Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

QEP stands for Quality Enhancement Plan, and it’s a key component of WCU’s accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

The QEP is a focused initiative or course of action intended to enhance student learning and/or student success. WCU’s current students, faculty, and staff will propose a topic for the QEP initiative, the university community will vote to choose the top proposal, and then that topic will be transformed into a purposeful initiative. And since the QEP is intended to become a permanent program at the university, its impact is potentially significant and long lasting.

WCU's previous QEP was DegreePlus , an initiative created an implemented as part of the 2017 SACSCOC reaffirmation.

DegreePlus is now housed in WCU’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) and helps students develop career-related skills in leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and cultural responsiveness.

Every SACSCOC-accredited university must create a Quality Enhancement Plan, so there are numerous other examples available, if you’d like to learn more.

Over the past decade, common QEP themes have focused on writing skills, research, global citizenship, critical thinking, experiential learning, student retention, and transferable skills for careers. But the possibilities are truly endless in terms of topics – a QEP can focus on anything that could enhance student learning or student success.

Any current WCU students, faculty, and staff are eligible to submit a proposal- either individually or as a team. The best ideas can come from anywhere, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate!

Remember, the QEP can be a brand new initiative, but we also welcome and encourage proposals that build on something the university is already doing.

Yes, they do! The individual teams whose topics are chosen as the top three finalists will receive a cash prize. The grand prize is $3000, second place will receive $2000, and third place will receive $1000. If one of the top three proposals was submitted by a team, the cash prize will be divided equally among team members.

The top three proposals will also be highlighted on the university's social media accounts, as well as formally recognized in the program for WCU's Faculty/Staff Awards Ceremony in April 2026.

This link will take you to the proposal submission form, but you can also find a button with the submission link on the upper right side of this page.

As you’re working on your proposal, you may find this template helpful. The template mirrors the submission form and will allow you to draft each element of your proposal before you submit the final version.

And please keep in mind that the QEP Steering Committee will be using this rubric to score each proposal. As you’ll see in the rubric, a strong proposal should align with WCU’s Strategic Plan.

Once the top five proposals are selected, members of the Steering Committee will work directly with submitters to help them expand their proposals with additional information (outlined in this more detailed rubric).

The QEP Proposal Submission template will open August 25th and will close on October 10th, 2025.

The QEP Steering Committee will review all initial proposals, then use a rubric to select the top five.

At that point, the top proposals will work with Committee members to expand and include additional information in their proposals. They will also work with WCU’s Marketing team to create short video explanations of their ideas, which will be made available to the university community.

At the end of the process, current students, faculty, and staff, along with the QEP Steering Committee, will vote on the top three proposals (the prize winners).

Please feel free to reach out to the QEP Steering Committee co-chairs, Sarah Steiner and Kathleen Brennan with questions. They will be happy to help.

Jen Schiff, Director of Institutional Accreditation, can also assist with any questions regarding the QEP process.