At other institutions, the most common topics over the last five years have included:
Career readiness and workforce preparation: Preparing students for careers and professional life, including leadership training
Experiential and active learning: Applying knowledge through real-world, immersive learning, including undergraduate research and study abroad experiences
Health, wellness, and well-being: Supporting students’ mental, physical, and financial wellness, including belonging
Interdisciplinary and collaborative learning: Connecting knowledge across disciplines and promoting teamwork
Critical thinking and problem solving: Fostering analytical reasoning and decision-making skills
Equity, inclusion, and cultural awareness: Promoting inclusive, culturally competent environments
Writing, communication, and literacy: Developing writing, speaking, and information literacy
Digital literacy and technology integration: Improving digital competencies
First-year experience: Supporting students' transition to college life
Academic advising and coaching: Enhancing advising models and mentoring relationships
Although there are common themes across institutions, the range of topics is quite broad, and there are many QEP topics that fall outside of these categories.
The QEP Topic Selection Committee will evaluate the first round of QEP proposals using a rubric and provide feedback to proposal teams. Teams will have an opportunity to make edits and submit second round proposals, which will be evaluated by the QEP Topic Selection Committee and then presented to the Trinity community. Based on a combination of rubric scores and community feedback, the QEP Topic Selection Committee will recommend 3 topics to executive leadership. Executive leadership will choose the final topic and share it with the Board of Trustees.
Students will be involved in all phases of the QEP process.
QEP Topic Selection Phase
A student will serve on the Topic Selection Committee, students will be asked to contribute ideas, and institution-level student surveys (e.g., the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Student Satisfaction Inventory) will be used to identify possible topics. In addition, students are encouraged to attend the QEP ideas workshops, to submit proposals either in collaboration with faculty and staff or on their own, and to vote on the final topic.
QEP Development Phase
A student will serve on the QEP Development Team. In addition, students will be asked for input on how aspects of the QEP should be executed. It is also common to have student involvement in marketing the QEP and in presenting the QEP to on-site evaluators.
Once a topic has been selected, a QEP Development Team will be formed with broad representation from the Trinity community. In 2018, the QEP Development Team was comprised of 17 individuals, including 11 faculty, 5 staff, and 1 student. The team was chaired by the faculty member who authored the Starting Strong proposal, and many members of the original proposal team also served on the development team. However, the development team was a distinct group from the proposal team, so if your topic is selected as the final topic, that does not necessarily mean you will be tasked with drafting the final QEP.
Obviously, not all proposals will be developed into a QEP. However, the project that is selected will yield tangible results including a well articulated plan of action, resources (financial, physical, and human), and clear assessment.