This week, QEP Director, Wendy Sharer, updates us on what has been happening with the QEP project, “Write Where You Belong.” As Dr. Sharer reminded us back in September, the QEP “is an opportunity to develop forward-looking, long-term initiatives that will enhance the educational experiences of current and future ECU students.” At the UWP, we hope you’re as excited as we are about all the changes being put in place to support students and faculty at ECU.
As reported in a September, this academic year marked the kickoff of ECU’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a key component of our reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Many exciting things have happened since September:
- The final version of the QEP document was submitted to SACS on February 18th. An on-site review team from SACS will visit ECU from April 2-4, 2013 to discuss the QEP with various constituents.
- Tremendous progress has been made on the construction of the new University Writing Center (UWC) space on the first floor of Joyner Library. The space—which will provide multiple tables for tutoring sessions, a “digital studio” for students working on multimedia and multimodal projects, dedicated space for the Online Writing Lab, and office space for the administration and staff of the University Writing Program and the QEP—is slated for completion in late March, with an official opening ceremony on Founders Day, May 1, 2013. Additionally, a “Welcome and Open House” will be held for ECU students, faculty, and staff early in the fall 2013 semester. Stay tuned for details!
- Many samples of student writing from WI courses across the university were collected last semester for QEP assessment purposes. Hearty thanks to faculty who provided, or had their students provide, writing samples for this important piece of the QEP. We still need more samples, so, if you are teaching a 3000 or 4000-level WI course this semester, please encourage your students to contribute writing samples. You should have received an email with instructions for gathering writing samples—please contact Wendy Sharer, QEP Director, at sharerw@ecu.edu if your are an instructor of a 3000 or 400-level course and did not receive this email. Reminder emails will go out shortly after spring break.
- The course proposal for English 2201: Writing about the Disciplines has moved through departmental and college curriculum committees and has been approved by the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee. Next, the proposal will go to the Foundations Curriculum and Instructional Effectiveness Committee, to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, and then to the full Faculty Senate for consideration. Pending all necessary approvals, English 2201 will replace English 1200 as a Foundations Curriculum requirement beginning with the incoming class of fall 2014.
- The QEP Writing Liaisons have met several times to learn more about the QEP and to contribute their subject area expertise to the QEP implementation process. The Writing Liaisons—faculty from departments across campus who are committed to facilitating communication between academic programs and the University Writing and Writing Foundations programs—are critical to QEP efforts to ensure that students get consistent writing support and information about writing expectations throughout their time at ECU. The information gathered from and shared through the Writing Liaisons this academic year will be integrated into professional development for future instructors of English 2201: Writing about the Disciplines. A complete list of Writing Liaisons can be found on the QEP website (www.ecu.edu/qep). If you have questions or concerns about the QEP, you may pass those along to your area’s Writing Liaison.
- The University Writing Center and the QEP, with assistance from doctoral students in the English Department, have offered workshops on writing issues, including writing application essays for scholarships and special programs, peer editing, and APA format. More workshops are being planned for this semester and will be advertised on the QEP website and the plasma screens across campus.
- Several lucky students have won their very own “Write Where You Belong” flash drives by participating in the QEP Facebook page “Word Wednesday” contest. Operating on the principle that knowing the terminology of specific fields is essential to successful writing in those fields, this contest provides a field of study and definition as the QEP Facebook status every Wednesday. Students post the term that they think is being defined in the “comments” area. One correct respondent is chosen to receive a flash drive each week. Encourage your students to participate!
Although the final draft of the QEP document has been submitted, faculty participation in the further planning and implementation of QEP initiatives is essential. If you would like to help, please contact Wendy Sharer, QEP Director, by email at sharerw@ecu.edu or by phone at 328-6698.