What is the QEP?

Slide 1: Intro UTHSC Slide
Welcome to the first of three presentations on the UTHSC Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP. Presentation 1 is focused on the description of the QEP; Presentation 2 provides an overview of the development of the QEP; and the the third presentation will highlight the five potential topics for our campus.

Slide 2: Title Slide
What is the QEP? You may have been seen parts of this presentation before. Our Steering Committee members have presented across the campus to various audiences during this past Spring Term. This initiative will focus on student learning and will help the campus build on the excellence of our academic programs. 

Slide 3: What is the QEP?
It's the committee’s hope that many of you have already heard something about the QEP. It's a multi-year commitment and focuses on transforming student learning.  It will become “our big idea” for our students and will enhance their disciplinary training. We want to ensure that the QEP topic is tied to our mission and can be measured as part of the strategic plan. Our plan outlines actions that we are taking and will take to demonstrate our values and priorities.

Slide 4: Strategic Map
The QEP falls under Priority A of the Strategic Plan and is one way we will fulfill the academic commitment to: “educate outstanding graduates who meet the needs of the state and its communities.”

It might be helpful here to share an example of what the QEP is unlikely to be. UTHSC has as its core mission to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Because most of our students are enrolled in graduate and professional programs, we would likely NOT target undergraduate research. This would have a smaller impact that other possible topics and is not articulated as part of the strategic plan.

Slide 5: What is the QEP?
UTHSC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges or SACSCOC. We were accredited as a free-standing academic health center in 2015.

Although we have been around since 1911, SACSCOC now considers us a “new” institution and so that means that we go through the entire accreditation process again in five short years, in 2020.

Part of the reaffirmation process for UTHSC will be to develop and later implement the Quality Enhancement Plan. The QEP will create value added learning experiences for our students and will ultimately improve delivery of healthcare by our graduates. The QEP will give us the opportunity to look at what is important to our campus and then shape student learning in unique and transformative ways.

Slide 6: Importance of the QEP
One of the most exciting aspects of the QEP is the potential to transform our academic programs and student learning. If we are successful, the outcomes of the QEP could be used to recruit and retain the very best students and would allow us to market our uniqueness and value-add. We would draw students interested in learning beyond their disciplines. It also will provide the perfect laboratory to focus on interprofessional education and will allow us to break down the silos that impede the Colleges’ ability to work together. The QEP will give us a compelling reason to pull the entire campus together around one transforming idea.

Slide 7: Institutional Support
The campus will provide sufficient funding to implement and sustain the QEP. The cost of a QEP is directly related to the topic and scope of the project. SACSCOC has strict guidelines for planning and submission of the QEP proposal. Once approved by SACSCOC, we will focus on the QEP for the five years, beginning in Fall of 2020 and ending in Spring of 2025. We will then submit a 5th year report to document our successes.

Assessment of the initiatives is critical because we want to demonstrate that the QEP has made a difference in student learning. Additionally, because interprofessional education will be a cornerstone of the QEP, regardless of the topic selected, the Colleges will have to build in some flexibility to allow for interprofessional programing, including the use of simulation and service learning.

Slide 8: QEP Topics from Other Health Science Centers
It may be helpful to look at the QEP topics from other free-standing academic health centers. These examples have already been implemented and we can definitely learn from their successes. Notice that many of these topics are ideas that resonate for us on our campus, and may be topics that we've talked about in certain venues.

Slide 9: QEP Features
As shared earlier, the activities of the QEP must be tied to learning. Students will be assessed on knowledge and application of the course content related to the topic. The “curriculum” must be carefully designed so all members of the campus understand their roles and responsibilities. We will rely on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, along with the committee members, to develop and implement an assessment plan. Most campuses implementing a QEP invest heavily in faculty development to ensure familiarity with course content and assessment methods. We will also follow that same model.

Slide 10: Impact of the QEP
The content of the QEP is infused into the current curricula of our academic programs. It is unlikely there would be a significant number of stand-alone courses. However, if we are successful in building interprofessional collaborations across the colleges, we may want to do something like develop certificate programs focused on the topic. The campus will decide who will participate. As the topic is selected and developed, we will find the right mix of students to participate. We don’t have to develop an idea that involves all our students. However, when we choose a specific level of students such as M1, D1 or P1, within the five-year period of the QEP, all students in those programs will have participated in the QEP.

Slide 11: Closing Slide
The next five to seven years will be an exciting time for our campus. The Steering Committee looks forward to working with students, faculty and staff to create a truly transformative experience.