Thinking Critically, Acting Justly
The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) of Loyola University New Orleans is designed around the theme, “Thinking Critically, Acting Justly.” This theme is consistent with the university’s mission and the Jesuit character of the university. It is particularly relevant to the university’s role in helping to rebuild the city of New Orleans. The Quality Enhancement Plan has three initiatives: (1) Student Leadership, (2) First-Year Experiences, and (3) Faculty and Staff Development.
(1) “Thinking Critically, Acting Justly: Student Leadership” is an initiative designed to enhance student learning in the areas of critical thinking and acting justly through increased knowledge of, and experience with, student leadership. Through opportunities presented in the Emerging Leaders Program, Loyola Rebuilds, the Student Leadership Projects Funding Board, Just Desserts: A Speaker Series, and the Law Clinic for Hurricane Katrina Victims, students will be able to experience social justice issues in the community and to reflect on what they have experienced. They will receive additional coursework, seminars, speakers, and other knowledge-building experiences. These students will leave with skills that can translate into leadership roles in their communities.
(2) “Thinking Critically, Acting Justly: First-Year Experiences” offers the university the opportunity to orient incoming students to the mission of the institution and the values of the Loyola community while preparing new students for successful learning and the demands of college life. This initiative mandates institutionalization of one facet of the first year experience, the common reading program, across colleges. It also provides funding for college-specific efforts to develop or enhance learning community initiatives for students in each of the undergraduate day colleges.
(3) “Thinking Critically, Acting Justly: Faculty and Staff Development” is an initiative with a focus on preparing faculty and staff to develop critical thinking and just action into their courses and activities by helping them to incorporate best-practices in these areas into their plans for enhanced student learning. The faculty development initiative proposed here is comprised of two major activities: (1) Instituting critical thinking and just action in classes using the Jesuit vision of education as the guide and existing best practices as a method of learning and (2) a service-learning project to develop reflection skills on the part of faculty in order to help students develop the critical thinking to accompany their acting justly in community service activities.
In each of these initiatives the major focus is on enhancing student learning in critical thinking and just action. By developing our staff and faculty, providing a strong first-year experience for students, and building substantive student leadership opportunities, we will be able to enhance students’ critical thinking skills and provide a foundation for acting justly that will carry through their entire lives.
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