Dear Loyola community,
Every ten years, the university embarks on a long-term project, setting an area of focus that will help to guide learning outcomes and student success. The topic we choose becomes our guiding star, helping to determine how we work as we lead the university into the future.
Known as the QEP, the Quality Enhancement Plan is required by our accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). It’s an integral component of the reaffirmation of the accreditation process – and a process that all accredited colleges and universities must pursue.
The QEP reflects and affirms our commitment to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue that Loyola considers important to improving student learning outcomes and student success. We involve faculty, staff, and students in topic selection, development, and implementation, and tie our choice to ongoing work and planning processes.
In spring 2021, Loyola successfully completed a QEP on Experiential Learning, which included four pillars. Those four pillars, research with students, internships, service learning, and study abroad, are all areas of excellence at Loyola. Cathy Rogers, chair of the Department of Strategic Communication, ably led the process, and we are grateful for her leadership.
We are inviting the Loyola community to take part in this important project and help us choose our next topic. The process will be led by associate provosts Uriel Quesada and Erin Dupuis.
In upcoming days, you will receive an email invitation to participate in a meeting to learn about possible pre-selected topics – and to propose other topics that you consider important to our students’ success. Our first meeting will be held Thursday, February 9 at 12:30 p.m.
After that meeting, we as a community will be engaged in a conversation to pick the best topic for the next QEP. We will announce the winning topic at the end of the spring semester.
Father Justin Daffron, S.J.
Interim President
