning, internships, co-curricular collaboration, scholarship, and creative activities. Its purpose is to equip students with knowledge, experience, and readiness to lead personally and professionally fulfilling lives through these experiences. The FSSE instrument is well-suited to provide data on faculty involvement in experiential learning pedagogies. 2013 FSSE results will also help establish a benchmark for faculty involvement in experiential learning at TWU. This benchmark will serve as a means for comparison when examining the QEP’s annual impact and when assessing progress toward meeting the goals and institutional objectives outlined by the QEP.

Population of Interest

Faculty

Relevant Research Questions and Targeted FSSE Questions

Research Question Corresponding FSSE Question

What is the percentage of faculty and staff that have engaged students in experiential learning at TWU? How does this percentage differ among undergraduate and graduate faculty? How does this percentage differ among faculty teaching online, hybrid, and face to face courses?

4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 7, 15, 16, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29


What are faculty perceptions of experiential learning at TWU? 1, 2, 3, 21, 22

How do perceptions of experiential learning differ among faculty at TWU?

1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 30


Timeline for Follow-Up Survey

Survey will be administered in Spring 2013 and again in Spring 2015 and 2017.

DoingLearn by

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