Active learning has been chosen as the focus of the Quality Enhancement Plan for the University of Georgia.
A QEP is an initiative focused on enhancing undergraduate education that is developed and launched as part of the university’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
In January, President Jere W. Morehead charged the QEP Topic Selection Committee, chaired by Henry Munneke, Dorsey Distinguished Chair of Real Estate in the Terry College of Business, to identify and recommend to the SACSCOC leadership team an overall topic for the next QEP.
The committee proposed the topic of active learning, which is the use of teaching techniques that engage students actively in the classroom and enhance student learning. The group’s proposal includes three primary components: programming for instructors, programming for students, and classroom reconfiguration and renovation.
Earlier this month, Morehead charged the QEP Development and Implementation Committee, chaired by Linda Fox, dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, to develop the proposal into a fully realized active learning program to be implemented in fall 2022.
“I am excited by this proposal because it reflects UGA’s ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of excellence in teaching and learning,” said Morehead. “Under Dean Fox’s leadership, the QEP promises to have a transformative effect on the campus.”
The stated goal of the proposal is to “institutionalize” active learning practices in the UGA classroom, which aligns with UGA’s new 2025 Strategic Plan and signifies an investment in two of UGA’s most valued assets—faculty and students, both undergraduate and graduate.
To maintain accreditation, UGA must complete a reaffirmation process every 10 years, including a Compliance Certification report, a Quality Enhancement Plan and an on-site review. Through this reaffirmation, UGA will conduct an internal review to document its effectiveness in fulfilling its mission and its compliance with the requirements of the accreditation.
The QEP Development and Implementation Committee, composed of faculty, students and administrators, is beginning the work of designing the QEP plan. A final report is due to a visiting SACSCOC committee at the beginning of February 2022.
That committee will visit UGA March 28-31, 2022. The primary focus of their visit will be to provide feedback on the institution’s QEP.
Information about the ongoing work of the committee will be available at https://provost.uga.edu/oaie/accreditation/reaffirmation-2022/qep/.
