Topic Development and Selection Process

Selecting and Developing the QEP

The process of selecting and developing our QEP began in 2015 under Dr. Melissa Hudler in preparation for a 2019 reaffirmation on-site visit. (The site visit was postponed to 2020 after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Beaumont area.) The committee asked for submissions and conducted a vote on three proposals none of which had the support of the campus community. Soon after, Dr. Hudler resigned as QEP Director and Dr. Judith Mann was appointed in January 2017 as QEP Director. A new broad-based steering committee was formed and a QEP called Wings of Success was proposed. It was decided that the QEP would focus on providing support systems for students struggling in math courses as data showed low math scores on the Texas State Initiative (TSI) test led to barriers in timely graduation.

During the 2017 -2018 academic year events, happened that derailed the Wings of Success proposal. First, standard 7.2 was revised to focus on student success or student learning outcomes which did not line up with the learning communities support system approach of WINGS of Success. Next, the State of Texas passed HB 2223 requiring the use of co-requisite courses in college readiness classes thus making part of the WINGS of Success proposal a legal mandate and no longer an option as a QEP. The final event was the decision to reconstitute the QEP Steering Committee and appoint a new QEP Director in November 2018.

The new steering committee under the leadership of Dr. Jeremy Alm reviewed the requirements for a QEP under the revised standard 7.2 and chose to keep the mathematics focus. Feedback was sought from across the campus via meetings with deans, departments, students, and student support services administrators. Guidance was sought from outside consultants Dr. Brian Loft (Sam Houston State University) and Dr. Rebecca Goosen at San Jacinto Community College regarding the establishment of Mathematics pathways. Ultimately the Steering Committee chose to submit a two-part QEP called “Math to a Degree” for consideration that includes both the establishment of math pathways for all degree programs and the monitoring of student success in completing math courses and removing the barriers to a timely matriculation to their degree.