Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

In 2004 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges, (SACSCOC) started requiring a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the decennial reaffirmation process. Since 2004, over one billion dollars have been spent by the 794 accredited SACSCOC institutions completing their QEPs. Fifth-Year Impact Reports must be completed by the institution at the end of the QEP as part of the Fifth-Year Compliance Report. Once that report is accepted by SACSCOC, no additional reporting on the QEP is required. This study looked at six Track A, Level I institutions in five states that started a QEP with academic advising as a focus between 2008 and 2012. The research question for this study looked at the reasons the 17 student learning outcomes at the six institutions in this study were continued or discontinued after the Fifth-Year Impact Report. Three themes emerged in this study from the review of the results from the electronic pre-visit surveys, in-person interviews conducted with 21 faculty, 21 administrators, 13 staff, and three QEP directors in spring 2019, and the Fifth-Year Impact Reports. The themes developed were institutions started to look at the student experience from a holistic viewpoint, the advising processes were made more intentional, and more open methods of communication were created. Findings from this study showed the 17 student learning outcomes at the six institutions became integral parts of the fabric and culture at each institution.

Year manuscript completed

2019

Year degree awarded

2019

Author's Keywords

advising center, advising model, first-year experience course, advising culture, SACSCOC

Dissertation Committee Chair

Ben Littlepage

Committee Member

Landon Clark

Committee Member

Patrick Lake

Document Type

Dissertation

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