The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is an integral component of the reaffirmation of the accreditation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The five-year plan reflects a commitment to enhance institutional quality by focusing on an issue the institution considers important to student learning and/or success.
To view the QEP proposal download the PDF.
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Why did the College select the Success Network as our QEP topic?
The QEP Topic Discovery Team, composed of a diverse cross-section of faculty, staff, and a student, was charged with identifying potential topics emerging from the institutional assessment processes and aligned with the College mission. Following this analysis, the team held a series of focus groups and online surveys to explore the needs originating from the institutional evaluation process. Emerging issues included that students struggle with navigating resources and technology and are burdened with various challenges including home life support, financial stability, mental health, time management, online readiness, and academic skills. Employees concurred that the College offers a tremendous amount of services, yet students do not access them as frequently as expected nor is there a system for follow-up if a student was referred to a resource. During the focus groups, employees expressed surprise because they, themselves, were not aware of all the resources NCC offered. The ability to provide proactive and consistent high touch intervention and follow through was identified as a need to improve students’ educational experience. After this comprehensive and collaborative process, NCC selected the establishment of a Success Network as the College’s QEP in order to connect students to the help they need when they need it.
What is the end game? What will the QEP/Success Network look like when fully implemented?
The Success Network represents the wealth of resources that are currently in place on the NCC campus. The vision of the QEP is to connect students with services and resources to support their success through the guidance and mentorship of a Success Coach from application to graduation. So, in the end, every student will be assigned a Success Coach to advise, mentor, guide, and support him or her through personal outreach and high-touch follow-through. Our current advising model will transition to a professionally staffed, success coaching, data informed case-management model.
What is a Success Coach? How are they different from a traditional academic advisor?
A Success Coach helps students navigate college by listening and seeking to understand the individual strengths and challenges of each student. In addition to traditional academic course planning, the Success Coach serves as a point of connection between various resources, provide proactive outreach and follow-up, responds to alerts, assists with professional and personal goal setting, provides academic success strategies, advocates on a student’s behalf, fosters student accountability, as well as identify and seek to address gaps in services.
When does the QEP start? What is happening in the pilot year?
The QEP is a five-year initiative culminating in an impact report submitted to SACSCOC after the fifth year. Our QEP doesn’t officially start until the 2021/22 academic year, but critical elements and key leadership are in place to demonstrate to the visiting team that NCC has the commitment to implement. Many colleges refer to this as the pilot year. The visiting team will expect the College to be both aware of and excited about the QEP. In our pilot year, caseloads will not be assigned. Instead, we will collect baseline data for assessment, establish protocols, workflows, training, and practice coaching techniques and procedures.
What are the student success and measurable outcomes for the QEP?
| Success Outcome | Measurable Outcome |
|---|---|
| Students who interact with a Success Coach will be connected to the appropriate service(s) and resource(s) within the Success Network. | 75% of students for whom a success plan is developed will begin within 14 days of initiation by the coach. |
| Students who interact with a Success Coach and connect with the appropriate service(s) and resource(s) within the Success Network will persist from semester to semester. | First-time student cohort who are assigned a Success Coach will persist from fall semester to subsequent fall semester at a 4% higher rate than baseline historical performance of first-time students (IPEDS cohort). (Note: Excludes students who completed a credential.) |
| Students who interact with a Success Coach and connect with the appropriate service(s) and resource(s) within the Success Network will progress successfully from point of entry to subsequent courses required in their program of study. | First-time student cohort who are assigned a Success Coach will have a passing rate that is 3% higher than baseline historical performance of first-time students (IPEDS cohort) |
| Students who interact with a Success Coach and connect with the appropriate service(s) and resource(s) within the Success Network will complete their program of study. | First-time student cohort who are assigned a Success Coach will graduate at a 3% higher rate than the baseline historical performance of first-time students (IPEDS cohort). {Note: Graduation rates will be compared at the 150% and 200% point.} |
How will the success outcomes be assessed?
Assessment and evaluation will be conducted continuously throughout the QEP project. Assessment will be coordinated by the QEP Director in collaboration with the Director of Advising Services and Institutional Effectiveness. Actual outcomes will be compared against benchmarks and attainment of target goal. Historical baseline data will be utilized to ensure that success outcomes were not impacted in some spurious way by the introduction of the Success Network.
Can the Success Network grow beyond the QEP?
The seed of inspiration for the Success Network was the result of the broad-based process to identify a need the College would address to support student success. The specific mechanism to deliver the success outcomes of the QEP are the Success Coaches. However, one of the reasons the QEP Topic Discovery Team selected the Success Network was its inherent ability to grow, to identify and address additional barriers that impede student success. Fundamentally, the Success Network is the connection of all the services, partners, and resources at NCC working collaboratively to meet student needs.
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