A Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a multi-year plan developed by the institution that,

• addresses a topic identified through its ongoing, comprehensive planning and evaluation processes;
• has broad-based support of institutional constituencies;
• focuses on improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success;
• commits resources to initiate, implement, and complete the QEP; and
• includes a plan to assess achievement.

The QEP Leadership Team created a Focus and Development Team in Fall 2018 to review institutional data and engage ATC’s campus and community in selection of the College’s topic. This broad-based team reviewed a variety of institutional reports (APER, CCSSE, SENSE, Desktop Audits, Graduate Surveys, and Student Achievement Data, among others) and consulted with the ATC Area Commission and the ATC Student Leadership Council on their findings. This data review process led to the development of two leading QEP topics: Reading and Writing and First-Year Experience. Concerning the topic of Reading and Writing, the review of institutional data indicated that only 58% of 2018-19 students in either RWR 032 or ENG 101 were achieving success (As, Bs, and Cs) in those courses. Further, only 37.6% of students who required Transitional Reading and Writing (RWR 032) were completing their college-gateway English course (ENG 101 or 160) within two years. In a College-wide vote, 117 of 211 respondents (55.5%) selected Reading and Writing as ATC’s QEP topic.    

Aiken Technical College’s (ATC) Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) “READ, WRITE, ACHIEVE!” targets four core student success goals:

• Improving student awareness and utilization of reading and writing student support services;
• Improving transition to, and success rates in, gateway-level English courses for students who require developmental/transitional coursework
• Improving student reading outcomes; and
• Improving student writing outcomes.

The College envisions that the QEP will positively impact the ATC community, support the College mission, and help students achieve the College’s Core Educational Outcomes through the following expected outcomes:

The ATC Students Will:

• Gain awareness and utilize Student Success Center Resources to include, coaching, tutoring and/or counseling as needed.
• Complete and participate in Accuplacer Placement Testing as part of the Aiken technical College admissions process, when applicable.

The ATC Faculty Will:

• In collaboration with the Student Success Center (SSC) will,​

- Create and utilize an early warning process for students needing additional support
- Offer coaching as needed to students
- Offer Academic workshops
- Conduct in-class student information sessions regarding available resources through the SSC
- Track and record student visits to the SSC

• Implement common novels beginning Fall 2020 to bring greater consistency to instruction across all English 101 sections
• Individually, pursue relevant professional development to support the QEP initiatives     

The College Community Will:

• Gain an awareness and understanding of the QEP, “READ, WRITE, ACHIEVE!”
• Actively participate in the continued development, promotion, and implementation of the QEP.
• Provide support and resources to successfully implement and sustain the QEP.

It will aid our community’s most disadvantaged population in attaining their educational goals and ultimately finding gainful employment. It further reflects the core values of ATC, specifically Excellence in teaching, learning, engagement, and development, as well as Innovation via new approaches, risk-taking, flexibility, change, and leadership. The innovative elements of ATC’s plan—particularly the implementation of a co-requisite approach, eschewing traditional transitional/developmental strategies—involve some level of risk, though this will be mitigated by careful stewardship of the plan, continual assessment of the plan’s elements, and flexible modification of the QEP based on this assessment.