Quality Matters QM A facultycentered peer review process

Quality Matters (QM) A faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online & blended courses. It uses a set of tools (standards) for designing and reviewing online and blended courses.

Quality Matters (QM) Three primary components of the QM Program: • The QM Rubric • The Peer Review Process • QM Professional Development Our initial focus is on the first bullet point: using the rubric standards as a guide for developing courses.

What Quality Matters is NOT It is NOT: • About individual instructors (it is about course design) • About faculty evaluation (it is about course quality) • A pass/fail test (it is a diagnostic tool) • About creating the “perfect” course (create an effective course, better than average – 85%)

Introduction to QM • Underlying Principles • Rubric of Standards • Focused on Design not Delivery • Standard of Quality is 85%

Underlying Principles 1. Continuous • All reviewed courses will eventually meet expectations • Rubric-based review 2. Centered • Based on national standards of best practice, research literature & instructional design principles

Underlying Principles 3. Collegial • Part of a faculty-driven, peer review process • Process designed to be diagnostic & collegial, not evaluative & judgmental 4. Collaborative • Based on collaboratively identified evidence found in the course rather than reviewer’s personal preference • Review is flexible and not prescriptive. (many ways to meet a standard)

Online Course Quality Many factors affect the quality of an online course: Reviewed: • Course Design Not reviewed: • Course Delivery • Course Content • Learning Management System • Institutional Infrastructure • Faculty Readiness • Student Readiness

What QM is About… • It’s about the COURSE (not about an individual instructor) • It’s about COURSE QUALITY (not about faculty evaluation) • It’s about DIAGNOSIS and IMPROVEMENT (not about judgment) • It’s about CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT in a supportive environment (not about “win/lose” or “pass/fail”)

The QM Rubric Eight General Standards: 1. Overall design of the course is clear 2. Learning objectives are clearly stated and explained 3. Assessment strategies and measures are well integrated 4. Instructional materials and resources are sufficiently comprehensive 5. Meaningful interaction in the course 6. Navigation and technology are intuitive 7. Support provided for student success 8. Accessibility (UDL standards)

The QM Rubric • The QM Rubric is designed to provide a rigorous set of standards that can be consistently applied to online courses as part of a commitment to continuous quality improvement. • The QM Rubric consists of eight (8) General Review Standards and forty-three (43) Specific Review Standards selected because the research, national standards, and instructional design principles indicate that these are important factors in a quality online course.

Forty-Three Specific Standards • Assigned different points depending on their relative importance. • Twenty-one (21) of the standards are essential with the highest point value of 3 • Remaining twenty (22) are assigned 1 or 2 points.

Standards Examples General Standard 1: The course introduction sets the tone for the course, lets students know what to expect, and provides guidance to ensure they get off to a good start. Specific Review Standard 1. 1: (ESSENTIAL; 3 pts) Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find various course components.

Alignment Critical Course Components: • • • Learning Objectives (General Standard 2) Assessment & Measurement (General Standard 3) Instructional Materials (General Standard 4) Course Activities and Learner Interaction (General Standard 5) Course Technology (General Standard 6) reinforce one another to ensure that students achieve the desired learning outcomes. When aligned, each of these course elements is directly tied to and supports the learning objectives.

Alignment • The QM Rubric takes a holistic view of the course and that's why it's so important that the learning objectives ALIGN with the assessments, resources and materials, student interaction, and technology standards. • Alignment refers to the direct link between the learning objectives (Standard 2) and the assessments and measurements (Standard 3), resources and materials (Standard 4), learner engagement (Standard 5), and course technology (Standard 6). • Under the principle of alignment, these later four aspects of the course are driven by and support the learning objectives.