About | Academic Enhancement

The Office of Academic Enhancement at the University of South Alabama is dedicated to advancing student learning and success through key institutional initiatives. The office leads the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Quality Enhancement Plan, a required component of the SACSCOC accreditation process, and other strategic programs designed to improve academic outcomes. In AY 2023-2024, the office proudly launched the LevelUP: Uniquely Prepared for What Comes Next QEP, aimed at uniquely preparing South Alabama students for their careers.

The office provides faculty and staff professional development, individual support, leadership development programs, and program funding opportunities to achieve effective implementation of the QEP, while ensuring the continuous assessment of QEP outcomes to maintain compliance and drive improvement. Collaborating with units across the university, the office integrates learning tools like Canvas and Portfolium to advance the QEP, develops instructional resources, embeds career readiness activities, and manages communications for the QEP.

Housed within the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, the Office of Academic Enhancement supports ongoing SACSCOC accreditation efforts, including compliance narrative writing and review, site visit planning and implementation, and SACSCOC meeting participation and presentations.

Julie M. Estis, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Interim Associate Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness

Executive Director, Academic Enhancement

Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology

Julie M. Estis, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Interim Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Executive Director of Academic Enhancement at the University of South Alabama, applies assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation principles to advance strategic student learning initiatives and SACSCOC accreditation efforts. She enthusiastically leads the University of South Alabama’s LevelUP: Uniquely Prepared for What Comes Next Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). This campus-wide, accreditation-related initiative enhances students’ career readiness competencies through reflection, integrative learning, and skill development, preparing them to confidently transition to the workforce or graduate education.

Previously, Dr. Estis directed the TeamUSA QEP, a highly successful accreditation initiative implementing Team-Based Learning (TBL) to improve critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. Her extensive experience includes providing faculty development, coaching, and evidence-based instructional training that impacts teaching quality and student success. As an internationally recognized TBL Collaborative Certified Trainer-Consultant, author, and immediate Past President of the Team-Based Learning Collaborative, she provides faculty development, mentoring, and consulting nationally and internationally.

With substantial experience in SACSCOC accreditation, she has organized, written, and reviewed institutional compliance narratives, including the decennial reaffirmation and fifth-year interim reports. Her expertise in site-visit planning, compliance reporting, and QEP leadership has been instrumental in achieving successful accreditation outcomes. She has been invited to serve as a QEP Lead Evaluator in early 2025.

Since joining the faculty in 2004, she has maintained an active scholarly profile with peer-reviewed publications and presentations spanning teaching and learning strategies, learning improvement, interprofessional education, team-based learning, and speech-language pathology, while successfully collaborating on NSF- and HRSA-funded initiatives.

As COVID-19 Response Coordinator, she demonstrated high-level leadership and decision-making as a member of the President’s Council. She led university-wide response strategies through cross-division collaboration and planning, maintaining a healthy environment while maximizing opportunities for student learning.

Dr. Estis combines interdisciplinary collaboration, effective communication, and data-informed decision-making to foster a culture of continuous improvement that enhances outcomes for students, faculty, and the university community.

Michelle A. Hale, Ph.D.

Project Manager, Academic Enhancement

Michelle A. Hale, Ph.D. serves as the Academic Enhancement Project Manager at the University of South Alabama, where she leads initiatives to support student success and faculty development. Dr. Hale is an experienced educator, researcher, and marketing professional with over 25 years of experience. Her career bridges academia and industry, showcasing expertise in instructional leadership, online education, and marketing communications.

Dr. Hale is responsible for championing implementation of Canvas Portfolium to support the LevelUP QEP, developing course assets in Canvas, and managing marketing communications for the Office of Academic Enhancement and the LevelUP QEP. She assists with the creation and delivery of professional development for faculty and staff, coordinates ongoing assessment of QEP outcomes by gathering data, and ensures compliance with assessment protocols.

Dr. Hale previously served as Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor at The University of Alabama where she taught online graduate and undergraduate courses. Her research has focused on the role of technology in leadership, cognition in technology-mediated learning, and collaborative communication strategies. In her academic career, Dr. Hale has designed and taught courses at undergraduate and graduate levels, successfully launched an online undergraduate minor in Digital Consumer Engagement, and chaired numerous master’s capstone projects. Her leadership extends to faculty service, including serving on Faculty Senate, university-wide technology governance, and curriculum development.

Beyond academia, Dr. Hale has extensive marketing communications experience. As Vice President of Marketing at Accelerated Technology and later as Director of Marketing Communications at Mentor Graphics, she managed global teams, developed comprehensive marketing strategies, and implemented impactful campaigns that supported multimillion-dollar business growth.