EPIC AND GSU'S STRATEGIC PLAN
EPIC program initiatives align with many aspects of GSU’s Strategic Plan. Through our use of High-Impact Practices, Metro-Atlanta focused approaches, and Project Labs, the EPIC program provides GSU students with opportunities to develop foundational skills to help them become adaptable problem-solvers, overcoming the academic challenges they face in their studies and creating solutions to the issues they will tackle as they graduate into their professions and lives. Our 4-year assessment data shows that including multiple HIPs during the incoming freshman year considerably improves retention rates.
EPIC approaches overlap with all of the goals of GSU’s Strategic Plan, with some initiatives connecting across multiple goals:
- Many of our Labs are focused on Metro Atlanta (Goal 1).
- Labs build an interdisciplinary intellectual community focused on projects and research between GSU faculty and students and external partners in Metro Atlanta, throughout Georgia, and beyond. (Goal 2).
- Labs provide innovative and engaging research projects on which graduate and undergraduate students collaborate with faculty over multiple semesters (Goal 3).
- By working on interdisciplinary teams on long-term, public-facing projects, students advance their skills in communication, complex problem solving, teamwork, creativity, and adaptability (Goal 4).
PERS 2003 “Understanding Atlanta” Class:
- Our course focuses on Atlanta’s history and culture, strengthening a sense of belonging and community (Goal 1).
- The course introduces project-based learning to incoming freshmen, better preparing students to work on research teams throughout their college experience (Goal 2).
- This large EPIC class promotes project-based, experiential, and interdisciplinary learning, connecting incoming freshmen to real-world issues in Atlanta (Goal 3).
- The Wicked Problems Project fosters interdisciplinary discussions around complex issues, such as climate change and housing insecurity, often focusing on how these issues affect Metro Atlanta (Goal 1).
- Through iCollege modules and in-person forums, the project enhances academic excellence by promoting critical thinking and research on pressing societal challenges (Goal 3).
- By addressing these “wicked problems,” GSU students are better prepared to navigate the workforce of the future, supporting the university’s commitment to career readiness (Goal 4).