Improving undergraduate education at ECU
Of all the things that we do at ECU, none is more at the heart of our institution than high-quality education for our undergraduate students, and we intend for that experience to be the best it can be. This means a commitment to continuous improvement of our programs and our processes.
Across the nation, colleges and universities give great attention to the adjustment of new students in the transition from home to campus. Those institutions with the greatest success are those that show attention to both the academic and the social aspects of university life.
At East Carolina, we are dedicated to student success. As a part of our attention to the ECU experience, both the academic and the social, we are embarking on a major self-study of the beginning university experience for our first-year and transfer students.
This self-study process, Foundations of Excellence, is a comprehensive, externally guided review of the first-year and the transfer experience. The study follows a set of principles that are termed Foundational Dimensions. These dimensions will guide the measurement of institutional efforts toward an aspirational model for the beginning university experience and for providing an intellectual foundation for the entire undergraduate experience.
The process is driven by a campus-based Task Force. For this study to be as comprehensive as possible, broad representation from throughout the campus is needed. Faculty and staff have already received a call for participation in this process, and we intend for this participation be inclusive. If you have not indicated your willingness to participate, please do so.
The self-study begins with a campus audit of the first year for new and transfer students (a "Current Practices Inventory") and that is followed by a 9-12 month process of evaluation by dimensions committee members. The final phase of the study is the development of a plan for the campus improvement for first-year and transfer students.
As a part of the information process about this important self-study, there will be campus forums and a website. Please plan to attend the forum and use the website to learn more about the self-study, to ask questions and to stay informed.
