QEP Quick Facts

What is a QEP?

A QEP is a Quality Enhancement Plan.

Why do we have a QEP?

We develop one every 10 years to improve student learning. Our last QEP focused on improving experiential learning . . . and it worked! (research, internships, service-learning, study away, and artistic- creative works).

What is Roanoke’s QEP?

Roanoke’s new QEP is “The Purpose Project”

What is the Goal of the QEP?

To help students find purpose.

“Our Purpose is to help you find yours”

How will the QEP help students find purpose?

By reflecting on their lives and their experiences – who they are, what motivates them, how they engage in the world, and what they value. Students will reflect on their lives and their experiences through narratives and storytelling with staff at The PLACE for Purpose, Life, And Career Exploration.

The Purpose Project

Roanoke College’s Quality Enhancement Plan centers on a College initiative, the Purpose Project, which is designed to help students find purpose in their lives. Purpose is at the core of who we are as an institution and what we believe to be an essential component to living a full and rich life – including a high-value career. Purpose is part of our branding and how we market the Roanoke Difference to prospective students and their families, and is embedded into our strategic plan. Purpose is our way of describing our unique and defining character – at Roanoke College, our purpose is to help you find yours.

As such, the Purpose Project objectives and learning outcomes were derived from our ongoing annual planning process and is an integral part of our strategic plan. Key elements of the plan include providing a mechanism for students to reflect on their development in the context of purpose through coaching and personal narrative; support for efforts across campus which infuse the exploration of purpose into the curriculum, co-curriculum, experiential, advising and mentoring, and other elements of the college experience; assessment of the student learning outcomes related to purpose and a commitment to use the data to adjust programming and support as needed; renovations of physical space to support these efforts; and branding and marketing to support institutional adoption and integration of purpose into the ethos of the College.

To guide student learning about purpose, we have developed a model for students to critically reflect on different, intersecting elements of their lives – who they are, what motivates them, how they engage in the world, and what they value. Student learning outcomes address each of these areas as well as their intersection, and will be facilitated through coaching and story-telling (personal narrative). Embedded in the QEP is a robust assessment plan with baseline, formative, and summative assessments with various direct and indirect measures. We believe that through these efforts, graduates of Roanoke College will have the ability to derive a sense of purpose in any aspect of their lives, including their work.

The Purpose Project is an ambitious undertaking with the potential to impact not only student learning outcomes specific to purpose, but also the wider campus ethos. We are excited to embark on this project and to witness its impact on Roanoke College and our students.