Star Quality Skills

Communication

Star Quality Skills

Developing Written, Oral, and Digital Communication Skills for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Presented by Michael Burns, William Chittenden, Adam Clark, Susan Day, and Michael Nava

Brief Description

University-wide promotion of communication is an essential component of education and extends to every unit on campus. Effective communication in writing, speech, and various digital and arts media pertain to every student on campus no matter the area of study or whether they are undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral students. This QEP theme will allow Texas State to graduate students who are competent writers, speakers, leaders, and researchers.

Goals

  • Students will graduate knowing how to properly communicate in oral, written, and digital formats.
  • Students will understand and enact the proper processes required to effectively and competently communicate based on the specific context (i.e. research, creative, professional, etc.).
  • Students will have an increased understanding of the implications their messages have on their audiences.
  • Students will have an increased understanding of the importance of audience adaptation to effectively convey their message.
  • Students will be able to differentiate between different types of communication required for specific contexts (i.e. research, creative, professional, etc.).
  • Students will write, deliver, and create high impact communications.
  • Faculty from all colleges will receive better written and developed communications from their undergraduate and graduate students.
  • Faculty will be better trained to develop communication skills within their curricula appropriate for their specific disciplines.
  • Faculty will be better trained to provide appropriate and impact full feedback and coaching to their students.
  • The university will track students’ communication skill development from start to graduation to show continuous improvement.

Strategies for Implementation

  • Integrate all university-wide labs (Writing Center, COMM Lab, Math Lab, Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC), etc.) to create a student success center.
  • Strengthen the focus on ethical issues and information literacy involved in communication.
  • Add research mentoring component to the lab integration.
  • Expand faculty training through the development of a faculty institute that trains instructors of all disciplines how to integrate writing and speaking into the curriculum along with properly assessing students’ communication skills.
  • Reinvigorate writing across the curriculum and add speaking across the curriculum that is tied to the newly integrated student success center.
  • Focus on and utilize writing-intensive courses within each department.
  • Create a renewed emphasis on writing- and speaking-intensive instruction in a digital age informed by best practices that can be adapted to all disciplines.
  • Develop a means to conduct interdisciplinary research on pedagogy and disciplinary applications of writing and speaking across the curriculum.
  • Create clear paths that lead students on communication development from freshman year to graduation and create paths that guide master’s and Ph.D. students through their communication needs through graduation.
  • Work closely with the Honors College and Graduate College for advanced and unique research mentoring for high ability undergraduate students and graduate students.
  • Create assistantship opportunities for graduate students from specific disciplines to work and mentor undergraduates in the newly integrated center.
  • Develop intensive training for graduate students who are working in the new center.
  • Identify engaging and qualified faculty from specific disciplines to (English, Communication Studies, etc.) to lead these efforts and work with graduate students.
  • Partner with Career Services to create programs for students to improve their communication skills related to resume writing, networking, interviewing, cover letter writing, building a professional online/digital presence.
  • Work closely with the Honors College and Graduate College to develop partnerships with college grant coordinators to assist in the development of grant writing skills for high ability undergraduate students and graduate students.
  • Showcase student work at university and college events.
  • Celebrate students and faculty for their efforts on improving student learning and skill development related to communication.
  • Prepare all academic units to prioritize communication skills to create a university-wide culture that embraces written, oral, and digital communication.

Justification of the Topic

Faculty from all disciplines continue to notice declining written and oral communication skills of our students. A QEP focusing on oral, written, and digital communication will improve the learning experience for students and faculty.

Employers continue to identify written and oral communication skills of college graduates as underdeveloped. Producing students who can competently communicate will improve the university’s state and national reputation.

Undergraduate and graduate students will be able to address their struggles with writing and speaking, providing them the necessary skills to succeed in and outside the classroom.

Undergraduate and graduate students will learn to present themselves and their work in a professional manner making them more marketable for both industry and academia.

Undergraduate and graduate students will receive the necessary guidance and coaching to prepare them for pursuing a career or graduate school upon completion of their education.

This QEP theme has the potential to improve recruitment efforts of high ability students by offering a unique and personalized learning experience not offered by most universities our size.

Benefits to the Institution and Students

Aligned with the mission of the university, a university-wide promotion of communication would produce students who are better writers and speakers. Students would also be better prepared for life outside of our university and have a greater chance of being employed and being accepted to and finishing graduate programs.

Raise the reputation of the university by graduating students who are competent communicators with well-developed skills.

Communication is essential for research efforts. This QEP theme will support the university’s research goals and introduce more undergraduate students to research while improving the research experiences of our graduate students.

Our students will experience improved confidence in their written, oral, and digital communication skills by tracking their progress from start to graduation.

Evaluation and Assessment Strategies

  • Assess improvement through a pre/post-test designed assessment.
  • Assess communication skills in University Seminar (US 1100) and end with senior-level classes creating a longitudinal study of progress.
  • Departments determine writing and speaking assessment methods appropriate for their disciplines.
  • Collect data from the students who visit the integrated success center.

Description of How the University Mission and Goals will be Met

The proposed idea meets all of the criteria identified by the current QEP committee. This topic can be assessed through student learning outcomes and can continue to evolve with the ever-changing needs of our students. This idea will also enhance successful programs already in place and broadens their reach to all students, both undergraduate and graduate. This QEP theme compliments the current university infrastructure and could easily be integrated into the university strategic plan. This QEP theme supports the university’s mission, supports the needs of our students, and will improve our research and creative footprint in Texas and beyond.

Specifically, a QEP topic on developing written, oral, and digital communications skills for all Texas State students aligns with the spirit of the 2017-2023 university Mission and Value Statements by supporting the concepts of “dedicated to excellence and innovation in teaching, research, including creative expression…,” as well as “…to prepare its graduates to participate fully and freely as citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world.” This topic also fully embraces the value of “teaching and learning based on…the free exchange of ideas in a supportive environment.”

In support of the 2017-2023 university goal to “Promote the success of all students,” a focus on student communication skills supports university initiative 1.6 of “ensuring marketable skills,” university initiative 1.7 of “preparing all students to achieve their career goals and make positive and meaningful contributions…,” and university initiative 1.12 of “encouraging academic excellence, character development, and respectful interaction with others.” Another primary university goal to “offer high quality academic and educational programming,” is at the crux of this QEP topic by encouraging programs across all academic disciplines to promote and support communication as an essential component of a good education. University initiative 2.4 emphasizes our intent to “improve the capabilities of our learning spaces and learning environments to better foster creativity, enable collaboration, and encourage discovery,” all of which resonate from strong written, oral, and digital communication skills.