QEP Links
1.)
SACS
is shorthand for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
Commission on Colleges. W&L is a member of SACS, and we receive our
accreditation through SACS.
Here’s its Homepage:
http://www.sacscoc.org/
By being accredited by SACS we are able to maintain our standing
among the top liberal-arts colleges in America, as well as obtain federal funds (grants to faculty, loans to students, etc).
Here is SACS’ “Principles of
Accreditation” which describe in detail what is involved:
http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/PrinciplesOfAccreditation.PDF
This SACS document, the “Handbook for
Reaffirmation of Accreditation” has detailed information about the
requirements behind the QEP. See especially pages 21-28
http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/handbooks/Exhibit%2027.ReaffirmationOfAccreditation.pdf
2.) What's a QEP?
It's a Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP). According to SACS handbook above:
The Principles of
Accreditation attests to the commitment of the Commisison on
Colleges to the enhancement of the quality of higher education
and to the proposition that student learning is at the heart of
the mission of all instituions of higher learning. The Quality
Enchancement Plan is a component of the accreditation process
that reflects and affirms both of these commitments. Developing
a QEP as part of the reaffirmation process is an opportunity and
an impetus for the institution to enchance overall instituional
quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue or issues the
institution considers important to improving student learning.
The QEP describes a carefully
designed and focused course of action that addresses a
well-defined topic or issues(s) related to enhancing student
learning. The QEP should complement the institution’s ongoing
integrated institution-wide planning and evaluation process…
While many aspects of the
accreditation process focus on the past and the present, the QEP
is “forward looking” and thus transforms the process into an
ongoing activity rather than an episodic event….
--Handbook, page 21.
3.) Washington and Lee
University: It is important that our QEP be consistent with our
institutional mission as well as our Strategic Plan and
Institutional Priorities:
