UWG QEP Faculty Handbook by Cher Hendricks

TABLE OF CONTENTS QEP Contact List

FAQs about the QEP

QEP Representatives and Advisors

What is a Quality Enhancement Plan?

What is the Focus of UWG’s QEP?

Quick QEP Facts

Your Responsibilities as a QEP Instructor

Responsibilities of the Chair, Dean, & QEP Committee

QEP Rubrics and Scoring

Supporting Student Success

Appendices

Appendix 1.

Writing OnLine for Freshman (WOLF)

Appendix 2.

QEP Rubric for Art Courses

Appendix 3.

QEP Rubric for Astronomy 2313L

Appendix 4.

QEP Rubric for Biology 1010

Appendix 5.

QEP Rubric for Biology 1107L

Appendix 6.

QEP Rubric for QEP Chemistry Courses

Appendix 7.

QEP Rubric for Communications 1110

Appendix 8.

QEP Rubric for English 1101/1102

Appendix 9.

QEP Rubric for English 2060

Appendix 10. QEP Rubric for Foreign Language Courses

Appendix 11. QEP Rubric for Geology Courses

Appendix 12. QEP Rubric for Music Courses

Appendix 13. QEP Rubric for Philosophy 2020

Appendix 14. QEP Rubric for Physics 1111L

Appendix 15. QEP Rubric for Political Science 1101

Appendix 16. QEP Rubric for Theatre Courses

Appendix 17. QEP Rubric for XIDS 2100

Appendix 18. Exporting Banweb Class List to QEP Report

Appendix 19. SmartThinking Training Materials

QEP Contact List

Question, Issue, or Concern

Contact

If you have general questions about procedures or expectations for QEP assessment, your responsibilities during QEP implementation, or any questions that do not fit into the categories below, please contact Nadya Williams, QEP Coordinator. If you need help refining your QEP rubric or with norming sessions please contact Rod McRae, QEP Fellow at the Center for Teaching & Learning. If you would like to request training support for your department, or have any questions about QEP-related faculty development, please contact Cher Hendricks, Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning. If you need help with data reporting, please contact Cathi Jenks, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness & Assessment If you need training or have questions about CourseDen/Turnitin/Smarthinking/any other electronic resources that you would like to utilize for the QEP, please contact Wendy Grisham at UWG | Online.

Nadya Williams nwilliam@westga.edu

Rod McRae rmcrae@westga.edu

Cher Hendricks cher@westga.edu

Cathi Jenks cjenks@westga.edu

Wendy Grisham wgrisham@westga.edu

FAQs about the QEP Q: What is the QEP, and why do we have to do it? A: Our accrediting body, the SACSCOC, requires all colleges and universities to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the re-accreditation process. The QEP must focus on an issue of special relevance to the campus. Q: Who came up with the topic for our QEP? A: We did! A university-wide survey of faculty was conducted in the 2010-11 Academic Year, asking faculty first to propose possible QEP topics, and eventually to vote on the topic. An overwhelming majority of faculty voted for improving undergraduate writing as the topic for our QEP. Q: How do I know if my course is part of the QEP? A: The following courses have been designated as part of the QEP: ENGL 1101-1102 in Area A; all courses in areas B1 and C1; all labs in area D (exception: Chemistry is assessing the QEP in the lecture sections, rather than the labs); and POLS 1101 in area E. These courses are: Area A1: ENGL 1101 & ENGL 1102 Area B1: Written and Oral Communication ART 2000 Oral Communication and the Visual Arts COMM 1110 Public Speaking ENGL 2000 American Speech ENGL 2050/THEA 2050 Self-Staging: Oral Communication in Daily Life GERM/FREN/SPAN 1001 and 1002 Elementary language courses PHIL 2020 Critical Thinking Area C1: Fine Arts XIDS 2100 Interdisciplinary Studies ART 1201 Introduction to Art ART 2201 & 2202 History of World Art I and II ENGL 2060 Introduction to Creative Writing FILM 2080 Introduction to the Art of Film MUSC 1100 Music Appreciation MUSC 1120 Survey of Jazz, Rock, and Popular Music THEA 1100 Theatre Appreciation Area D: Science Courses ASTR 2313L Astronomy Lab BIOL 1010L Fundamentals of Biology Lab BIOL 1107L Principles of Biology I Lab CHEM 1100 Introduction to Chemistry CHEM 1151K and 1152K Survey of Chemistry I and II CHEM 1211 Principles of Chemistry I GEOG 1112L Weather and Climate Lab GEOG 1113L Land Form Geography Lab GEOL 1121L Physical Geology Lab GEOL 1121L Historical Geology Lab PHYS 1111L Introduction to Physics I Lab Area E: Social Sciences The QEP is implemented in all sections of POLS 1101 (American Government)

Q: What are my obligations as a faculty member teaching a QEP course? A: You must assign at least one writing assignment in your course and score it using the QEP rubric that your department has developed for this course. You will enter the students’ 917 numbers and their scores into the QEP score-reporting spreadsheet for each QEP course, which you will then submit to your department chair or assessment coordinator, and to Nadya Williams (nwilliam@westga.edu). Q: Does the QEP assignment have to be part of the grade for my course? A: No! YOU decide how to grade assignments for your course. You must score the QEP assignment according to the QEP rubric, but you don’t have to factor it into the grade in your course. Q: When in the semester should I place the QEP assignment in my course? A: This is up to departments and instructors to decide, with the caveat that all sections of the same course must use a comparable assignment for QEP assessment, and should ideally place it at the same point in the semester. Some departments have chosen to use the final paper of the semester for QEP assessment, while others do a pre and post assessment, using the latter for QEP assessment. Q: If a department makes any changes to their version of the QEP rubric, do these need to be approved before implementation? If so, by whom? A: Yes! All changes to the QEP rubric need to be reported for review and approval by Rod McRae (rmcrae@westga.edu) and Nadya Williams (nwilliam@westga.edu). Q: How do the QEP and reporting the scores actually turn into improved writing? A: Effective Fall 2015, all students will take at least one QEP course in each area of the core. Thus students will be writing more than they have before, and in a greater variety of subjects–from English to the sciences, art, music, political science, and even foreign languages! We will be tracking the students by 917 numbers as they go through the core and beyond, and thus will be able to see if their scores on QEP assignments go up. Finally, we will assess students’ capstone assignments in their senior year in order to gauge the level of progress from the first semester of college to the last. Q: Will departments be held accountable for low scores on QEP assignments? A: All SACSCOC requires us to do is to put in a good-faith effort, and demonstrate through QEP assessment that we are working hard to improve student writing. We hope that our work as a university will result in improved scores over time on QEP assignments, but at the same time, we understand that this is a work in progress. Regardless of whether their scores are low or high, all departments should strive for continuous improvement, and continually assess the work that they are doing. Q: Are there any faculty development opportunities and resources available to faculty teaching QEP courses? If so, how do I find them? A: Yes! The Center for Teaching and Learning is here to help you out! Some of the opportunities and resources coming up this year are: QEP Bootcamps, monthly Lunch and Learn sessions that combine training opportunities with a chance to discuss issues related to the QEP with faculty from other departments, and an iPad Giveaway for QEP faculty. Finally, Rod McRae is the CTL QEP Fellow for this academic year. In this capacity, he will have weekly office hours, and is also available by appointment to provide training to individuals and departments. Q: Are there resources to which I can direct my students? A: Yes! The University Writing Center is always happy to help. Also, all students in QEP courses now have access to Smarthinking, an online tutoring service. Q: Is there anyone in my department who represents us on a university-level QEP Implementation Committee? A: Yes! Every department that teaches QEP courses has a representative to the committee. In addition, since the QEP is supposed to involve the entire campus, each college on campus has a representative to the committee, even if it does not offer QEP courses (see next page). Q: Where can I find the QEP website? A: http://www.westga.edu/qep/

iii

QEP Representatives & Advisors Lyn Steed

College of Education

Diane Williamson

Richards College of Business

Scott Gordon

College of Science and Mathematics

Amber Smallwood

College of Social Sciences

Elizabeth Kramer

College of Arts and Humanities & Music

Bonnie Bar

Tanner Health Systems School of Nursing

Bonnie Adams

Director of First Year Writing

Duane Theobald

Coordinator of the Writing Center

Jessica Critten

Ingram Library

Jason Huett

Extended Learning

Wendy Grisham

UWG | Online

Taylor Bryant

Honors College and Transdisciplinary Studies

Kevin Shunn

Art Department

Meg Pearson

English Department

Rosemary Kellison

Philosophy

Felix Tweraser

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Gail Reid

Department of Mass Communications

Sara Molesworth Kenyon

Department of Biology

Sharmistha Basu-Dutt

Department of Chemistry

Jim Mayer

Department of Geosciences

Julie Talbot

Department of Physics

Adriano Cabral

Department of Theatre

Sheikh Drammeh

Department of Political Science

Maria Doyle

International Programs

Sal Peralta

(member in advisory capacity)

Greg Dixon

(member in advisory capacity)

What Is a Quality Enhancement Plan?

2. Courses in core curriculum Areas A-E include a QEP learning outcome related to writing to ensure that students are writing as they progress through the core.

The concept of quality enhancement is at the heart of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ (SACSCOC) philosophy of accreditation. Each SACSCOC institution is required to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of their accreditation process. The plan describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue related to enhancing student learning.

3. Each QEP course provides an opportunity for students to practice writing in a variety of disciplines and to receive feedback on their writing. 4. Because students have multiple opportunities to practice writing in their disciplines, we expect students to develop writing skills as they progress through the core. 5. Support services (Ingram Library, the Writing Center, Smarthinking) will be partners in our effort to enhance student writing competence.

What is the Focus of UWG’s QEP?

6. The Faculty Development Center (UWG | Online) will support academic units in their efforts to improve writing competence for students in online courses.

The focus of UWG’s QEP, chosen by faculty as a priority for our institution, is to improve undergraduate writing. There are several components to the QEP that will help students achieve this goal:

7. The Center for Teaching & Learning will support the development of faculty teaching QEP courses.

1. Newly admitted first year students have an opportunity to take an online, non-credit course (Writing Online for Freshman—WOLF) to better prepare them for success in writing throughout the core curriculum (see Appendix 1).

Quick QEP Facts Quick Fact 1: All QEP courses include a writing assignment that is: •

Relevant to the discipline.

•

Administered in all sections of the course, regardless of delivery mode or instructor rank.

•

Assessed via a common rubric.

Your Responsibilities as a QEP Instructor

Quick Fact 2: All departments have created at least one QEP writing assignment that is to be used in QEP courses as well as a rubric to evaluate the assignment.

As a faculty member teaching a QEP course or courses, be sure to do the following:

Quick Fact 3: Assignments do not have to be papers that are re-written several times over the course of the semester.

•

Use the QEP rubric for at least one assignment in your class each semester.

Quick Fact 4: A writing intervention, while ideal, is not required.

•

Compile QEP rubric scores for each QEP course and section of the course, and submit these scores—using the approved template—to your Chair or departmental QEP representative.

•

Improve the QEP by sharing your experiences and concerns as well as suggested revisions to the QEP rubric to the QEP Coordinator or QEP Fellow.

•

Help us create a campus culture that appreciates the importance of helping our students improve their writing.

Quick Fact 5: Regardless of QEP course, all QEP rubrics contain three main characteristics, though each discipline has chosen its own targets for each characteristic (see page 4). Quick Fact 6: Additional characteristics specific to the discipline may be added to the rubric for use by the program.

Responsibilities of the Chair, Dean, & QEP Committee

the QEP Coordinator and/or their dean or associate dean.

The success of the QEP depends on faculty, department chairs, deans, and QEP committee members.

•

Communicate new developments about the QEP to departmental faculty.

•

Help us improve the QEP by sharing experiences, concerns, and suggestions for QEP rubric revisions to the QEP Coordinator or QEP Fellow.

Responsibilities of the Associate Dean or Dean are to:

Responsibilities of the department chairs related to QEP implementation are to:

•

Oversee implementation of the QEP within the department.

•

Ensure all faculty teaching QEP courses are aware of the QEP procedures for their courses (QEP assignments, rubric, and score reporting).

•

Ensure faculty teaching the same QEP course practice norming to confirm that there is consistency in scoring across graders.

•

Compile results of the QEP assessment in all sections of the same course and submit them to

•

Communicate new developments about the QEP to departmental faculty.

•

Analyze QEP assessment results in the college each semester and submit a final report to the QEP Coordinator and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment.

The QEP Implementation Committee and/or a subcommittee will analyze university-wide QEP assessment data at the end of each semester.

QEP Rubrics. All QEP rubrics include three required characteristics of good writing:

QEP Rubrics & Scoring

1. Adapt written communication to specific purposes and audiences.

Each department has created a QEP rubric to be used to evaluate writing assignments within QEP courses. These rubrics were developed by faculty, many of whom received workshop training on rubric creation. An example rubric is provided in Figure 1. All current rubrics are provided in Appendices 2-17.

2. Synthesize and logically arrange written presentations. 3. Recognize and identify appropriate topics for presentations in writing. Some courses may have additional characteristics relevant to writing in the particular discipline. For example, in ENGL 2060 (Introduction to Creative Writing), the rubric includes two other characteristics: (1) Knowledge of foundational concepts and (2) Informed judgment of an artistic work.

Faculty who require additional training (beyond QEP Bootcamp) on using QEP rubrics can seek help from the QEP Faculty Fellow through the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Figure 1. C hemistry S ho rt Re spon se E ssay R ubric

Rubrics also include criteria on a 4-point scale where:

in each of your QEP courses using the approved template. Score reports should include each student’s 917 number as well as scores for each required characteristic and a final score (To learn how to export a Banweb class list to a QEP report, see Appendix 18).

4 = Exemplary (exceeds expectations) 3 = Proficient (meets expectations) 2 = Developing (does not meet expectations) 1 = Unsatisfactory (failing)

For example, on the Chemistry Rubric in Figure 1, a sub-score would be reported for Characteristic I (Adapt written communication to specific purposes and audiences), Characteristic II (Synthesize and logically arrange written presentations), and Characteristic III (Recognize and identify appropriate topics for writing). Then, these subscores would be added together to determine the total score.

In some cases, rubrics may also include a grade equivalent or grade level at each criterion level, though this is not required.

As shown in Figure 2, the first student earned a 1 on each subscale, earning a total score of 3. The second student was at the exemplary level (4) on the first and third characteristic and was at a proficient (3) level on the second. The second student earned a total score of 11.

QEP Scoring. Rubric scoring may be done by the instructor and/or QEP graders. For every course where graders are used, the instructor should score a minimum of 10% of student assignments. It is also important to engage in norming sessions with your graders as well as with other faculty who are teaching the same QEP course as you to ensure that scoring is consistent across graders.

Figure 2. Score Reporting

You can learn more about norming by contacting the QEP Faculty Fellow and/or setting up a norming workshop or norming session for faculty in your department. QEP Score Reporting. Each semester, report QEP rubric scores for all students

At the end of each semester, turn in score reports like the one presented in Figure 2 for all your students in QEP courses. Turn in a separate report for each section, and label the file according to the instructions in the score reporting template. 5

Supporting Student Success

Smarthinking is an online tutoring service students may access to get feedback on their writing. Smarthinking is available from each student’s CourseDen homepage.

Two resources available for students who are struggling with writing are The University Writing Center and Smarthinking. As you teach your QEP courses, make students aware of these resources, and encourage students to use them.

UWG | Online provides detailed training information on Smarthinking online: https://sites.google.com/a/westga.edu/u wg-online-faculty-training/additionalresources/smarthinking Smarthinking training materials are also provided in Appendix 19.

The University Writing Center provides students tutoring in writing. Writing tutors may be graduate students or UWG faculty. Prior to visiting the Writing Center, students must schedule an appointment. Tutoring sessions are scheduled for 30-minutes, though onehour appointments are available for students with a documented disability as well as students whose first language is not English. Additional information is available online:

Each of these links is available on the UWG QEP homepage:

http://www.westga.edu/writing/

http://www.westga.edu/qep/

Appendix 1. Writing OnLine for Freshman (WOLF)

Appendix 2. QEP Rubric for Art Courses

Appendix 3. QEP Rubric for Astronomy 2313L

Appendix 4. QEP Rubric for Biology 1010

Appendix 5. QEP Rubric for Biology 1107L

Appendix 6. QEP Rubric for QEP Chemistry Courses

Appendix 7. QEP Rubric for Communications 1110

Appendix 7. QEP Rubric for English 1101/1102

Appendix 9. QEP Rubric for English 2060

Appendix 10. QEP Rubric for Foreign Language Courses

Appendix 11. QEP Rubric for Geology Courses

Appendix 12. QEP Rubric for Music Courses

Appendix 13. QEP Rubric for Philosophy 2020

Appendix 14. QEP Rubric for Physics 1111L

Appendix 15. QEP Rubric for Political Science 1101

Appendix 16. QEP Rubric for Theatre Courses

Appendix 17. QEP Rubric for XIDS 2100

Appendix 18. Exporting Banweb Class List to QEP Report

Exporting Banweb Class List to QEP Report The purpose of this job aid is to walk you through exporting your Class List in Banweb for QEP reporting. The Class List in Banweb can be exported as an Excel file. Students’ 917 numbers can then be easily copied and pasted into the QEP reporting template. (Note: Only the 917s are required for the QEP.) 1. Log in to myUWG.

2. Click on the Banweb tab.

3. Click on Faculty & Advisors.

4. Click on Detail Class List. Follow the instructions to access the appropriate term and course. Note: The Detail Class List will provide each student’s current program, major, profile picture, etc.

5. Scroll down to the bottom of the Class List, and click on Class List Download. Depending on the Internet browser you are using, the .csv report (Excel file) generated will either automatically download to your computer or prompt you to download and/or save the report as an Excel file. (Note: The Summary Class List does not provide the option to download.) This is an example using Chrome:

6. Open the downloaded Class List either by clicking on the downloaded file in the gray bar at the bottom of the screen or by accessing the file through Excel.

7. Highlight each officially withdrawn student (but not those who have stopped attending and are still on your roll). To do so, right-‐click on the line number to the left of the withdrawn student, and select “Delete” from the options on the pop-‐up menu.

8. Copy the remaining block of 917 numbers from the Id column. Alternatively, to help ensure correct data entry, copy the Id, Last Name, First Name, and Middle name cells for the report.

Note: you do not have to worry about the type or size of the font or the width of the columns. Although not necessary, you can expand the Id column to view all 9 numbers by clicking on the right-‐hand side of the column and dragging it to the right until all numbers are revealed.

9. In the QEP reporting template, click on the first available 917 cell, and then paste the copied class list information (either by hitting CTRL+V or by right-‐clicking and selecting “Paste” from the pop-‐up menu). 10. After the information appears, click on the small clipboard icon at the bottom-‐right corner of the pasted material. Then click on the third icon on this pop-‐up menu, labeled “Formulas and Number Formatting” to make the pasted material look like the existing template.

Appendix 19. Smarthinking Training Materials