EPAs are authentic work activities in education that you may do as part of your work responsibilities or as skills and abilities you would like to acquire. Each EPA is unique to the context of the individual learner and her/his learning background. So, each EPA, even for the same activity, will look different. We have included illustrative EPA submissions from prior learners in most of the EPA resource pages, but we want to emphasize that these are NOT models for you to follow, just illustrations of how other people have interpreted the task and organized their competency evidence.

There are a few characteristics of a successful EPA that we can share with you. One is to organize the submission to help the assessors find the competency evidence readily. This often takes the form of headings in the documentation but may also be individual sections or appendices if the EPA is a big product, like a grant, and the competencies need separate explanation.

Another critical characteristic is reflection. Many of the competencies (e.g., personal leadership) are not clearly evident in what happened in a project, but are personal skills and problem solving that you need to explain to the assessors. As much as the EPA tells the assessors WHAT you did it, it is also important to explain to the assessors WHY you did it. How did you see the problem? What alternatives did you consider? Why did you go the way you did? What you do differently now? These kinds of questions are key components of a competent educator who can thoughtfully and creatively address new educational challenges.

Please include citations to the literature where appropriate. EPAs are scholarly products and need to reflect existing knowledge and theory.

Learners that have completed an EPA are always happy to share their submissions and feedback with other learners. Contact Dawn Harris to get a list of learners that have completed the EPA you are working on and she will connect you with one of them.

Many EPAs are standard academic scholarship (literature reviews, enduring educational resources, grant applications, research articles, etc.) and address problems other educators will also have. Thus, disseminating your EPA is often a good possibility and we encourage getting extra benefits from the work invested in an EPA. So, it is useful to have in mind early on, the possibility of trying to disseminate your project/product. The SME can be very helpful in this process.

• EPA submissions should be sent to the Assessment Committee Chair, Tom Fitzgerald (email: tfitz@umich.edu)

• Each submission should include an Assessment Cover Sheet indicating which competencies you are asking credit for, your EPA documents and any background documents

  • EPA Submission Cover Sheet

• Consider adding appendices to your submission and referencing them in your EPA write-up to help reduce the length of your EPA submission.

• Learners can submit EPAs as a document, voice over powerpoint, oral presentation or a combination of any of these

If a learner would like to request credit for a competency that is neither required nor optional, they should first discuss this with the subject matter expert for the EPA. If the SME agrees it is a reasonable request the learner should contact Larry Gruppen and Dawn Harris, to review and approve/deny the request. If approved, the curriculum committee will forward the approval to the Assessment Chair, Tom Fitzgerald. When submitting the EPA for assessment, the learner should include the approval email as reference.

The blue boxes on the competency map represent core elements of an EPA. A learner can request to waive a required competency, however, they must still submit evidence addressing the waived competency in order for the EPA to be a completed product. For example, if theory is a big part of an EPA, the learner should mention the theory but is not required to critically analyze it for the waived competency.

To request a waiver, a learner must first talk to their mentor to determine if the request is reasonable. If so, then the learner should contact Dawn Harris with the request so she can confirm the two competency credit requirement has been met. Once that is confirmed, then the learner should contact Larry Gruppen and the Assessment Committee Chair (Tom Fitzgerald) to request the waiver.

There is not a page limit for EPA submissions. However, learners should make sure their submissions are as concise and organized as possible. Long submissions take a considerable amount of time to review.

The length of the submission needs to be balanced between concise communication and adequate explanation of the evidence. Large EPAs will naturally be longer than simpler EPAs, but if your EPA write up is pushing 30 single spaced pages, it may be time to edit it down. Remember Shakespeare’s line: “brevity is the soul of wit.”

Consider adding appendices to your submission and referencing them in your EPA write-up to help reduce the length of your EPA submission.

While there are some EPAs that a learner could potentially request 10-12 competencies, it is not recommended! Submitting an EPA that asks for more than 5-6 competencies makes for a very long submission. This is a lot of work for the learner but also for the reviewer.

Learners can get more out of the program by creating a learning plan that spreads out the competencies they earn over multiple EPAs rather than try and cram more than 6 competencies in one EPA.

Once you submit your EPA to the Assessment Chair, you should receive an email within a couple days with an anticipated review date. The Assessment Committee meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. In general, assessments are scheduled for the next meeting that is at least 2 weeks after submission. If there are already submissions scheduled for the next meeting, the Assessment Chair may schedule the assessment for a later date. Each submission is assigned 3 reviewers. Each reviewer provides their feedback during the assessment meeting and the group will discuss and come to a consensus on whether the submission shows evidence of competence or not. The Assessment Chair compiles the feedback and sends it to the learner with feedback. If a learner has provided evidence to show competence, then nothing more needs to be done. If not, then the assessment committee will request additional information from the learner and ask them to resubmit.

Each EPA is independently reviewed by two or three assessors who consider the product of the EPA and the evidence presented for competence in the competencies you have selected for that EPA. Assessment criteria for each competency are presented in the EPA documentation on the MHPE web page. At the assessment meeting 30 min is devoted to each EPA with assessors reviewing their observations and judgments and discussing points of agreement and disagreement. A final judgment is then made b is y the group for each of the requested competencies and narrative feedback is assembled and returned to you. About half the time, the assessors decide that they need some additional evidence or documentation for a given competency, and you will then be asked to submit a short response to those questions before the final decision is made.

If a learner doesn't understand the feedback from the Assessment Committee, they should discuss with the Subject Matter Expert for that EPA. If you didn't work with a subject matter expert, then contact your mentor or the Assessment Committee Chair, Tom Fitzgerald

The Assessment Chair generally send out the assessment feedback within a week of the assessment meeting. If you do not receive feedback within that time frame, you should contact the Assessment Chair, Tom Fitzgerald.

Blue Boxes

The blue boxes on the competency map represent core elements of an EPA. When a learner submits an EPA to the Assessment Committee they MUST include evidence for these competencies. The blue boxes correspond to the blue text in the EPA guidelines document

Gray Boxes

The gray boxes on the competency map represent "optional" elements of an EPA. If a learner's project contains evidence that would easily show competence for this competency, they can choose to include that in their submission.

Yellow Boxes

The yellow boxes mean that ONE of the competencies is required. The learner is required to submit evidence for Assessment OR Evaluation, not both.

There is a learning plan (LP) template available to learners to help track the EPAs you have completed and are working on. Learners should work with their mentor to develop their LP over the course of the program. It is expected the LP will change over time as new opportunities become available. At the end of each semester, the program sends an updated progress report to each learner (and their mentor) that includes the EPAs that have been submitted over the course of a semester and updates provided by the learner and/or mentor.

Learning Plan Template [xls]

Your learning plan is a set of EPAs that you intend to complete as your individualized curriculum for the MHPE. These EPAs can be based on historical work you have done, on present work responsibilities, or on aspirational goals you would like to master. Use the Competency x EPA matrix to begin laying out the plan. Talk with your mentor about your plan and particularly about the optional competencies you could include in each EPA.

Remember that the learning plan is a dynamic document that can and should change as you find new EPA opportunities and interests.

Assuming 6 terms for the program and 32 competency credits, ON AVERAGE, you will want to earn about 5 competencies/term. This translates into one large EPA or two small ones per term. However, no one spreads the EPAs evenly over the 6 terms. Everyone takes at least one term to get started, so usually, the first EPA is submitted in the second term. The first term reflects the planning of the learning plan and potential EPAs, some foundational learning of educational theory and other principles, and getting to know your mentor and SMEs, and just “going back to school” issues. Conversely, many learners end their learning plan with a bang, submitting multiple EPAs in rapid succession as multiple projects and activities come to fruition.

The Program Manager will send out a progress report to all learners at the end of the Fall and Winter semesters. It is the learners responsibility to double check the progress report against their learning plan to verify accuracy. Contact Dawn Harris, to discuss any discrepancies between your Learning Plan and the Progress Report

Learners must earn a minimum of 32 competency credits AND earn credit in each competency at least two times in order to graduate

Your mentor is your personal contact with the program. S/he will help you plan out your learning plan and consider your schedule and the sequencing of EPAs. Your mentor will also be the interface with resources you need in the program, such as SMEs, program administration for administrative issues, and considering new opportunities for EPAs. Your mentor will also gently ‘nag’ you about progress and roadblocks. You should typically meet with your mentor on a regular basis (we recommend every 2 weeks just to keep in touch.)

During the first meeting with your mentor, you should discuss the meeting frequency that works best for both of you. We recommend touching base with your mentor every 2 weeks (even if it is just for a few minutes). However, if a different meeting frequency works best for both of you, feel free to adjust that time frame.

Contact the Program Manager, Dawn Harris.

If for any reason you feel that you would like to be paired with a different mentor, contact Dawn Harris or the Program Director, Larry Gruppen, to discuss the situation and we will make every effort to accommodate your request

SMEs are the content experts in the program. Although your mentor is welcome to share their own expertise with you, we have recruited the SMEs to be the primary source of advice and guidance for EPAs and associated competencies. They can help you interpret the EPA description and guidelines, direct you toward useful resources in the MHPE web repository, and suggest approaches to solving problems. They can also help you decide how to organize your EPA and competency evidence and give you feedback on the submission.

The contact information for the SME responsible for a given EPA is indicated on the EPA page

If you have tried to contact the Subject Matter Expert (SME) and have received no response, ask your mentor to reach out to the SME. If you are still unable to get a response then contact Dawn Harris or Larry Gruppen.

Students can access their financial information and their registration through the Student Business page in Wolverine Access

Student Business help menu [link]

Learners must go to their student account in Wolverine Access and apply to graduate. This can be done up to a year before your expected graduation date or during the semester you plan on graduating. If your situation changes this can always be changed to a later graduation term. More information can be found in the Graduation page in Student Business on the Learner page

Instructions - Apply to Graduate [pdf]

Transcripts can be ordered through Wolverine Access from the Student Business page , choose Student Center, then select Transcript: Order Transcript from the dropdown list.

The MHPE program has access to the Informationists in the Taubman Health Sciences Library to help our students with literature searches.

Literature Search Resources [web page]

Your Subject Matter Expert is a good resource for content specific to an EPA to make sure you have addressed all the criteria to show competency. If you need someone to proof your writing for clarity, John Morrow is our writing coach. He can be reached at email: jtmorrow@gmail.com