The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is one of only 17 schools in the country recognized for its Quality Enhancement Plan by the Commission on Colleges and Universities.
UL Lafayette was recently singled out as part of the commission’s inaugural Quality Enhancement Plan Project of Excellence program. The plans, which are necessary for reaccreditation, require colleges and universities to set forth initiatives designed to enhance student learning and success.
Not all are deemed elite, however.
The national recognition for the University can be traced to 2020, when it established its Advance Student Research Experience program as its Quality Enhancement Plan.
Through the Advance Student Research Experience, 95% of the University’s degree-granting undergraduate programs offer research opportunities for students, said Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, University president, who praised the program during his recent State of the University address.
Dr. Sherry Krayesky-Self is executive director of the University’s Student Center for Research, Creativity, and Scholarship, which coordinates the Advance Student Research Experience.
She said a key strength of the innovative program, which includes classroom and mentored experiences, is that it is structured to pair students with research work that meet their interests early in their academic careers.
“Students don’t want to wait until they’re seniors to immerse themselves in their disciplines and find meaningful research projects,” Krayesky-Self explained.
“The Advance Student Research Experience offers students early exposure to fulfilling research and provides them with knowledge and experiences that will benefit them throughout their careers,” she added.
Photo caption: UL Lafayette is among 17 institutions recognized nationally for their Quality Enhancement Plans, or QEP’s, which are designed to enhance student learning and success. The University’s QEP, its Advance Student Research Experience program, fosters student research opportunities across almost all disciplines. Photo caption: University of Louisiana at Lafayette