2024-2025
Development team plans Quality Enhancement Plan for W&M.
Applied Learning for All
Applied Learning for All, led by Charles Center Director Dr. Elizabeth Harbron and Chief Career Officer Kathleen I. Powell, was announced as W&M’s QEP in April of 2024 after a university-wide selection process. Rooted in W&M’s mission and Vision 2026, Applied Learning for All promotes undergraduate applied learning experiences like internships, research, study abroad, and civic and community engagement.
A Quality Enhancement Plan is a five-year initiative that focuses on improving student learning and/or success. A well-developed QEP is required for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the accrediting body for William & Mary.
What is Applied Learning?
Applied learning experiences (ALEs) engage students in hands-on, mentored activities that activate their W&M education, sparking reflection and promoting academic, professional and personal growth. ALEs take place beyond traditional learning spaces and are framed around four key criteria:
- Clearly defined learning outcomes
- Systematic and structured supervisor/mentor feedback
- Opportunities for ongoing reflection
- Synthesis and/or application of learning
Early Focus Areas
Applied Learning for All will focus initially on four types of undergraduate applied learning experiences. We will pilot approaches to removing access barriers, deepening the impact of the experiences and tracking student experiences that we can then spread to other experiences and student populations over the course of the five-year QEP.
Applied Learning in Action
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Mission impossible: W&M seniors juggle multiple honors theses
A daunting task to finish one thesis, seniors Liam Staker, Adam Jutt, Maryclaire O’Brien, and Sarah Sakly have undertaken the seemingly impossible task of completing two theses each during the 2024-25 academic year. -
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W&M undergrads featured in first Capitol research showcase
Six William & Mary students joined researchers from across Virginia for the inaugural Undergraduate Research Showcase at the Capitol Feb. 6 in Richmond’s General Assembly Building.
Accreditation for W&M
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SACSCOC
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accredits virtually all colleges and universities in the southern region of the United States. Accreditation must be reaffirmed every 10 years.
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Institutional Accreditation & Effectiveness
W&M’s Office of Institutional Accreditation & Effectiveness, a division of the Office of the Provost, oversees W&M’s accreditation by SACSCOC.
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Quality Enhancement Plans
The QEP will be evaluated by SACSCOC on its topic, campus support, focus on student learning, resources and assessment plan.
Timeline
Applied Learning for All will commence during the 2025-26 academic year with a “Year 0” that will focus on data collection, analysis and pilot initiatives. The five-year QEP will officially run from the 2026-27 academic year through 2030-2031.
Summer 2025
Quality Enhancement Plan writing phase.
Fall 2025
Quality Enhancement Plan draft reviewed by campus partners and W&M leadership.
January 2026
Quality Enhancement Plan submitted to SACSCOC.
Contact Us
For questions about the QEP, please reach out to the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement or the Charles Center.