For the last five years, Northwest Vista College’s Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP equipped students with Information Literacy skills that showed them how to Find, ethically Use, Synthesize, and Evaluate information in their classes and in their co-curricular programs.
QEP is part of the college’s accreditation process. The regional accrediting body, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), requires its member institutions to develop and implement a five-year plan that describes a detailed action plan that addresses a well-defined and focused topic or issue pertaining to the enhancement of student learning outcomes. The theme of the five-year plan was created with input from faculty, staff, students and the college stakeholders and aligns with the college mission and goals. It reflects NVC’s culture, values and expectations of educational excellence.
At the recent, All College Meeting, QEP Interim Director Barbara Guerra summarized some of the activities of the previous Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).
During the five years of implementation of the QEP, the following numbers were recorded:
NVC Librarians led 1,097 Information Literacy sessions for course-specific content related to use of the library’s resources and research methods. These classes impacted the 24,059 students who attended the sessions. These Information Literacy sessions remain an invaluable resource for faculty to connect their classes with our campus Information Literacy experts.
The QEP also focused on assessment of student artifacts. Many academic disciplines identified a QEP Liaison to lead the discipline’s creation and use of an Information Literacy rubric. QEP Liaisons lead and participated in 14 rounds of rubric norming and 5 rounds of artifact assessment. Disciplines also included additional assessment volunteers to participate in these sessions.
The QEP also offered several opportunities for professional development related to Information Literacy. In total, 157 employees participated in the various activities.
The Learning Frameworks course faculty also contributed to the success of the QEP. The students of the Learning Frameworks course were selected to participate in an Information Literacy Pre-Test. This allowed the collection of information related to students’ level or knowledge and understanding of Information Literacy practices near the beginning of their time at NVC. Throughout the QEP, 5,966 students completed the Pre-Test; which equates to a 43% completion rate.
Without the dedication and persistence of the employees of NVC, this QEP would not have been so successful. The QEP Team is so proud of all that was accomplished with the Information Literacy QEP and we can’t wait to help make the next QEP a success.
