The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is outlined in Standard 7.2 of the SACSCOC Resource Manual.
"The institution has a QEP that (a) has a topic identified through its ongoing, comprehensive planning and evaluation processes; (b) has broad-based support of institutional constituencies; (c) focuses on improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success; (d) commits resources to initiate, implement, and complete the QEP; and (e) includes a plan to assess achievement."
We welcome you to the home page of Georgetown College's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) for the 2022 decennial review by our accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The QEP "is the component of the reaffirmation process that reflects and affirms the commitment of the Commission on Colleges to enhancing the quality of higher education in the region and to focusing attention on student learning" (Handbook for Institutions Seeking Reaffirmation, pg. 39).
In the midst of the world-wide crisis of 2020, students, staff and faculty have been reminded that adaptability and resilience are essential to success. Research on instructional strategies has identified metacognition, or thinking about one’s thinking, as an effective strategy to promote student learning, with particular emphasis on adapting learning across contexts. Metacognitive awareness includes knowledge about cognition (e.g., “I know what kind of information is most important to learn”) as well as regulation of cognition (e.g., “I create my own examples to make information more meaningful”). Metacognitive practice also promotes having a growth mindset, which is the belief in one’s ability to adapt and grow.
As we look to design a QEP for launch in Fall 2022, we want to make sure that future Georgetown students are able to have the resilience to adapt and grow to meet whatever challenges arise in our rapidly-changing world. Particularly for first generation students, but also for all students who suffer from anxiety or doubt about their readiness for college, fostering metacognitive skills should improve coping skills and (we hope) academic success and persistence.
Thus, for our QEP plan, we propose that our new Teaching and Learning Center with its first major project will focus on developing a metacognitive approach to academic skill development for Georgetown College undergraduate students, with a particular emphasis on foundational development of students in their first year.
The Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices primarily among institutions approved by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees.
To gain or maintain accreditation with the Commission on Colleges, an institution must comply with the standards contained in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and with the policies and procedures of the Commission on Colleges. The Commission on Colleges applies the requirements of its Principles to all applicant, candidate, and member institutions, regardless of type of institution (public, private for-profit, private not-for-profit). In order to remain an accredited institution with SACSCOC, Georgetown College must undergo a decennial process of reaffirmation to ensure compliance with all of the Commission's principles.