Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
LET’S WRITE RIGHT
As part of the reaccreditation of the University of Holy Cross in 2017 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSOC), a Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP was approved. Entitled Let’s Write Right: Writing in the Disciplines, the overarching goal of the plan is to focus on improving the quality of undergraduate students’ writing:
By increasing writing support and offering writing-intensive upper-level courses in each degree program, the Let’s Write Right QEP will provide undergraduate students with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful writing in their chosen professional careers and/or graduate studies.
The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) of the plan reflect the types of learning expected:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the “context, audience, and purpose” of the writing assignment;
- Develop content that reveals sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject throughout the writing assignment;
- Apply the conventions for formatting and organizing the writing assignment in the style expected in their major discipline;
- Synthesize evidence drawn from relevant sources with their own ideas, paraphrasing and quoting them correctly, and citing sources by using the format appropriate to their major disciplines; and
- Write clearly and effectively, using syntax and mechanics appropriate to the writing assignment.
One part of the plan is to test students transferring credit for ENG 102 or completing it at UHC for writing proficiency.
A second part is to require all undergraduate students to successfully complete two writing-intensive courses (one at the 300 level and one at the 400 level) in their major disciplines. Implementation began in the 2018-2019 academic year with the designated courses (identified in the “Course Descriptions” section below) in major programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, continued in the 2019-2020 academic year in the College of Counseling, Education, and Business, and reaches full implementation with the addition of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences in the 2020-2021 academic year. Student writing in these courses is assessed by using the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) Written Communication VALUE Rubric.