The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Making students Real World Ready

    Every 10 years the university must put together a Quality Enhancement Plan as part of the reaccreditation process. 

    “The last [Quality Enhancement Plan] was actually SE101,” said Dr. Eric Summers, assistant to the vice president of Student Affairs. “This one is ‘Real-World Ready.’ Basically, it’s a plan to provide our students with real world experience before they graduate.” 

    The university went through a lengthy process in spring 2012 to come up with the “Real-World Ready” concept for the new QEP and has spent the past few years developing it. real world ready

    “The QEP team has done a wonderful job refining the topic and developing all of the detailed elements of the project, including a time line for implementation and assessment plan,” said President John L. Crain in a recent message for faculty and staff. 

    The plan aims to prepare students for professional life by providing authentic learning opportunities that connect academic courses with real-world experiences. 

    “A ‘Real-World Ready’ experience is a learning event that a professor includes as a course component,” said Dr. Jayetta Slawson, QEP Coordinator and associate English professor. “It is a hands-on activity designed to reinforce classroom instruction.”   

    Real-World Ready experiences will include students gaining professional experience through internships, study abroad, service learning, research projects, civic engagement and more. 

    According to David Norwood, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, students in his department will research in a lab with professors as an adjunct to what they learn in lectures. Some students in the Southeastern Association of Law Schools program have the opportunity to research problems as a service to local businesses. 

    “[The plan is going to be implemented] in a series of phases,” said Summers. “The first phase was actually developing the plan. Then we’ll assess the programs we already have and try to improve them. Then the programs that don’t already have a Real-World Ready experience will implement Real-World Ready experiences. It will be phases over a number of years occurring in all academic departments.”  

    According to Summers, the intention of the plan is to ensure that all students who graduate have built a professional resume before leaving the university. 

    “We want them to leave here and have a job, and we think this will put them closer to that,” said Summers. 

    The Office of Experiential Learning is being created in order to implement the new Real World Ready plan. The OEL office will be located in the newly-renovated Student Union complex. 

    “While there has been broad-based involvement in the selection and development of the QEP, I would encourage everyone to review the final proposed plan,” said Crain. 

    An On-Site Reaffirmation Committee will come to campus on behalf of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges from Feb. 3-5, 2015. One of the committee’s major roles is to evaluate the QEP. During their visit, members of the committee will ask random students what they know about the “Real-World Ready” QEP. 

    The committee will also finalize remaining issues concerning the principles of accreditation and verify that the university is meeting federal requirements. 

    “At the end of that visit, we should know if our proposal has been approved and/or whether we need to make some changes,” said Slawson. “If our QEP is approved, we will enhance, expand, coordinate and assess experiential/learning opportunities across campus. We look forward to finding new ways to improve student learning and the environment of student learning under this important initiative.” 

    To view the current QEP, go to southeastern.edu/QEP.

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