Preliminary Topics
Topic Selection Committee members worked both independently and then collaboratively to identify preliminary themes from survey data to move forward based on stakeholder input, viability as a topic based on topic criteria, and internal/external data analysis. A total of 206 survey responses for QEP topic ideas were received, with 67 from students and 139 from faculty/staff/administrators.
The 6 preliminary topics are presented in alphabetical order, with draft descriptions and initial ideas. These are the topics that the committee will be seeking feedback on throughout the spring semester, with the aim of narrowing to 2-3 topics to recommend to President Kelly for his selection.
- AI Literacy & Information Fluency
- Career & Workforce Readiness
- Civil Discourse
- College Readiness & Academic Support
- Experiential Learning
- Interdisciplinarity & Systems Thinking
AI Literacy and Information Fluency
The "AI Literacy and Information Fluency" topic emphasizes equipping students with skills to navigate, interpret, and apply information effectively in the data-driven world accompanied with various digital technologies and artificial intelligence. It further aims to empower students for collaborative, ethical, and responsible decision-making in the 21st century. Examples could include fostering students' skills of critical thinking in reading and assessing data across disciplines, discussions about ethical uses and societal impact, cultivating ability to locate, analyze, and synthesize credible sources, and teaching AI technologies to prepare students for current and future workforces. Training of faculty and staff on up-to-date AI technologies and critical topics relevant to the uses of AI and other digital technologies would also be included.
Career and Workforce Readiness
The "Career and Workforce Readiness" topic focuses on preparing students for success in a rapidly evolving job market and for graduate-level education. It emphasizes ensuring students graduate with the knowledge and competencies needed to thrive professionally by meeting evolving societal and cultural needs, and through fostering the ability to collaborate in a changing and diverse society. Examples could include integrating projects and internships into academic programs; creating expanded programs to support skill development and degree completion; focusing on interpersonal and “soft” skills in courses and extracurriculars; addressing the impact of emerging technologies like AI on workforce readiness; and providing opportunities for expanding leadership abilities, teamwork capacity, and cultural competence.
Civil Discourse
The “Civil Discourse” topic focuses on teaching students how to constructively engage with others on controversial issues in a way that promotes expansion of knowledge, understanding, and mutual respect. This could include training faculty and staff on ways to encourage students to participate in civil dialogue and critically reflect on their own perspectives and boundaries. Other ideas could include welcoming speakers from diverse backgrounds, hosting campus events that foster discussions around multiple viewpoints, and promoting collaborations among student organizations.
College Readiness and Academic Support
The “College Readiness and Academic Support” topic emphasizes the initial preparation students need for academic, social, and personal success at CNU while also providing them with ongoing assistance to succeed. This topic addresses the nationwide trend that students are underprepared for the college experience, both academically and socially. This topic could include an emphasis on developing students’ academic and social skills as they enter CNU through summer programming or first-year curricular and co-curricular initiatives. It could also include ongoing academic and wellness (mental, physical, emotional) support and programming, either focused during a particular timeframe or throughout their entire college career.
Experiential Learning
The “Experiential Learning” topic involves engaging students in high-impact experiences that allow them to apply academic knowledge to and within real-world situations. In short, it’s providing opportunities for “learning by doing” with a heavy dose of reflection. This approach emphasizes interactive exploration, experimentation, cooperation, and problem-solving that can help prepare students for success in specific jobs or careers, and help develop important life skills. CNU’s liberal arts education equips our students to successfully engage in experiential learning. In turn, experiential learning can enhance a liberal arts education by providing a “learning laboratory” where students can put their knowledge into practice, and then bring that learning back to curricular and co-curricular spaces to inform future learning. Examples could include community-engaged learning, study abroad, maker spaces, creative works, internships, supervised leadership roles, course-related or co-curricular projects, fieldwork, practicums, competitions, or research.
Interdisciplinaryity and Systems Thinking
The “Interdisciplinarity and Systems Thinking” topic involves integrating knowledge across multiple disciplines to foster critical thinking and holistic problem-solving. It aims to prepare students to tackle complex, interconnected problems by leveraging skills from multiple academic fields, applying a systems-level lens, and engaging in meaningful, collaborative learning experiences. Examples could include developing structured, multi-year programs that progressively enhance students' ability to think across disciplines, building upon existing interdisciplinary collaborations and developing new ones, providing opportunities for more (and more meaningful) interdisciplinary experiences in academic pathways, and fostering students as systems thinkers.