Updated September 2020

QCom is responsible for managing, monitoring, and reviewing assessment data for each program, office, and committee in the Educator Preparation Provider Unit (EPP). This includes oversight for the development, implementation, and evaluation of program and office assessment plans.

QCom operates under the direction of the Director of P-12 Educator Preparation (currently, the Dean of the College of Education). Committee members include:

• One faculty representative from each College of Education (COE) department
• One representative from the EPP outside the COE
• One P-12 representative
• One representative from the South Carolina Department of Education
• One representative from USC’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
• The COE Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or representative
• The COE Director of the Office of Assessment & Accreditation
• The COE Assessment Coordinator

Additional stakeholders, including department chairs, business leaders, and district superintendents are also invited to attend meetings, though their representation varies based on the program under review.

QCom has four primary duties:

• To assist individual programs and offices with the development of assessment plans that will ensure quality programs
• Periodically review these plans, aggregated data, related program changes, and provide feedback
• Oversee the collection and analysis of data that are used to evaluate the EPP as a whole, and to use these data for periodic review of the EPP
• Evaluate the relevance of each program, based on the program’s impact on candidates and the candidates’ impact on students

During the 2012 – 2013 academic year, new review procedures were tested successfully, and were fully implemented in the 2013 – 2014 academic year. Previously, reviews took place on an approximate six-year cycle. Moving forward, reviews will be on an approximate three-year cycle, and will include two years of academic program reviews and one year of office, committee, and unit-wide reviews.

To evaluate the EPP as a whole, QCom reviews:

• Overall candidate and program quality
• The unit-wide assessment system
• The quality of clinical experiences including diversity, faculty, and unit governance.

Results of these reviews are compiled and shared with the Deans’ Executive Council, program coordinators, department chairs, Institutional Assessment and Compliance, and the chair of either the Basic Programs Committee or Advanced Programs Governance Committee, depending on the program being reviewed.

Reviews are conducted in a manner mirroring that of a CAEP review. Programs are notified of their upcoming review date at the beginning of each academic year. Program-specific assessment materials are distributed to the committee each month for an “off-site” review. The committee submits all questions arising from the assessment materials to the program approximately two weeks prior to the scheduled review. Program representatives return written responses to the committee prior to the meeting. During the “on-site” review portion, program representatives provide the committee with a 10-minute presentation detailing enrollments, trends, perceived strengths, plans for the future, and challenges they face. At the conclusion of the presentation, the committee takes 5-10 minutes to ask follow-up questions. Once all follow-up questions have been answered, the committee meets privately to determine the strength of the program’s assessment activities. A letter, indicating the final rating and detailing the committee’s perceptions of strengths and areas for improvement, as well as items for further consideration is sent to each program representative once the review is concluded. Minutes from each meeting are available on the COE’s website.

The current review schedule through the 2020-21 academic year is included below. The schedule lists each program’s last date of review and the current contact for the program, as of June 2020.    

The 2020-21 committee members are:

• Michael Grant, EDST representative
• Panos Doutis, PE representative
• Lucy Spence, ITE representative
• Henry Tran, EDLP representative
• Dawn Hiller, College of Arts and Sciences
• Christy Friend, College of Arts and Sciences
• Michael Tucker, Institutional Research and Assessment
• Lisa Peterson, COE Director of OAA
• Beverly Flythe, SC Department of Education
• Mary Gaskins, School District Representative
• Sandra Brossard, School District Representative
• Rob Dedmon, Assistant Dean for Enrollment Management and Academic Program Development

 

Review Cycle 2020 – 2021

Program	Date of Last Review	Date of Next Review	Program Contact
Dance Education (BA) - CAEP Programs	October 2016	September 2020	Stephanie Milling
Theatre Education (MAT) - CAEP Programs	November 2016	October 2020	Peter Duffy
School Psychology (PhD)	September 2017	October 2020	Scott Decker
Speech Pathology (MSP/MCD)	September 2017	November 2020	Crystal Murphree-Holden/Julianne Miller/Kenn Apel
School Media (MLIS)	November 2017	November 2020	Heather Moorefield-Lang/Gerry Solomon/Karen Gavigan
Music Education (BM, MAT)	December 2017	December 2020	Wendy Valerio
Art Education (BFA, MAT)	December 2017	December 2020	Minuette Floyd
Physical Education (BS/MAT, PhD)	January 2018	January 2021	Lynda Nilges
Foreign Language Education (BA/MAT)	January 2018	January 2021	Lara Ducate, Catherine Wiskes, Paul Malovhr
Office of Program Evaluation / Policy Center / School Improvement Council	January 2017	February 2021	Tammiee Dickenson / Diane Monrad / Tom Hudson
SC Geographic Alliance / SC Middle School Association / Writing Improvement Network	February 2017	March 2021	Jerry Mitchell / Baron Holmes / Hannah Baker
Grants & Contracts	March 2017	April 2021	Rebecca Wessinger
Development	March 2017	April 2021	Erin Eigenbrot
Gamecock EdQuarters – Clinical Experiences, Teaching Fellows, & Recruitment/Retention	April 2017	May 2021	Chris Burkett

 

Review Cycle 2021-2022

Program	Date of Last Review	Date of Next Review	Program Contact
Office of Assessment & Accreditation	April 2017	September 2021	Lisa Peterson
Instructional Support & Facilities	May 2017	September 2021	Matthew Joy
Communications	n/a	October 2021
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion	n/a	October 2021	Michelle Bryan
Teaching (MEd)	November 2017	November 2021	Janie Goodman
Counselor Education (Career Development Facilitator Cert, EdS [MCFC & School], PhD)	February 2018	November 2021	Jonathan Ohrt
Foundations of Education (PhD) & Qualitative Research Certificate	March 2018	December 2021	Kara Brown
Educational Psychology & Research Programs (MEd & PhD)	February 2018	December 2021	Christine DiStefano
Foundations of Education (PhD) & Qualitative Research Certificate	March 2018	January 2022	Kara Brown Payal Shah will present while Dr. Brown is away for the semester
Educational Administration (MEd, EdS, PhD)	April 2018	January 2022	Peter Moyi
Higher Education (Cert, MEd HESA, PhD)	April 2018	February 2022	Christina Yao
Special Education (MAT, MEd [including Early Childhood track], PhD)	May 2018	March 2022	Chris Christle/Kathleen Marshall
Teaching and Learning (PhD)	May 2018	March 2022	Gloria Boutte (Program did not have sufficient data to present in Spring 2016)
Early Childhood Education (BA, MEd, PhD) - CAEP Programs	November 2018	April 2022	Susi Long
Elementary Education (BA, MAT) – CAEP Programs	November 2018	April 2022	Michele Myers & Beth White
Language & Literacy (MEd, PhD) – non-CAEP Programs	January 2019	May 2022	Julia Lopez-Robertson & Lucy Spence
Ed. Psych & Research (MEd, PhD) – non-CAEP Programs	January 2019	May 2022	Matt Irvin