Commit To Complete
Quality Enhancement Plan (2024–2029)
Welcome to Commit to Complete, College of the Mainland’s Quality Enhancement Plan for enhancing student success!
What is a QEP?
A Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a comprehensive, five-year action plan that targets an issue identified by the institution as it relates to enhancing student learning and / or success. It is a critical aspect of the reaccreditation process of all Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) members.
The COM QEP is Commit to Complete
Commit to Complete is a college-wide student success effort focused on improving persistence, retention and completion utilizing the Guided Pathways framework.
QEP Goal
The overarching goal of Commit to Complete is to improve student completion rates by providing impactful guidance and resources to ensure students’ confidence in setting and achieving their educational goals.
How was the QEP topic selected?
To identify a topic, the College convened a diverse QEP Development Committee. This committee conducted a series of activities aimed at gathering both quantitative and qualitative data from a range of institutional, state and federal sources to inform their decision-making process.
Various outreach strategies, including surveys and focus groups, were employed to solicit feedback from COM employees, students and key stakeholders. The committee carefully analyzed and interpreted all acquired data, including statistics concerning enrollment, persistence, retention and student outcomes.
The analysis generated several potential QEP topics. However, a clear preference emerged for focusing on implementing the Guided Pathways model to bolster student success. This choice resonated with the committee and seamlessly aligned with the College’s strategic plan, which prioritizes the successful implementation of the Guided Pathways model.
Building upon the initial groundwork laid for a Guided Pathways model, the committee enthusiastically recommended adoption of the “Commit to Complete” initiative as the QEP topic to the College president.
QEP Implementation Committee
- Dr. Shinya Wakao (Co-Chair), department chair, Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Kelley Waters (Co-Chair), director, Career Services
- Dr. Helen Castellanos Brewer, executive vice president, Division of Academic and Student Affairs
- Michelle Brezina, dean, Student Services
- Deborah Fregia, associate dean, Student Services
- Dr. Michelle Davis, director, Academic Planning and Innovation
- Kathryn Park, director, COM Library
Why Commit to Complete?
The Commit to Complete program aims to enhance the academic journey at COM by providing students with the necessary support and resources to empower them to shape their futures and achieve personal transformation. This journey commences with our dedication to assisting students in identifying and cultivating a well-defined career path, guiding them towards successful advancement, and ensuring timely completion of their degree or certificate program. This plan will ultimately lead to the development of Guided Pathways that will help academic transfer and workforce students.
Campus Goals
The objective of this goal is to furnish all students with clearly defined academic pathways that align with their academic and career goals.
Strategies/Actions:
- The office of Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs will reestablish the Guided Pathways Initiative at College of the Mainland.
- The Guided Pathways Initiative Committee will work with faculty and Student Affairs to provide clear maps to completion for all workforce and academic programs.
- Faculty and staff will be provided professional development to ensure complete understanding of the new pathways.
The objective of this goal is to ensure every new student is supported in college and career exploration to select an appropriate major for the student’s interests.
Strategies/Actions:
- Faculty will review the current meta major breakdowns and ensure that they are meaningful and easy to understand.
- The Career Services Office will review the current technology available for students to offer them support in selecting a career and/or major. These tools will be used to serve not only current students, but also potential applicants looking to make more educated choices about their pathways.
- The Advising Office will create materials for students to comprise a “Pathway Pack” which will include program and meta major information as well as campus resources. This will be dispersed upon enrollment, with additional supporting materials being available for students during advising sessions once they are registered for courses.
- The Advising Office will determine the best use of current or new technology to develop a more effective degree auditing process, as well as educational plan, allowing students to not only see the current path they are on, but also personalized information addressing their path to graduation, transfer courses required, electives of interest, and their specific timeline based upon their full or part time status.
- Professional development will be offered to faculty regarding resources available through the Career Services Office to increase the number of faculty using this service to help their students with experiential learning as well as career development.
Goal three includes actions focused on keeping students on path with their academic goals. These actions are designed to decrease students’ hours to completion and increase overall number of credential completion.
Strategies/Actions:
- The Advising Committee will review and improve the tools provided to students to track their progress. This will allow students to feel confident in their accomplishments. Additionally, these tools will allow students to explore other academic plans if they are considering other paths.
- The Faculty Engagement Committee will access and incorporate specific tools aimed at students enrolled in Psychology for Success classes. Faculty will adapt the coursework to help students monitor their progress toward degree completion.
- The Student Life Committee will work with various Student Affairs Departments to develop a “First Year Experience” for all entering students. This program will connect students with the mission of College of the Mainland as well as connecting with student life programs, campus resources, student services and faculty.
- The Career Services Committee will increase students’ awareness of Career Services activities and tools to all students. Enhancements will include adding services designed for part-time, evening, and online student populations
Goal four is designed to improve student completion rates and ensure graduates are prepared for the careers they will enter. COM will increase the number of opportunities for students to apply theoretical concepts of their programs through hands-on, experiential activities.
Strategies/Actions:
- The Faculty Engagement Committee will identify current practices of experiential learning programs and review all academic programs for experiential learning and internships.
- The Career Services Office will hire a Career Services Coordinator for students in career planning and preparation. Specifically, the Coordinator will engage with local employers to develop internship and experiential learning opportunities for students.
- All academic programs will be reviewed to add group activities for students where possible. Additionally, professional development will be provided to faculty to embed group activities in courses.
- The Office of Planning, Effectiveness, Analytics and Research (OPEAR) and the Marketing Department will collaborate to develop a report system showing campus statistics on our website such as enrollment, completion, and transfer rates.
Key Dates and QEP Timeline
- Re-establish the Guided Pathways initiative with leadership sub-committees to carry
out
assigned activities. - Hire QEP Director and establish budget for activities.
- Begin communication plan and professional development for faculty and staff.
- Implement review of academic program listings to develop both full-time and part-time
pathways (ie. 9 credits per semester) and include meaningful information such as critical
courses, recommended course sequences, financial costs of the program, labor market
information, and needed transfer information. - Explore technology to facilitate improved resources to help students select an appropriate
academic path and persist through their program. - Develop a system where all students will establish individualized academic plans to
guide
them through their educational journey.
- Faculty will fully implement early alert system to provide intervention for students
in
trouble. - Expansion of career exploration tools to assist students in determining appropriate
academic plan early on.
- Revised academic maps accessible to students.
- Students will be able to access their degree requirements in the selected technology
so
they can follow their progress towards completion.
- Faculty will receive professional development and resources on strategies for including
experiential learning in academic programs.
- Develop First Year Experience program for all incoming students.
- Expand experiential learning opportunities for students.
- Research best practices for optimal student/advisor caseloads to ensure proper staffing.
- Implement student degree audits for all students.