Students have the opportunity to show their creativity and receive reserved parking for a year.
The parking privileges will be granted to the student who submits the winning design for the Quality Enhancement Plan student logo competition.
The Southern Association of Colleges and School Quality Enhancement Plan said students interested in participating in the competition must submit their entries by 5 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2008.
Jacqueline Hightower, a coordinator for Florida A&M University’s SACS office, said the accrediting agency requires student involvement.
“Because (the accreditation process) has to include student participation in the implementation of the plan, we created this program,” said Hightower, who added that the competition would give students the opportunity to show off their design skills.
Students have to submit an original logo that depicts “Critical Thinking” and Hightower said it would be beneficial to students’ future endeavors.
“It could enhance their portfolio,” Hightower said. “They could talk with professionals about the logo they made.”
Maurice Edington, the director of the QEP, said every 10 years SACS requires each school in the division to create a 5-year plan to reaffirm their accreditation.
“When you are reaffirmed you have to prove to the agency that you are eligible for accreditation,” Edington said.
He said FAMU was removed from accreditation probation in June 2008, but the March 2009 reaffirmation plan is something mandatory for all schools in SACS.
Hightower said FAMU’s QEP plan would focus on student’s critical thinking skills.
“We did student surveys, faculty surveys, and corporate business entities to see what they thought students were lacking most of,” Hightower said, “And they came up with critical thinking.”
She said the QEP will initiate critical thinking activities in freshman and sophomore courses.
“It will be incorporated in the courses directed to freshman and sophomores like ENC 1101 and African American History,” Hightower said. “Faculty will also get training on how to incorporate critical thinking activities into their classes outside of the freshman and sophomore class.”
Higtower said she would like a better response from the students.
Students said they would be interested in participating in the program.
“Honestly, I’m in my fifth year,” said Jibari Daniels, a senior graphic art student from Brooklyn, N.Y. “It would be nice though because I’m a very competitive person.”
Daniels and many other students said they were not aware of the competition.
Alicia Hope, a senior graphic art student from Ocala, said she didn’t know about the competition but she is interested in participating.
The QEP is currently using FAMU email to reach students, but said it is not as affective as they hoped.
“The students don’t utilize their FAMU email,” Higtower said. “That’s the only way we can communicate to the masses.”
Edington said the QEP office has not received a lot of feedback, but he’s optimistic about the outcome.
“Several of our committee members were students,” Edington said. “They suggested parking as a prize.”
Edington said his goal is to create a brand that will outlast the 5-year program.
“We want something that when people see this logo they say ‘oh we know what this is’,” Edington said. “We want to make everyone aware.”