Quality Improvement Initiative
As part of the HLC 10-year accreditation cycle, Open Pathway institutions are required to conduct a major improvement project, the Quality Initiative. UNC kicked off its Quality Initiative in 2022-23, and completed the project in June 2024.
UNC’s Quality Initiative was embedded in Phase 2 of Rowing, Not Drifting with a specific focus on improving undergraduate student retention and graduation rates. The initiative was designed to examine and improve students’ academic experience, primarily by identifying barriers to academic success, improving curricular design, expanding inclusive and high impact pedagogy, and increasing student sense of belonging and connection to their academic major and college. UNC’s Quality Initiative expanded on past and current student success efforts by considering the impact of the classroom experience, interactions with faculty, and connection to the academic discipline as important components of student retention and completion. Read more about UNC's HLC Quality Improvement initiative.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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- Established student success committees in each college and the library
- Developed, implemented, and funded a new structure for supporting Culturally & Linguistically Diverse/English Language Learner students
- Completed an evaluation of transfer student services and implemented recommendations for supporting these students, including creating a new transfer student coordinator position
- Expanded student success data through new dashboards and institutional surveys
- Funded 13 promising practices projects led by UNC faculty
