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Kentucky State University officials recently unveiled the newly developed quality enhancement plan (QEP) proposal.

Institutions accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) are required to develop a QEP when seeking reaffirmation of accreditation.

The topic of the new QEP is “Responding to Next Generation Challenges.”

According to information provided by University QEP officials, the proposed topic “answers the call of Joseph E. Aoun in his forward-thinking study ‘Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.’”

One of the outcomes sought from the new QEP is to “produce graduates who are adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the 21st-century workforce.”

According to University QEP officials, the proposal builds on the intent of Kentucky House Bill 4, which mandates teaching skills students will need to possess in order to join the 21st-century workforce in the Commonwealth.

Kentucky State students will benefit from the QEP through exposure to design thinking, agile thinking, creative problem solving, problem identification and solution development. Students and faculty will also enhance community engagement and build lasting community relationships through capstone projects.

According to the SACSCOC website, a QEP is “a document developed by the institution that (1) includes a process identifying key issues emerging from institutional assessment, (2) focuses on learning outcomes and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the institution, (3) demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation, implementation, and completion of the QEP, (4) includes broad-based involvement of institutional constituencies in the development and proposed implementation of the QEP, and (5) identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement.”

The QEP proposal will receive SACSCOC review in the spring 2019 semester. The initial pilot run of the QEP will occur in fall 2019.