II: Broad-based College Participation in the Identification of the QEP Topic
In anticipation of the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation site visit scheduled for Fall 2005 and in preparation for
a new five-year (2005-10) strategic plan to follow the 2000-05 plan that was coming to fruition, an OCTC Leadership Team
Retreat was held in July 2003. At that time the college was in the final stages of a four-year, substantive change
consolidation of the community and the technical college. Guided by a joint strategic plan, the consolidation had
resulted in a significant restructuring while laying the groundwork for several notable accomplishments as well, including
a major gifts campaign, a focus on continuous quality improvement that led to statewide recognition, and the receipt of a
Title III grant. Throughout the process, the college began to seriously focus on a culture of evidence and the use of trend data.
Though many areas of strength became evident, some areas of weakness were revealed, and it was these areas that were given careful
attention at the retreat.
Beginning from a research base, the Leadership Team discussed a number of recent journal articles about learning and
the future of higher education to “kickoff” the exploration of ideas for the new strategic plan and the Quality Enhancement
Plan. Due to these fruitful discussions, it was decided that the college as a whole should undertake a similar process in
preparation for selecting the goals for the plans. This resulted in plans for “Brown Bag” discussions to begin the simultaneous
development of a Quality Enhancement Plan and a new strategic plan, as both were due to be completed in Spring/Summer 2005.
Three articles were selected for the Brown Bag discussions within the college community:
Cronon, W. (1998). "Only connect . . ." : The goals of a liberal education
(32kb). American Scholar 67(4), 73–80.
Hanna, D.E. (2003). Building a leadership vision: eleven strategic challenges for higher education(676kb). EduCause Review 38(4), 24-34.
O’Banion, T. (2000). An inventory for learning-centered colleges(372kb). Community College Journal 71(1), 14-23
In Spring 2004, seven of these Brown Bag sessions were held where OCTC faculty and staff engaged in conversations about student
learning and the key issues the college would be facing in the coming years. One hundred and sixty-seven faculty and staff, over
three quarters of full-time employees, participated in at least one session. The three articles became the starting points for
engaging everyone in attendance, as each was asked to share the one idea that struck him/her as most important to the future of
the college. Discussion proceeded from that point, with the moderator, the Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, keeping the
focus on issues regarding student learning.
Transcripts of the sessions
(
http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/ir/QEP/Background/gatheringideas.htm) were
summarized via a qualitative data inductive analysis. This process is designed to identify the patterns, themes, and categories
that emerge from the data (Patton, 1990, p. 396). The analysis identified the three primary analyst-constructed typologies:
1) Learning and Learning Climate, 2) Access and Services Provided to Students, and 3) Connectivity.
The following categories within each typology emerged, with the tally of comments made in the opening round-robin noted
in parentheses.
Learning and Learning Climate
Life-long learning (72)
Assessment and Expectations (13)
Technology (13)
Student Motivation, Responsibility for Learning, Engagement (12)
Interdisciplinary approaches (6)
Character and Ethics (5)
Teaching and Professional Development (5)
Access and Services provided to Students
Student Supports (11)
Delivery Options (9)
Barriers (6)
Connectivity
Internal Connections, Communication, Stakeholder Involvement (12)
External Connections, Partnerships, Community (8)
While these categories were influenced by the articles discussed, the primacy of life-long learning and the themes of student
responsibility, clear expectations, and the need for “connected” learning and student experiences were evident.
The importance of these issues was reinforced at a Strategic Planning Retreat held on June 2, 2004. At the conclusion of this
meeting of twenty-nine key stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, Board members, Foundation members, Chamber members,
and other community leaders, the following issues were identified as the top ten priorities for the college in 2005-10:
Expand alternative delivery programs: Weekend College, 2+2 with WKU, regional campus, learning centers in businesses, Forever Young program (14)
Improve the learning centered climate of all 3 campuses, e.g. coffee bar, wellness trail, discussion groups, common readings, convocation, GE 100 enhancement, interdisciplinary, incentives, scholarships, recognition, ethics, character, engagement, motivation, responsibility, rigor (12)
Install and utilize state of the art technology (lab and equipment), e.g., wireless, smart classrooms, holographic technology (12)
Improve services to students: childcare, food services, counseling, job placement, online services (12)
Implement seamless enrollment: H.S./GED/2+2 programs and workforce training (10)
Complete reaffirmation of SACS accreditation and receive national Baldrige award - assessment/effectiveness/expectations (7)
Complete Advanced Technology Center and greenhouse and create a business and industry consortium to keep equipment updated (5)
Transform the Downtown Campus to outreach center, entrepreneurship, incubator space (4)
Promote and display our mission and values (3)
Increase publicity through use of OCTV and website (3)
In Fall 2004, the QEP Team (a subcommittee of the Institutional Effectiveness Committee) initiated a process to refine the
ideas and themes from the Brown Bag Sessions and the planning retreat into a focused QEP topic by presenting these questions
for consideration by faculty, staff, and students:
How can we...
1) assure students “start right”?
2) create the conditions for learning?
3) ensure all students experience connection and direction?
4) prepare students for a life of learning?
These questions were posted in all buildings on large poster paper during November 2004, and open feedback sessions, “QEP
Discussion Sessions,” were held on all three campuses for faculty and staff and for students. Over 100 faculty, staff, and
students participated in at least one session. The comments and
ideas (
http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/ir/QEP/Background/QuestionsFramework.htm)
were analyzed and grouped into six general categories:
Are students welcome here?
First impressions
Setting expectations
Support for learners, support for learning
Building community
Encouraging further education and a life of learning
After noting these categories and reviewing the comments in detail, it became clear that the general themes of connection
and direction would encompass nearly all the QEP ideas: 1) helping students connect to the college, community, and world, 2)
helping them connect what they learned in one class to another class, to the workplace, and to their lives, and 3) providing
them direction by making our expectations—as well as those of employers, other educational institutions, and society as a
whole—clear.
From these discussions, the QEP Team began the process of outlining the plan. A draft outline was presented to the
Institutional Effectiveness Committee and the Administrative Council in February 2005, with both groups approving the
outline with minor edits. The draft outline was shared with the entire campus community during March via e-mail, and
one of the QEP Co-Chairs met with each academic division to take questions and suggestions. Following this review and
comment period, changes were made in preparation for consideration by the College Assembly on March 24,
2005 (
http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/ir/QEP/Background/DraftOutline.htm and Appendix A). The draft was approved with the understanding
that the plan would continue to evolve as the project moved into its development phase.
A summary of the participation of the college community in the identification of the QEP focus and the development of the plan
may be found on page 8.
Timeline for Participation by College Community in Identification of QEP Focus
July 2003 Leadership Team Retreat to begin preparation for the 2006-2010 Strategic Plan and exploration of QEP ideas
November 2003 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) results released to the college community for discussion
Spring 2004 Seven “Brown Bag” sessions held to engage faculty and staff in discussions about student learning
June 2004 Strategic Planning Retreat with college leadership including OCTC Board of Directors, Foundation Board of Directors and community members to prioritize key college issues
Fall 2004 QEP Team followed a refinement process to narrow the QEP ideas to themes by posting four questions in all campus buildings for faculty, staff and student responses
November 2004 QEP Discussion Sessions held on all three campuses which narrowed the general themes to those of Connection and Direction
February 2005 Draft outline of QEP presented to the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and Administrative Council for approval
March 2005 Draft outline of QEP provided to entire campus and QEP co-chair meets with Academic Divisions to receive questions and suggestions.
March 2005 College Assembly approved the QEP outline as a draft document
April - June 2005 Seven QEP Development Teams with 4-5 members research and develop their sections of the QEP
July 2005 Draft QEP presented to the Leadership Team and final refinements made by QEP Development Team leaders and QEP co-chairs
August 2005 Presentation of QEP to faculty and staff at Fall 2005 Kickoff on August 1, 2005 - “The Big E” – Expectations and Engagement
