Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
Topic Proposal
The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is part of the reaffirmation of
accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission
on Colleges (SACS COC). The QEP involves developing and assessing a strategy
that NOVA will use to enhance the quality of student learning. According to
SACS COC, student learning addresses knowledge, skills, behavior, and
values. The QEP should complement NOVA’s mission and the Strategic Vision
2015. The topic should be creative, specific, and significantly impact the
greater student body’s learning experience. NOVA must be able to implement
and assess the QEP. Proposals are due by November 30, 2009. Please submit
your proposal by e-mail to QEP@nvcc.edu or directly to Alison Thimblin,
Special Assistant for the Quality Enhancement Plan (AN
Campus, CM 308).
Title of proposed QEP: Citizenship Across the
Curriculum
(revised 3-2-2010)
Description:
How is the proposed topic transformative in terms of student learning? What
student learning outcomes are addressed?
We, in America, take pride in calling ourselves the greatest democracy in
the world. And yet, barely half of us bother to go the polls on Election Day
even in presidential years. For local elections, we are fortunate if one in
ten eligible voters turns out. Few Americans have even more than a
superficial understanding of the great issues confronting our country and
the world. Popular frustration with our inability to influence the direction
of the government, which acts in our name, grows daily.
Only ten percent of Americans know the name of the person who represents
them in Congress, and fewer still know the name of their state senator,
delegate, or council member. Only one percent can recall how their elected
representatives voted on even one measure. How can we hold our leaders
accountable under such circumstance?
Regrettably, very few in our society have sufficient knowledge of the
processes and the issues that form the political fabric of our nation.
There is a gap between how we perceive our political process and the
role of citizens within it and the way it actually functions. To the extent
that our College can close this gap, we should do so.
Also, right now, medical care, and the environment weigh heavily on
the discussions in our communities today.
It is important for our students to be comfortable with the
vocabulary, the science, the business, and the political implications of
such discussions.
Through college and classroom activities, students will be able to improve
their communication, critical thinking, social understanding, information
literacy, and quantitative reasoning skills (General Education Goals). In
addition, students will improve active and collaborative learning, student
effort, academic challenge, and student‐faculty interaction (CCSSE
benchmarks).
Congruence with Mission and Strategic Vision 2015:
NOVA's mission is to respond to the educational needs of its dynamic and
diverse community through an array of comprehensive programs and services
that facilitate learning and workforce development in an environment of open
access and through lifelong educational opportunities.
As an institution of higher learning, we must assure that those who study in
our classrooms acquire a basic understanding of the world in which they live
and the important place they occupy within it. If our graduates leave us
without an awareness of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship we
have failed in a fundamental part of our mission.
Method:
How do you envision NOVA carrying out your proposal?
This can be done on three levels.
Citizenship across the College.
*We should set a goal of establishing a student government association on
each of our six campuses.
*We should commit ourselves to meaningful involvement by students on Campus
Councils, College Senate, Forum Committees, and other task forces and
committees.
*We should refine our procedures for electing staff, administrators,
faculty, and students to the Senate, Campus Council, and Forum Committees
* We should include meaningful opportunities for adjuncts to participate in
College governance, including designated seats on the Campus Councils and
Senate.
Citizenship across the Community.
* We should improve our service learning and internship opportunities. We
live in an area rich with possibilities for internships in political
offices, NGOs, international organizations. We should place students in
positions to learn and to serve.
* We should create an Institute for Public Service that places student
interns in local, state, and federal agencies, finds ways to apply College
resources and expertise to community needs, and takes advantage of our
location to host conferences and workshops that bring together community
college instructors from around the country and political leaders to discuss
issues and promote the teaching of citizenship.
* There is an election in Virginia every November. Candidate and issues
forums should be organized to inform our students, faculty, and staff of
candidate qualifications and positions.
* Our cable television channel could run a series explaining the content of
the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the ideals upon which they are
based.
Citizenship across the nation and around the world.
* On each campus, we should establish a regular series of speakers who would
address the major political, social, and economic issue of our time. Our
location near an important center of national and global politics offers us
access to many who possess expertise on the widest range of topics.
* Our courses that teach about our political environment‐‐political science,
history, sociology, philosophy, economics‐‐should stress an ever‐changing
list of issues of current importance. Other courses could incorporate
knowledge of political, social, and economic issues by integrating
discussions and problem solving related to current topics
* Constitution Day on September 17th of each year could be elevated to an
important teaching opportunity.
* Bulletin boards on campus could present the arguments for and against
current issues and have students vote on them on our website.
Assessment Plan:
Address the expected outcomes and how they can be measured.
We could administer the US Citizenship Test to students in various stages of
their studies with us.
We can test our students' basic knowledge of the political system, its
issues and its decision‐makers when they enroll, teach them about these
matters while they are here, and test them again when the graduate.
We could devise measures to test the efficacy and numbers of increased
involvement in college decision-making.
Resources:
What kind of resources (personnel, training, technology, etc.) do you
anticipate will be needed?
College‐wide coordination of efforts will be necessary.