Frequently Asked Questions

What is a QEP?

The Quality Enhancement Plan is part of CCC&TI's SACS reaffirmation process. Every institution that belongs to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) must develop and execute a QEP in order to have their SACS accreditation reaffirmed. CCC&TI's plan focuses on enhancing student writing and creating an institutional culture that supports superlative writing.

What is 'good writing'?

For the purposes of this plan, it's the ability to produce unified, coherent, well-developed written communication using standard English.

How do we agree on what constitutes 'good writing'?

The CCC&TI QEP Committee developed a rubric, or a set of guidelines, to help instructors assess student writing assignments; however, instructors may develop their own rubrics to suit the needs of their own areas. In additional, professional development opportunities will help faculty and staff understand what good writing means in the context of our Quality Enhancement plan.

What is a rubric?

Heidi Goodrich, a rubrics expert, defines a rubric as "a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work or 'what counts.'" So a rubric for a multimedia project will list the things the student must have included to receive a certain score or rating.

Rubrics help the student figure out how their project will be evaluated. Goodrich quotes a student who said he didn't much care for rubrics because "if you get something wrong, your teacher can prove you knew what you were supposed to do."

Generally rubrics specify the level of performance expected for several levels of quality. These levels of quality may be written as different ratings (e.g., Excellent, Good, Needs Improvement) or as numerical scores (e.g., 4, 3, 2, 1) which are then added up to form a total score which then is associated with a grade (e.g., A, B, C, etc). 

Rubrics can help students and teachers define "quality". Rubrics can also help students judge and revise their own work before handing in their assignments. Source: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

How will we make the QEP happen?

Our strategies for achieving our goals include:

  • establishing writing centers on both campuses to provide personal service to students, faculty and staff
  • developing an online writing center, using a COBRAS/Blackboard organization to reach off-campus students and support on-campus students when they are away from campus
  • establishing professional development programs for faculty to help train faculty cohorts in the theoretical basis of "writing to learn" and strategies for implementing these concepts in all programs offered at CCC&TI

How can I get involved with the professional development program? 

Contact Tom Hearron (thearron@cccti.edu ) or Margaret Hampson (mhampson@cccti.edu ) to find out more about the QEP professional development program.  New cohorts should start each semester.

Do I have to be involved? 

No one is forced to participate, but most faculty are excited about the possibilities offered by this program.

What is Writing to Learn? 

Writing to learn is the use of writing activities in the classroom to facilitate critical thinking and learning.

What is WAC? 

WAC stands for Writing Across the Curriculum, an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes writing in all disciplines, not just English classes.

What if I have no training teaching writing? 

No problem!  That is what the professional develop program will provide.

How will we know our plan is working? 

One component of the QEP is a detailed assessment plan.  Each year QEP assessment committee will analyze the year’s assessment activities making recommendations to the QEP director and executive vice president through an assessment report.

If you have additional questions or need clarification on certain areas, feel free to contact mhampson@cccti.edu or download the QEP Report for more information.