A new component of Daytona State’s Quality Enhancement Plan topic selection process has been initiated in the form of a survey distributed this week to all college faculty and staff, seeking their opinions on what they feel might be the top three topics out of a field of 10 remaining possibilities.
“I am excited to see how much interest and support have been given thus far at all levels of the college community during the first phase of the QEP topic selection process, and I look forward to your survey response and continued participation,” said college President Carol Eaton in a campus-wide email sent this week.
The QEP will take Daytona State College into the future with a plan of action designed to enhance teaching and student learning. It is a required part of the reaffirmation process for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Its topic development requires broad-based participation by the entire college community. The final topic and its resulting plan of action must meet specific SACS criteria, be research-based, measurable and fiscally feasible.
More than 200 faculty and staff participated in workshops during Fall Planning 2011 to rank an extensive list of potential topics developed during brainstorming sessions held this past spring, as well as from requests for pre-proposals sent out to key constituents in the Volusia and Flagler communities. The result was a list of nearly two dozen potential topics which have since been merged or refined down to 10. The possibilities as they appear on the survey and what they might include are:
Enhancing Student Retention
- Reduce or eliminate barriers to student learning
- Identify student needs in order to line up support services with demand
- Strengthen student motivation through career advising and intrusive academic advising
- Increase student engagement through co-curricular activities tied to student learning outcomes
Increasing Student Motivation
- Create opportunities for students to clarify learning goals
- Increase career planning for all students
- Introduce job readiness skills across all programs of study to include honesty, teamwork, and professionalism
- Increase student motivation through active learning
Fostering Student Engagement
- Develop a college-wide first-year experience initiative to engage students in activities to enhance learning both in and out of classes
- Develop real-world applied learning through service learning
- Encourage civic engagement through leadership development
Increasing Critical Thinking Skills
- Incorporate critical thinking skills into the academic and career advising goal-setting processes
- Add critical thinking skills to co-curricular learning activities
- Apply critical thinking skills to any subject, content or problem to help students with effective communication, creativity, reflection and problem-solving abilities
Enhancing Character Development
- Infuse ethics, honor and responsibility in a civil society across the curriculum
- Develop an Honor Code with appropriate sanctions that focus on developing responsible citizenship
- Implement service learning opportunities to foster empathy toward community and responsible stewardship
- Infuse character development and leadership through co-curricular learning activities
Developing Technology and Information Literacies
- Develop information literacy standards to improve retrieval and analysis of information
- Develop training in instructional design to integrate technology and information literacy skills broadly into the curriculum
- Develop a college-wide training program to assist students and faculty in mastering technology
- Use technology to motivate students to achieve higher levels of success
Engaging Students in the Community
- Create opportunities for internships and jobs
- Foster empathy toward society through service learning
- Develop real-world, applied learning experiences
- Increase communication, partnerships and collaboration with the community
Improving Reading Competence
- Improve students' ability to read material in all content areas
- Provide professional development for faculty to foster reading in content areas
- Encourage faculty to require meaningful reading
- Engage students in a book club
Improving Writing Competence
- Set standards across the curriculum for student writing, including research writing
- Revise the English composition sequence to provide adequate instruction in college-level writing
- Develop opportunities for life application of writing skills
- Use writing skills in career planning to include resume and cover letter
Developing Global Awareness
- Increase knowledge of other cultures across the curriculum
- Revise the curriculum for the General Education core to strengthen global awareness
- Develop service learning opportunities in other countries
- Maximize opportunities for students to experience travel to other countries
- Maximize opportunities for students to learn foreign languages
Staff and faculty are encouraged to complete and submit the survey promptly. A final topic will be selected during spring 2012. The QEP will be submitted to SACS for approval during summer 2013.
