QEP Process

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional body for the accreditation of higher education institutions in the southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) and Latin America, awarding associate, baccalaureate, masters, and/or doctoral degrees.  East Texas Baptist University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's degrees.  ETBU was initially accredited by SACS in 1957 and was last reviewed and reaffirmed in 1998. 

The Commission on Colleges' adoption of the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement marked a new era in the approach used for granting and reaffirming accreditation of the Commission's member institutions (Handbook for Reaffirmation of Accreditation, vii).  One new component of the accreditation process is the Quality Enhancement Plan (the QEP).  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, 21).  Core Requirement 2.12 requires that "[T]he institution has developed an acceptable Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that (1) includes a broad-based institutional process identifying key issues emerging from institutional assessment, (2) focuses on learning outcomes and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the institution, (3) demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation, implementation, and completion of the QEP, (4) includes broad-based involvement of institutional constituencies in the development and proposed implementation of the QEP, and (5) identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement" (Executive Summary of Changes to the Principles of Accreditation, 1).

One of the many benefits of the QEP is that it will deal with an issue or issues that are important to the entire institutional community and will demonstrate promise of making a significant impact upon the quality of student learning (Handbook, 3, 21).  The QEP will be a document developed by members of the institution that describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue(s) directly related to enhancing student learning (Handbook, 5, 21).  The QEP will be based upon a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of the institution in supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of ETBU (Handbook, 5).

The process by which ETBU has chosen to organize and to develop the QEP is as follows:

The Accreditation Leadership Team is charged with providing oversight in the QEP process.

    ♦    Organization: in addition to the Accreditation Leadership Team, four committees will be formed:           

   1.  The QEP Topic Selection Committee.
        This committee is charged with task of soliciting QEP topic ideas from widespread and diverse
        campus constituencies.

   2.  The QEP Topic Development Committee.
        This committee is charged with the task of developing the selected QEP topic idea to the point
        of implementation.

   3.  The QEP Publicity Committee.
        This committee is charged with the tasks of developing a QEP logo, developing a QEP marketing
        strategy, publicizing and promoting the meaning and significance of the QEP throughout the
        University and its constituencies, and developing a QEP web page.

   4.  The QEP Implementation Committee.
        This committee is charged with the task of effectively implementing the QEP.

   1.  The formation of the QEP Topic Selection Committee and QEP Awareness Month (February 2007)

   2.  The selection of the QEP topic (March-July 2007)

   3.  The formation of the QEP Topic Development Committee and the QEP Topic Developed (August-May 2008)

   4.  QEP Lead Evaluators & Questions for On-Site Committee Due (June 30, 2008)

   5.  Completed QEP document due (August 1, 2008)

   6.  On-site SACS review (September 15-17, 2008)

   7.  Implementation of the QEP first year: testing of non-QEP participants and faculty training (Fall 2008)

   8.  Implementation of QEP among religion majors (Fall 2009-Spring 2013)