The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Southern) has developed a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve student success among first-year undergraduate students by fostering academic and spiritual disciplines necessary for their flourishing.
Through its ongoing institutional effectiveness and planning processes, Southern identified undergraduate student success as a critical area for focused improvement. A broad-based team of faculty, administrators, students, and alumni helped identify this topic and have shaped this plan.
The plan centers on introducing a first-semester student success course to help incoming students learn, and begin to integrate, select spiritual disciplines and academic practices that should help students succeed at Boyce College. Southern has identified specific learning outcomes associated with this course as well as student success metrics to measure student retention and persistence.
QEP Strategy
Boyce College has developed the following strategy to implement its QEP. This strategy will begin in earnest in August, before the fall 2023 semester.
Student Learning Outcomes
In keeping with the plan’s emphasis on spiritual and academic disciplines, these outcomes address both areas.
Boyce College has developed the following strategy to implement its QEP. This strategy will begin in earnest in August, before the fall 2023 semester.
- Require a first-semester Boyce College 101 course for all first-time students,
- Train faculty to develop a retention mindset,
- Use demographic and GPA data to prioritize at-risk student advising.
In keeping with the plan’s emphasis on spiritual and academic disciplines, these outcomes address both areas.
Outcome 1
Focuses on the spiritual disciplines of Scripture intake and worship
Through classroom lectures and independent, structured reading, students will be exposed to the idea of worship as encompassing every aspect of one’s life and calling as an ongoing reminder of God’s presence that sustains worship in the midst of academic learning.
Outcome 2
Blends academic success and the spiritual disciplines of community and fellowship
Through classroom lectures and independent, structured reading, students will be exposed to the idea of worship as encompassing every aspect of one’s life and calling as an ongoing reminder of God’s presence that sustains worship in the midst of academic learning.
Outcome 3
Focuses on academic success
A key feature of first-semester courses is the role of teaching students academic strategies and tactics, such as note taking, planning, time management, systems of productivity, efficient studying, and similar topics.
Outcome 4
Focuses on academic success
Is measured by a simple survey that students will complete at the conclusion of the Boyce College 101 course.
Assessment Plan
Southern’s QEP focusing on the academic and spiritual disciplines needed for first-year undergraduate success includes specific, measurable learning outcomes and student success metrics.
The four QEP learning outcomes are measured with assignments scored by faculty using rubrics and a survey embedded in Boyce College 101. Assignments, rubrics, and survey results will be maintained electronically in the Canvas Learning Management System. Typically, Boyce enrolls around 120–150 first-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students per year, with most arriving during the fall semester. Beginning with its incoming fall 2023 cohort, the college will offer several sections of this course. At the conclusion of the semester, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) will select at random 30 students whose rubric scores for key assignments and survey results will be 26 evaluated. Selecting students at random, and including a sample size of at least 30, should yield valid data for assessment.