Assuring Quality of Online Course Design
In February 2023, CLDT launched our quality assurance plan for course design. This plan evolved from the adoption of the Quality Matters™ program in late 2020. Quality Matters (QM) is a non-profit, quality assurance organization that provides metrics to assess the quality of online classes. It has 44 standards for evaluating course design quality which fall into one of three categories: essential—worth three points, very important—worth two points, and important—worth one point. There are two benchmarks a course must meet to satisfy minimum expectations for instructional design quality:
The course must meet all essential (3-point) standards AND
The course must receive an overall score of 85% or better (i.e., 96/113 total points on the ranking system).
Quality Assurance Plan
In the Quality Assurance plan there are two quality reviews: the prototype module quality review and the final course quality review.
The prototype module quality review ensures the course design satisfies the quality benchmarks applicable to this stage of the project. The prototype module quality review is conducted after the instructor has developed all instructional materials for a single module (e.g., readings, videos, assessments). The prototype module is reviewed and approved as built-out in the Canvas learning management system (LMS) and before it is sent to program leadership for review and approval. If a prototype module satisfies all quality benchmarks, it is sent to program leadership for review and approval. If not, the Quality Assurance Manager (QAM) coordinates with the Instructional Designer (ID) to meet any unmet standards.
As you might expect, the final course quality review ensures the instructional design of the entire course satisfies both quality benchmarks against all 48 standards – 44 QM and an additional four established by WSE. The final review is conducted after the instructor has developed all instructional materials. Like the prototype quality review, if a full course satisfies all quality benchmarks, it is sent to program leadership for review and approval. Otherwise, the QAM coordinates with the ID to draft an improvement plan to address unmet standards.
Recognizing Quality Courses
Meeting the standards requires effort from faculty. Faculty will be recognized for their efforts in meeting and exceeding the course design quality benchmarks on a semi-annual basis. Faculty will be recognized for their efforts as follows:
Quality Faculty Developer – Faculty whose course receives ≥85% will be recognized with a digital certificate from the Associate Dean of Engineering for Professionals (or equivalent if outside EP).
High-Quality Faculty Developer – Faculty whose course receives ≥90% will be recognized with a digital certificate from the Associate Dean of Engineering for Professionals (or equivalent if outside EP).
Exemplary-Quality Faculty – Faculty whose course receives ≥98% will be recognized at the Spring Faculty Meeting (March) or Fall Faculty Workshop (October).
Upon final course review, an instructor can request that their course be formally reviewed by an external Quality Matters™ peer review process. If the course meets standards during this external review, it is awarded a Quality Matters™ standards – a certification badge which can be displayed in the course and catalog.
Learn More
Interested in learning more about the standards and improving the quality of your course? Consider self-enrolling in Course Quality Benchmarks, an asynchronous online self-paced course hosted in Canvas that takes about 45 minutes to complete.
More information on how to request a quality assurance review for your course beyond the scope of the standard course development process will made available soon via email.