The institution has a Quality Enhancement Plan that (a) has a topic identified through its ongoing, comprehensive planning and evaluation processes; (b) has broad-based support of institutional constituencies; (c) focuses on improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success; (d) commits resources to initiate, implement and complete the QEP; and (e) includes a plan to assess achievement. (Quality Enhancement Plan)
x Compliance o Non-Compliance o Partial Compliance
The Quality Enhancement Plan for UL Lafayette,
Advance: Student Research Experience,
supports the strategic mission of the University to increase student
productivity and success through engagement in mentored research, innovative
projects, and creative endeavors. Advance
creates the undergraduate research initiative described in the UL Lafayette
2015-2020 Strategic Plan, and creates a plan to move the University towards
increasing “student productivity and success through engagement in mentored
research, innovative projects, and creative endeavors.”
Through a lengthy process that garnered
broad-base support from faculty, students, staff, and alumni, UL Lafayette
selected Student Research as the University’s QEP topic. A QEP development
committee with representatives from across the University narrowed the topic to
undergraduate research and focused on enhancing course-based student research
as a means to provide more students with research experiences and prepare more
students for mentored research opportunities. The topic of Student Research
aligns with the UL Lafayette 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, impacting three of the
university’s strategic imperatives and key performance indicators related to
students. Performance indicators call for improving students’ success through
high-impact practices, developing a model for defined and structured
co-curricular activities, and developing an undergraduate research initiative
providing opportunities for students regardless of major. Advance adopts a coordinated undergraduate research program as an
institution-wide high-impact practice that formalizes students’ ability to earn
a research distinction (certificate) by undertaking a co-curricular research
activity (presentation, publication, performance, etc.) that is appropriately
disseminated.
The vision of Advance is that UL Lafayette undergraduates will have an
opportunity to participate in a student research experience (SRE) that will
foster competencies in critical thinking, information literacy, ethics,
creativity, and communication. UL Lafayette defines an SRE as a sustained
effort to apply subject knowledge, skills, and abilities to a project that is
valued by the discipline. An SRE should culminate with a presentation,
publication, performance, or other form of dissemination appropriate to the
discipline.
In order to achieve this vision, Advance prioritizes three
student-learning outcomes (SLOs):
SLO 1: Students will acquire and
demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities to complete an SRE.
SLO 2: Students will recognize the value of
research, scholarship, and creativity in developing and improving knowledge,
and facilitating learning.
SLO 3: Students will demonstrate the skills
necessary to articulate the results of an SRE in appropriate formats, venues,
and delivery modes.
Structured, coordinated modifications
to program curricula complemented by heightened library instruction for
students will support faculty in the development of the research-based
curriculum and creation of pathways leading to an undergraduate research designation
in the academic programs. A Student Center for Research will be established to
facilitate the development, coordination, and communication of research
activities and opportunities within the academic programs. The Center will
monitor and track completed SREs across all undergraduate programs.
Students electing to pursue undergraduate
research will be supported through enhanced capabilities of the University’s Writing
Center and through new focused activities.
These include presentation skills workshops, an undergraduate research
conference, funding to attend national conferences, the creation of a student
research journal, and the establishment of a research week to highlight the
undergraduate research activities.
The University will use external and internal
assessments to evaluate both SLOs and program goal progress. SLOs will be
assessed through direct and indirect measures. Rubrics will be used to evaluate
research artifacts created in research-intensive courses and student
presentations. Perceptions of research experiences will be measured with the
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Faculty Survey of Student
Engagement (FSSE), customized Student Evaluation of Instruction for
research-intensive courses, and exit surveys for participating students.
The plan for the assessment includes both
summative and formative evaluation activities to determine the level of student
and faculty engagement in coordinated research activities, as well to gauge the
effectiveness of project design and the extent to which the expected
operational and student learning outcomes are attained. As programs re-design
curricula to incorporate new research opportunities and formalize a pathway to
earning the undergraduate research designation, assessment activities will be
designed to allow for the collection of student artifacts leading to direct
assessment of the research skills (including critical thinking, information
literacy, ethics, creativity, and communication) they develop. Rubrics and/or
rating sheets will generally provide data to analyze whether the level of skills
and competencies students attain sufficiently prepare them to complete a
meaningful SRE. Rubrics and other standard rating instruments will also be
adopted to assess final student research projects against the expected learning
outcomes and their associated sub-competencies. Faculty providing ratings for
student artifacts and/or presentations will undergo calibration training to
ensure consistent and equitable ratings for direct assessment instruments.
The significance of the research experiences
students participate in extends beyond students earning of an undergraduate
research distinction. These experiences underscore the University’s belief that
students will recognize the value of research, scholarship, and creativity in
developing and improving knowledge and facilitating learning. The expectation
is that students will leverage the research experience to discover more about
their discipline and themselves as scholars.