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Provost outlines 'Elevate' quality-enhancement plan and broader general-education redesign
Summary
Provost Liu previewed Tennessee Tech's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) — 'Elevate' — focusing on durable skills, and presented a proposed restructured general-education core with new buckets and flexible credit ranges; trustees raised concerns about reduced lab science and history hours.
Provost John Liu told trustees the university's SACSCOC reaffirmation process requires a Quality Enhancement Plan. Tennessee Tech's proposed QEP, called "Elevate," emphasizes durable skills — communication, collaboration, critical thinking, professionalism and career exploration — to better prepare graduates for changing workplaces.
Liu said the QEP pilot will roll out in spring 2026 and that the initiative will target first‑year foundational courses (about 80% penetration) and provide infusion grants for faculty who redesign courses to integrate durable skills. He framed "durable skills" as the blend of hard and soft skills employers consistently seek.
Separately, Liu presented consensus recommendations from the general-education committee to rename categories, broaden students' choices within buckets, and add career exploration, financial literacy and digital-technology literacy. The current general-education core of 41 credit hours would be restructured so 34 credits are specified and seven remain flexible; some buckets would change names (for example, mathematics → quantitative reasoning and analysis).
Trustees and faculty raised concerns about the proposed flexibility in the natural-science bucket (changing from two courses and eight credits to a 4–8 credit range), with several arguing that technical and STEM identity means students should continue to take substantial lab‑based science. Others urged the university to preserve institutional character and ensure majors requiring strong science foundations retain those requirements.
Provost Liu and trustees agreed the committee can refine the proposal, and several trustees urged a longer review timeline for contentious items (notably the science and history credit proposals). Liu said history and some other items will require board-level approval before final adoption.
Why it matters: the QEP and gen-ed redesign together shape the first-year and breadth experience for most students and will affect course offerings, staffing and degree maps across campus.
Next steps: pilots for the QEP (Elevate) will proceed; the general-education committee will revisit certain buckets (notably science and history) and submit recommended language to the board in accordance with faculty governance and state processes.
