Thomas University’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Enhancing the Climate for Student Engagement in Learning, takes shape through the Information Power Squared program (IP²).

The educational climate distinguishes Thomas University as

• a university community which is caring and inclusive;
• a community of learners preparing effective citizens/leaders.

The IP² program will enhance this educational climate for student engagement in learning through three program initiatives that foster students’ success through Information Literacy.

• Transformers
  Students will demonstrate learning outcomes from the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Appendix 1) integrated into assignments in three Core Curriculum courses and one upper division course in each major program. Because these are courses required of all students, this initiative has the broadest reach. Transfer students who have completed core requirements elsewhere are still impacted by the upper division required course.

• The IP² Leadership Program
  Students will expand their information literacy through voluntary participation in a program that engages students in three areas—academics, campus involvement, and community service, meeting learning outcomes from the ACRL Standards and the American Association of School Librarians’ Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning (Appendix 2). In each area, students earn “credentials” through successful completion of projects designed to cultivate their leadership ability through their ability to find, use, and share information in a variety of contexts.

• Faculty/Staff Development
  All faculty and staff will attend training events and professional development seminars to learn pedagogical strategies and to discuss pertinent topics enabling the effective implementation of the QEP components. Faculty and staff development engages all members of the university community in learning and attentiveness to students’ learning.

The components of the IP² program are grounded in the best practices established by the literature concerning Information Literacy and learning theory, especially for adult learners. Our goal is to create lifelong learning—one of the educational goals of Thomas University’s strategic plan—through the creation of a “habit” of seeking, evaluating, synthesizing, and sharing information in analytical and creative endeavors.

Each aspect of the IP² program includes assessment of individual student learning and of programmatic success. This program assessment correlates to the university’s ongoing assessment process.

All members of the Thomas University community had a voice in the creation of this QEP. Beginning in the spring of 2004, the SACS Leadership Committee and QEP Committee invited ideas from faculty, staff, students, and members of the Board of Trustees. Primary development of the plan was assigned to the QEP Committee, consisting of faculty, staff, administrators, and students with wide representation of academic programs and student and university services. The committee solicited feedback through retreats, convocations, online and in-class surveys. In addition, all faculty in the academic divisions helped to determine the role their courses would play in the Transformer and IP² Leadership Programs.

The components of the IP² program grow out of the goals of Thomas University’s strategic plan. These goals emphasize six educational goals—lifelong learning; oral and written communication skills; technology skills; critical thinking and reasoning skills; cultural awareness; and ethical commitment. The IP² program furthers these goals, as well as the institutional commitment to advancing the use of technology, supporting faculty and staff development, and using qualitative and quantitative assessment tools to effectively measure students’ learning.

Because the QEP is closely tied to the strategic plan, the budget for implementing the QEP is critical to carrying out the university’s mission.