Faculty Frequently Asked Questions
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Every 10 years, TCU must be reaccredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). A requirement of the reaccreditation process is to identify and institute a five-year Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that:
- identifies a topic through ongoing, comprehensive planning and evaluation
- has broad-based support of institutional constituents
- focuses on improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success
- commits resources to initiate and complete the QEP
- includes a plan to assess achievement.
Since it is required for accreditation, TCU allotted resources to bring the Quality Enhancement Plan to fruition.
The short answer is: Everyone. The QEP Leadership Team met regularly to discuss, research, peruse data, and determine possible implementation and assessment. Three topics were presented to faculty, staff, students and alumni for input. The QEP Leadership Team considered all feedback and created the final plan – Finding Ourselves in Community (FSC) – to move forward for the next five years.
Finding Ourselves in Community (FSC) is a comprehensive plan, not a course. The concepts can be embedded into any course for any major or minor, but mainly is included in Core Curriculum courses. Our goal is to strengthen as many courses as possible across campus to align with FSC learning outcomes.
Yes. Finding Ourselves in Community (FSC) focuses on undergraduate curriculum, so it includes all schools and colleges except the Burnett School of Medicine.
The FSC learning outcomes are:
- Define key concepts associated with identity and the formation of social identities.
- Explain how values, norms, biases and practices continually shape identity.
- Illustrate how one’s developing identity informs relationships in communities
Yes. TCU provides faculty with evidence-based practices to support student learning outcomes, and formative and summative measures to assess student learning.
A series of six workshops are held on Friday afternoons each Fall and Spring semester to provide faculty development to embed Finding Ourselves in Community (FSC) into various courses across campus. The workshops help you revise your syllabus, choose supporting materials, introduce ideas, and refine skills to facilitate disparate ideas in classroom discussions. Your participation is acknowledged with a $2,000 stipend, ½ for completing the workshops and ½ when you teach your course and complete the assessment.
Application forms are available here.
NOTE: Only current approved courses are eligible. New courses must be approved by University Council before being submitted.
Both professional learning for faculty and syllabus revision are covered.
For courses taught by multiple faculty, it is important that all of the instructors participate in professional development, not just one.
Professional development is offered every semester over the five years of the Quality Enhancement Plan.
We encourage all interested faculty to apply. At this time there are no specific guidelines except that the course you wish to modify must be an existing course,. New courses must be previously approved by University Council.
No, they will be designated as FSC. Finding Ourselves in Community is not part of the Core Curriculum, although the project did get its origins from the DEI Essential Competency.
To begin this five-year project, the QEP Leadership Team focused on onboarding for 2023. The Implementation Team will consider other options for professional development for 2024 and beyond.
For existing courses: Every faculty member who teaches the course must complete the professional development workshops.
For new courses: Work together to create the syllabus and agree on course content, then go through the new course approval process by University Council. Once approved, all instructors must complete the professional development workshops.
Currently, the professional development focuses on full-time faculty only. Over the next five years of the project, we will consider options for professional development for adjunct faculty.
Lower-level courses are encouraged but all levels are welcome. The greater benefit for students is to embed FSC learning outcomes into lower-level courses, to give them a foundation to engage in more in-depth, complex learning in upper-level courses.
Faculty are encouraged to consider new courses that embrace Finding Ourselves in Community for the future. All new courses must be approved through the required process for new courses through Academic Affairs Councils, then you can go through the workshops if you haven’t already.
SACSCOC requires an ongoing assessment over the next five years. The QEP Implementation Team will decide how to assess and what assessment tools to use. The team will submit a five-year review and impact report to SACSCOC in 2029.
The Quality Enhancement Plan requires a least a 5-year commitment. TCU’s projected timeline can be found here.
The Implementation Team documents faculty who go through professional development and assess the outcomes of their courses. No other documentation is required.
The focus is to measure the effect on students. Student data will be collected from all FSC courses and measured against a centralized rubric to assess students’ achievement of the student learning outcomes. We will utilize SPOT data, annually administered campus surveys, focus groups, and monitor various campus metrics to assess the QEP.
Courses are tagged as FSC as administered through the Registrar’s Office.