A new element of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation process requires that UGA implement a specific plan for improving some aspect of student learning. This Quality Enhancement Plan is an integral part of accreditation, and the university is required to commit financial resources to its successful implementation. This is a real opportunity for members of the university community to have a direct impact on student learning at UGA over the next decade.

The Quality Enhancement Plan Team, composed of faculty, staff, student and alumni representatives, spent the fall semester of 2008 gathering ideas from the campus community about possible Quality Enhancement Plans. During the spring semester of 2009, the team considered those ideas, focusing on four of the thirty pre-proposals that were submitted, and submitted a short list of recommendations to the Leadership Team. During Summer 2009, the Leadership Team chose "The Integrated Program for First-Year Experience" as the focus of UGA's Quality Enhancement Plan. During fall 2009 and spring 2010 semesters, the Quality Enhancement Plan Team developed that focus into a draft design.

In Spring 2010, the Quality Enhancement Plan committee brainstormed names for the program with groups of faculty, advisors, and students. The Leadership Team unanimously adopted the name suggested by the student orientation leaders--the First Year Odyssey program.

In Fall 2010, the University Curriculum Committee and the University Council considered and approved the essential curricular elements needed to implement the First-Year Odyssey Seminar (FYOS) program:

Course Proposal - FYOS1001 (Approved by the Curriculum Committee, 8/25/2010)
University Wide Requirement (Approved by the University Council, 9/23/2010)

Click here to see Student Government Association Resolution 23-04 in support of the FYOS program.

Click here to see the UGA Alumni Association Resolution in support of the FYOS program.

If you would like to learn more about SACS accreditation as it applies to UGA, visit the Office of Academic Planning web site. If you would like to learn more about SACS, visit its web site.

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