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About the QEP

Faculty may apply to have their course designated as A+CE on the course schedule. This means they will be incorporating material into their course that will help students achieve one of two student learning outcomes (SLO) associated with critical thinking and community issues:

  • (SLO 1) Students will be able to analyze community issues with respect to different perspectives, theories, or solutions.
  • (SLO 2) Students will be able to identify or design creative strategies to address an aspect of a community issue.

When faculty elect to designate their courses as A+CE, they also make a determination about which "mode" their course will be delivered. There are three A+CE modes:

  • Awareness: Faculty introduce concepts of intersections between the classroom and community.
  • Example: Students in an environmental science course discuss environmental justice issues in the context of the Buffalo Bayou.
  • Integration: Faculty introduce concepts of intersections between the classroom and community AND the coursework is enhanced by the introduction of speakers into the classroom or field trips to learn about the concept.

  • Example: Students in a supply chain management course visit the Houston Food Bank to learn about the processes involved in administrating such a large social program.

  • Involvement: Faculty introduce concepts of intersections between the classroom and community AND the coursework is enhanced by allowing students to practice their newly learned skillset to benefit a community partner or utilizing a service experience to help students grasp course content and critical thinking skills more deeply.

  • Example: Students in a history course interview members of a particular community, document their stories and present them to the community as a way to help students understand that many aspects of history are colored by perspective.