The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requires member institutions to develop a practical, university-wide quality enhancement plan (QEP) to improve student learning. The U of L plan, Ideas to Action (i2a), will sharpen our existing focus on building undergraduate students' critical thinking skills, starting in the general education program and continuing through undergraduate major courses. Students will be required to demonstrate their critical-thinking skills in a culminating experience, such as a thesis, service learning project, internship or capstone project.

i2a has an evaluation plan that aligns with University-wide assessment activities, provides structure for unit-based i2a plans, and offers a range of resources for individual faculty to shape curricular innovations to support i2a. i2a is a multi-year year effort to promote meaningful transformation of our undergraduate programs, build infrastructure to sustain these innovations, and report on our progress to SACS.

Many of the assignments and experiences needed to develop and implement the i2a are already in place. Others are being created. To support the development and implementation for i2a, currently there are programs and services for faculty; new partnerships between university committees and academic units; emerging collaborations between the community and the campus, including the Signature Partnership Initiative (SP); Student Affairs and the development of small working groups.