QEP: UT Equips Students to Learn by Doing

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Learning by Doing: Inquiry-based Experiential Education is a campus-wide initiative to increase hands-on, practical and real-world opportunities for UT students.

“Learning by doing is of course not new to UT, as it is rooted in our mission statement. But this new QEP, with its focus on undergraduate research and internships, anchors learning by doing at the very heart of the curriculum,” said Provost David Stern, vice president of academic affairs.

Experiential education allows students to act on what they have learned, to use the theories and skills gained in the classroom to solve challenging problems. It gives graduates an edge on the competition for jobs and graduate school. The QEP, once approved, is a five-year plan that will be implemented beginning August 2016.

“Starting in the first-year, we will lay a new emphasis on the skills involved in inquiry, we will enhance this learning in majors courses, and we will offer capstone experiences that will be rich opportunities for students to actually extend their learning in real-world applications by engaging in mentored academic research and internships,” Stern said.

The “Learning by Doing” initiative satisfies a requirement of UT’s accrediting agency, the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). To reaffirm accreditation, the University selects, creates and implements a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). UT’s QEP was submitted Fall 2014, and a site visit to review the documentation will be held Feb. 9–11, 2015.

“Our plan is to transform campus so that everything we do will be about inquiry-based experiences,” said Professor Joe Sclafani, who is leading the QEP effort.

Accreditation is an important part of higher education, and the University is proud of its membership and full accreditation status. Being regionally accredited allows students to qualify for federal financial aid, to transfer classes and credits between institutions, and certifies that UT is a competent and qualified institution of higher learning.

“UT has worked tirelessly at improving our admissions strategy, infrastructure and student affairs programming. This proposal, however, is something above and beyond what we’ve previously committed to in the field of academia,” said Kristin Anderson, Student Government president. “Students will have the opportunity to act upon their own inquiry. They can research, take part in experimental learning and work on niche projects that pique their own interests.”

The QEP website has full details about the process, including a T-shirt giveaway. Follow #UTInquiry for the most current details on internship and research opportunities.