Stetson’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Transitions, aims to improve the onboarding of first-year students. The FSEM Program is the academic component of Stetson’s QEP.
The plan has two major initiatives:
- Hatter Trek is a summer transition program for a cohort of first year students to build their success vision. Students participate in four-day retreats designed to build community and gain understanding of Stetson’s academic expectations and student success resources.
- Hatter Quest is the intentional inclusion of an academic component into the fall orientation program for first-time-in-college students. Students engage in first-year seminar (FSEM) classes several times before the start of their regular schedule of courses. FSEM instructors integrate academic support services into seminar assignments to help students use success resources as they matriculate at Stetson.
Each university or college seeking reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) is required to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan. Quality enhancement is at the heart of the Commission’s philosophy of accreditation. The QEP describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue(s) related to enhancing student learning. The plan is designed by engaging the wider academic community to address one or more issues that contribute to institutional improvement. Stetson is currently preparing to submit its 5th-Year Interim Review Report to SACS-COC.