The Six QEP Themes

1. Developing Engaged Citizenship

This topic addresses the need to develop engaged citizens who demonstrate knowledge, awareness, and an understanding of the complexities of citizenship in order to contribute to a culturally diverse, multilingual world. It addresses a need to develop and apply leadership skills by seeing issues and concerns from multiple perspectives and recognizing and evaluating the ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and trade-offs involved in personal and collective decision-making. By cultivating students’ abilities to apply these skills in a variety of circumstances, this topic may include research methodologies, leadership, and civic engagement in local, regional, national, or international settings.

Examples:

UK/Business Partnerships - Internships/Externships

Establish an interdisciplinary ethics center with the fundamental aim of enhancing the overall ethical culture within the UK community and beyond providing campus-wide ethics programming and professional development on the teaching of ethics, supporting research on ethics, and sponsor conferences and symposiums focusing on ethical issues from local to global.

Entrepreneurial leadership development opportunities and experiences-creative enterprise via curricular & co-curricular activities students interpret global events from more than one cultural viewpoint, and analyze the effects of internationalization and globalization on the nation, state, and local communities.

2. Expanding Global Awareness and Involvement

This topic brings together ideas related to globalization, localization, internationalization, world politics, and cultural exchange. Students and the campus as a whole will benefit having both a better understanding of others and their position within the world, as well as a better understanding of Kentucky's unique qualities and how it fits into the national and international picture. It is important for students throughout their education to gain greater awareness of current events and international issues. This topic calls for increased opportunities for broader cultural understanding and enrichment across campus.

Examples:

Creating international experiences within the undergraduate/graduate curriculum beyond what the new general education program is doing. (i.e. Capstone, 1st year experience, etc.)

Student and faculty exchange program with student & faculty from other cultures (cohort format?)

Increasing Study Abroad (domestic & international) opportunities for larger numbers of students.

Linking knowledge of Kentucky (political, economic, and historical) with national and international figures and events through curricular & co-curricular activities.

3. Fostering a Supportive and Vibrant Campus Culture

This issue addresses how UK can create a strong and vibrant campus culture. Campus culture is defined as student-driven and dependent on responsible behavior, respect for others, and the celebration of excellence. It celebrates diversity, upholds empathy, and compels civility. A vibrant campus culture embodies the total learning environment referring to the qualities and characteristics of the spaces and places where students gather, live, and learn. This includes everything supporting the communities and activities that take place in the lives of students.

Examples:

Expanding the ways campus culture is promoted through student life events, courses and activities (i.e.: K-week orientation, UK 101, diversity/inclusivity training & awareness, and health/fitness and wellness programs).

Expanding mentoring and learning centers, advising/student-success centers, and living-learning communities.

Developing awareness and commitment to sustainability through research methodologies, eco-design, and eco-awareness embedded into the curriculum

4. Enhancing Scholarship: Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, & Academic Integrity

This topic includes many of the skills necessary for students to be ethical, informed decision-makers and communicators. By building information literacy skills to research a topic, synthesize and judge the quality of information, students will be able to think critically and make evidence-based decisions across multiple disciplines of thought and study utilizing the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. They will acquire effective, articulate communication skills through a variety of traditional and emerging modalities (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, listening, visually, and digitally).

Examples:

Establish a professional development program for faculty designed to train faculty cohorts in the theoretical basis for writing to learn and writing across the curriculum strategies.

Initiate Learning Communities consisting of students & faculty, throughout disciplines to better address elements of academic literacy such as critical thinking, cross-curricular understanding, academic integrity, and student-faculty interaction.

Develop both curricular and non-curricular means for students to achieve effective oral communication and informed, clear writing skills by including specific writing and speaking activities in general education courses, upper-division courses, and student life activities such as student publications, leadership activities, and student government where communication fluency is applied and reinforced.

5. Advancing 21st Century Teaching and Learning

The topic relates to both innovation in pedagogy and opportunities for holistic learning by taking advantage of the wealth of technologies available today to integrate new knowledge with learning experiences and real life application. Progressive pedagogy is moving beyond didactic teaching into interdisciplinary, case-based instruction and interdisciplinary mentoring. By achieving collaboration across disciplines and across physical barriers, teaching and learning outcomes advance through innovative curricula and pedagogy.

Examples: Faculty development guidance in developing inquiry-based curriculum and instructional design through workshops, conferences, etc.

Increasing undergraduate research experiences and opportunities related to curriculum.

Designing holistic (interdisciplinary) approaches to teaching and learning through collaboration, practica, or distance learning.

6. Navigating Successful Transitions

This topic focuses on student success by better facilitating life transitions for UK students before, during, and after their educational experience at UK. Transitions include moving from secondary school to life at UK, transitions relevant to growth during undergraduate years, as well as transitions from the university setting to the workforce or graduate and professional schools. Improvements in academic and career advising and placement, enhancing life skills of students in preparation for graduation, and greater access to research and engagement experiences empowers students to affect the living-learning environment of the campus.

Examples:

Expanding the student orientation program that will help students develop their lifelong learning skills and enhance their college experience.

Advancing a comprehensive, developmental model of advising that allows for seamless movement through the curriculum including career path planning and guidance within that model.

Develop effective interventionstrategies that ensure student receive the appropriate services to persist to degree.

Improving student-alumni interaction through mentoring, research, and professional opportunities empowering the curricular and co-curricular by strengthening the connections of the UK family.

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Contact Site Developer Dan Cleland | Last Update: March 22, 2013