Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
Read & Succeed: The Jefferson Quality Enhancement Plan
What Is Read & Succeed? Jefferson is launching a five-year project focused on helping our students read more and read more effectively. The project is called Read & Succeed—you might also hear it called our Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP. This plan, part of our SACSCOC Reaffirmation of Accreditation, is designed to focus on one aspect of student success that we want to improve.
Why Did We Choose Reading? Every year, the College analyzes all kinds of data to keep an eye on student success. We saw data related to reading that showed this as an area where we could improve—Jefferson students reported spending less time reading to prepare for class and more occasions of coming to class unprepared than other community college students nationally. They scored lower than other community college students nationally on a test of reading proficiency. Then we surveyed students, faculty and staff, and found that they almost all agreed that reading would make a valuable focus for our QEP project. We also held focus groups with students, faculty and staff to hear more about reading and get their input on the approach our project should take.
What Will Read & Succeed Accomplish?
Read & Succeed has three big student success goals:
- Improve student reading proficiency
- Improve student reading habits
- Improve student reading mindset
Simply put, we want to strengthen students’ reading skills, and we know we can do that best by also helping them build strong reading habits and attitudes along the way.
What Activities Will Read & Succeed Include? Read & Succeed will include activities for students, faculty and staff. For students, we’ll hold workshops and extracurricular activities like book groups and reading challenges. We will make sure they know where to find good places to get comfortable and read on all of our campuses. We’ll involve our faculty in professional learning so that no matter what subject they teach, they’ll have plenty of resources for helping students navigate the texts they assign. And we’ll also involve our staff in professional learning so that they can reinforce the new reading strategies that students are using.
How Can Everyone Get Involved? Read & Succeed is for everyone! Be sure to join the upcoming events that will be starting in Spring 2020. If you can’t wait, email JF-Read_Succeed@kctcs.edu to get more information, suggest activities, or volunteer to help on your campus.
Read More About It: Check out these articles to jump into the national conversation about reading:
“The Fall and Rise of Reading,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 19, 2019
“Skim Reading Is the New Normal. The Effect on Society Is Profound,” The Guardian, August 25, 2018
“How To Get Your Mind to Read,” New York Times, November 25, 2017
“Why University Students Don’t Read: What Professors Can Do to Increase Compliance,” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2012
“The English Literacy Required of First Year Community College Students,” National Center on Education and the Economy, May 2013
