MCC’s QEP is entitled “Preparing Students to Learn Online — Are You Ready?”
Mayland’s Quality Enhancement Plan involves preparing students to learn online. This QEP represents an institutional commitment to ensure that students who take online classes are prepared to succeed in those course offerings.
The Quality Enhancement Plan uses interweaving interventions designed to assess and strengthen the skills needed for student online success. Using a staged rollout process, the QEP is designed to involve students at all levels of online class readiness. All QEP actions will work together to help students develop skills needed for success in online classes and to certify that online classes meet the highest standards of quality.
As a result of pursuing student success for online classes, Mayland’s QEP will create a framework to achieve three main program outcomes:
In order to realize these goals, Mayland will focus on ensuring that the students who desire to take online classes are academically, personally, and technically ready for distance education. The institution will engage these students so that they are:
The Plan also provides opportunities for faculty development and quality course review to strengthen Mayland’s online offerings.
By implementing the QEP, Mayland is positioning its students for the opportunity to achieve success in technology-rich learning environments.
Regional accrediting bodies review colleges and universities for renewal of their accreditation every ten years. The process for the 2015 reaffirmation of Mayland Community College’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) has two parts: l) compliance certification, which verifies that the college meets core requirements, comprehensive standards, and Federal regulations, and 2) approval of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic related to enhancing student learning.
Review of the QEP includes an on-site visit by a committee of professional peers who help the institution refine the plan described in its written report. Committee members examine data and conduct interviews to evaluate the soundness of the QEP and present their findings to the institution in a consensus draft report and exit interview. A SACSCOC standing committee on Compliance and Reports reviews the visitors’ findings and recommends an action to the Executive Council of the Commission on Colleges, which makes the final decision regarding renewal of accreditation.
Through a broadly consultative process, the college chose Preparing Students to Learn Online as its five-year QEP topic and assigned a writing team the task of giving form and detail to general principles established by a steering committee and its sub-committees. Mayland Community College’s QEP was accepted by SACSCOC in 2015. Implementation and assessment of the QEP has been ongoing since the Fall 2015 semester.
This website provides continuing information on the QEP and invites feedback from the campus community.
Following the selection of Preparing Students to Learn Online as the QEP topic for MCC, the SACSCOC Leadership Team appointed a QEP Committee to develop the framework of the plan. Led by QEP Director Ryan Carter, and composed of faculty, staff, and students, the committee extended its expertise through working groups on program design, assessment, faculty development, and marketing. Through a broadly consultative process, the committee arrived at general principles that guide the current plan. The Committee unveiled and introduced the QEP to the entire campus at Spring Fling 2014.
The recommendation of the committee was to locate the QEP effort in the Division of Instruction and Student Development under the direction of the Vice President Rhia Crawford. Crawford appointed the QEP Director, Ryan Carter, in January 2013. Carter recruited a small community of individuals to serve as the QEP development and writing team along with another committee who would head up marketing. In executing its work, the development and writing team consulted with various campus groups and experts in relevant areas of educational research. In Fall 2014, a team was formed to begin the Implementation phase of the QEP. This team has taken the form of an Advisory Group and includes faculty, staff and students.
This website provides the most recent versions of the plan and invites campus comment on its ongoing development.
QEP Planning Team
Ryan Carter, Program Coordinator/Faculty of Computer Information Technology, is the QEP Director. Carter was selected through an internal search process. He has facilitated online learning in both 100% online and hybrid formats and brings to the position his experience in online education and student readiness.
The QEP Director reports to the Vice President of Instruction and Student Development.
Please send your comments and questions to rcarter@mayland.edu.
If you would like to be involved in the implementation stage of the QEP, you may contact rcarter@mayland.edu for more information.
