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Beyond the Impact Report:A QEP in Its 8thYear

Today’s Agenda

• Brief introduction to the institution

• Overview of our QEP

• Lessons learned

• Practice with some example cases

• Summary: Developing a culture of ongoing, recursive, and integrated assessment

About Keiser University

• Founded in 1977 as a career-focused institution of higher learning

• Private not-for-profit Level VI university with associate through doctoral degrees

• 20 campuses in Florida, Nicaragua, and China, and online division, and a graduate school

• Second-largest private NFP in Florida

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About Keiser University

• 18,000 students studying at 2 residential campuses, 20 commuter campuses, and online

• Within an hour’s drive of 90% of the population of Florida

• Roughly 100 degree programs

Google Maps, 2016, used under Fair Use guidelines

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Overview of the QEP

• Class of 2006 – one of the earlier cohorts of institutions required to submit a QEP

• A couple of false starts, some change in key personnel

• Solidification of goals and objectives in 2008

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KeiserWrites! : A Plan to Improve Student Writing

Unanticipated Benefits

• Improvements in instructional effectiveness

• Strengthening of relationships between students and their campus community

• Increased focus on literacy among the faculty and student body

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QEP Goals

1. To strengthen student writing skills through the establishment of a university-wide writing center.

2. To help students grasp the centrality of good writing to their careers and academic endeavors.

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Objectives

1. Students’ perception of their writing will improve by 5% as evidenced by the KeiserWrites! Feedback Survey.

2. Students’ ability to recognize a HOC will improve by 5% as evidenced by the KeiserWrites! Feedback Survey.

Objectives

3. Students will improve their ability to write an essay one full letter grade as measured by a pre- and post- essay test.

4. Students will identify at least one stage of the writing process engaged during a writing consultation as measured by the Post-Session Evaluation Survey.

Administrative Goals

• Number of Campuses with a Writing Studio (100%)

• Number of Contacts with Student Body (20% of enrollment?)

• Student Satisfaction with Services (90%)

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Critique of Goals

Positives

• They are measurable

• They align well with the character of the institution and purpose of the QEP

• There are enough of them to portray of significant representation of the impact of the program on student learning

Critique of Goals

Negatives

• They could be a lot more scientific

• The metrics could be more precise

• They could relate more directly to specific student learning outcomes, thereby closely mirroring student learning

SLOs are the heart of a QEP.

Measurement Tools

• Essay Pre- and Post-Tests

• The KeiserWrites! Rubric

• KeiserWrites! Feedback Survey

• Post-Session Evaluation Survey

student achievement vs. perception

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What Assessment Showed

• The QEP was having an impact.

• Student participation was robust.

• Students were highly satisfied with the services.

• Students understood process-oriented writing.

• Students understood HOC/LOC.

What Assessment Showed

• We really didn’t know whether or not they could actually write better because our institution had a writing-focused QEP.

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Thoughts

• Sometimes assessment reveals that students are learning what you’re teaching.

• Sometimes assessment reveals that students aren’t learning what you’re teaching.

• Sometimes all it reveals is that the assessment isn’t working.

Are they learning?

Can they learn more?Let’s teach things a different way.

Let’s assess differently.

Yes NoI don’t know

Yes

Theory and Practice• Case studies are being distributed to

groups of 8-10 people around the room.

• Please read the case and discuss with the group.

• Please choose a member of the group to jot some ideas down and share with the large group during the debrief.

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Theory and Practice

Discussion Question

Based on the assessment data included in the case study, what should the institution’s plans for the QEP be for 2017?

Case 1

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Case 2

Case 3

Are they learning?

Can they learn more?Let’s teach things a different way.

Let’s assess differently.

Yes NoI don’t know

Yes

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Lessons Learned• What is your narrative?

• Backward design/begin with the end in mind

• Do you have an elevator speech? A 30-second infomercial?

• Finding the balance between frozen and flexible

• Branding – do you have a hallmark?

Lessons Learned• Technical writing strategies to support the

QEP:– Write to satisfy the rubric

– Create semesterly and annual reports that mirror the format of the Impact Report

– Use your LMS for communication and collaboration

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Breen, I., Record, M. & Fuda Daddio, J. (2015). Harnessing the Potential of the LMS for Faculty Development and Administrative Purposes. In D. Rutledge & D. Slykhuis (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2015 (pp. 1328-1333). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved September 23, 2016 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/150176.

Using the LMS for Communication and Collaboration

Concluding Thoughts

• Schools are learning organizations. Quality enhancement in learning organizations comes down to continuous, recursive assessment.

• A QEP brings many expected and unexpected benefits to a school community, an idea to which leaders should be open.

Concluding Thoughts

• The QEP process is changing the academy in significant ways.

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Questions

Reference

Southern Connecticut State University. (2016). Art Department learning outcomes. SouthernCT.edu. Retrieved from https://www.southernct.edu/academics/schools/arts/departments/art/undergraduateprograms/learningoutcomes.html

ContactMichael Record, PhD

Associate Vice Chancellor of the Writing Program

Keiser University

1500 NW 49th Street

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309

(954) 776-4456

mrecord@keiseruniversity.edu