Overview of Maryland Online Quality Matters Program

Introduction:  The Quality Matters^TM Project  (QM^TM) is a collegial continuous quality improvement process. Reviewers provide feedback on the course design in two ways: 1) awarding of points for specific review standards, and 2) providing substantial, constructive, and specific comments and suggestions with regard to both areas for improvement and existing strengths. Reviewers are asked to take the students’ perspective with regard to clarity and organization.

 The Quality Matters Rubric and review process are dynamic and reflect national standards of best practice and the research literature (Quality Matters Research Matrix). Before conducting a course review, refer to the Glossary of Terms and the Instructor Worksheet that accompany the course you will review. In conducting your review, be sure to refer to the Rubric Annotation. Remember that QM uses a collegial review process and that the course developer is a member of the team who should be consulted if you have any questions or trouble locating evidence that a particular standard has been met.

 Design, Not Delivery:  The Quality Matters Project specifically focuses on course design, rather than on course delivery or course academic content. For the purposes of this review, consider the design aspect to include the course developer’s role in the forethought and planning of the course, as well as the creation, assembly, and layout of instructions and course components. Not under review here is the faculty member’s implementation of the design as he or she delivers the course and interacts with students.

 Alignment:  Critical course components – Learning Objectives (II), Assessment and Measurement (III), Resources and Materials (IV), Learner Engagement (V), and Course Technology (VI) – work together to ensure that students achieve the desired learning outcomes. When aligned, each of these course aspects is directly tied to and supports the learning objectives. Specific standards included in Alignment are indicated in the rubric annotations.

 Glossary: To ensure that you are interpreting the standards accurately, refer to the Quality Matters Glossary for a detailed explanation of some of the key terms in this rubric, such as activity, assessment, evaluation, feedback, goal, grading, learning objective, and learning outcome

 When To Use The Rubric:  This rubric is intended to be used for courses that are delivered fully online or with a significant online component (hybrid and blended courses). The distinguishing feature of courses for which this rubric is applicable is the use of technology (a course management system) to structure and drive the teaching and learning in the course. Refer to the Quality Matters Course Format Chart to determine into which delivery category your course falls, and to verify the specifications of the contents that must be made available for review through QM. Note that QM course reviews are conducted solely in the online classroom. For this reason, all content, materials, activities, handouts, support materials, etc. included in any face-to-face meetings should also be made available in the online classroom. For components that are obviously specific and confined to the face-to-face meetings (speeches, labs, drama, movies), their design and purpose should be explained in the online classroom.