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Matters Pilot Project
DE QM™ Pilot Project
Overview
Year One
(Spring 2007)
For the spring semester, ten faculty members will receive training on the
QM™ rubric and process and be eligible to become MOL certified reviewers.
Each faculty member, using expertise within project participants and
Lifelong Learning will redesign an existing online course. This redesign,
limited to one semester, will focus on the essential categories outlined
in the QM rubric. Using skills learned through the QM process, project
participants will review these modified courses. Participants will
provide data to Lifelong Learning about the application of this process
to TWU.
Year Two (Fall
2007)
Year two of the project will add 25 faculty members. Faculty will receive
training on the QM Rubric and be eligible to become MOL certified
reviewers. This phase of the project will run from September 2007 –
August 2008. Faculty will redesign one course to meet all standards found
in the QM rubric. Participants will also review another course, according
to the QM review process.
Year Three
(Fall 2008)
Year three of the project will add 35 faculty members. Faculty will
receive training on the QM Rubric and be eligible to become MOL certified
reviewers. This phase of the project will run from September 2008 –
August 2009. Faculty will redesign one course to meet all standards found
in the QM rubric. Participants will also review another course, according
to the QM review process.
Background
The Quality Matters™
(QM) project, sponsored by MarylandOnline, Inc. (MOL) developed a rubric
to guide the development and revision of online courses and a peer-based
approach to quality assurance in online education. The QM rubric and
process are based on national standards of best practice for distance
learning, review of literature on online courses, and sound instructional
design principles. Unique to the QM process is the faculty-driven,
collegial review process and the emphasis on continuous quality
improvement. The QM process is not an evaluation process; it is a
collegial review process. As such, the course developer is a part of the
review team and process.
Critical course
components are reviewed according to the QM rubric by the review
team. The QM rubric is comprised of 40 standards assigned different
point values based upon relative importance. 14 of the standards are
considered essential in a quality online course. This is reflected by the
highest point value (3) in the rubric. For a course to attain
recognition, it must meet all of these essential standards and meet a
percentage of the remaining standards. The remaining standards are
assigned one or two points in the rubric. Courses are reviewed by a team of
three reviewers. Participants will also meet monthly with others in the
project and staff from Lifelong Learning.
Eligibility
Faculty (full/part
time, visiting) serving as instructors of record (current or past) in
distance learning courses are eligible to apply for the program. Full
time faculty currently teaching distance learning courses will be given
preference over other appointments.
Criteria
- Prior training in online teaching
- Online teaching experience
- More than two semesters teaching online
course(s)
- Taught online within the last 18 months
Project Requirements
- Participants are required to attend and
participate in the QM Online Peer Reviewer Training (3 week course –
estimated time per week = 5-7 hours)
- Participants will meet monthly with others in the
project (face-to-face, online, and videoconference) and staff from
Lifelong Learning
- Each participant is expected to modify one of
their existing online courses
- Minimum modification criteria (Year 1)
- Existing course to be redesigned to address all
3-point essential review elements found in the rubric (14 total),
essential for certification by MOL.
- This will generate 42/80 points necessary for
meeting the expectations of the QM review process.
- Minimum modification criteria (Year 2)
- Existing course to be redesigned to address all
review elements found in the rubric (40 total), essential for
certification by MOL.
- This will generate 80/80 points necessary for
meeting the expectations of the QM review process.
- Minimum modification criteria (Year 3)
- Existing course to be redesigned to address all
review elements found in the rubric (40 total), essential for
certification by MOL.
- This will generate 80/80 points necessary for
meeting the expectations of the QM review process.
- Each participant will collaborate and support
other project participants through monthly meetings.
- Each participant will review a minimum of one
other course
- Participants will provide data, as requested by
Lifelong Learning
Benefits to Participants
- Support to redesign existing online course
(project peers & Lifelong Learning)
- Development of personal critical assessment
skills for examining online courses and materials
- Support the University’s commitment to excellence
in teaching
- Opportunity to work with others with similar
interests for support and feedback
- Opportunity to be trained as a QM Peer Reviewer
- Supporting Resources
- Lifelong Learning will provide funding for
training as a QM peer-reviewer
- Lifelong Learning will provide a total of $400
in additional support per participant for travel or materials.
- Lifelong Learning will provide limited travel
support to attend conferences/symposia to reinforce skills for
teaching and learning in online environments.
- Lifelong Learning will provide limited funds to
purchase equipment to support distance education classes.
Project Timeline
Year Two
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09/14/2007
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Deadline for receipt of
applications
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09/19/2007
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Notification of successful
applicants
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10/04/2007
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Organizational meeting
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10/2007 - 03/2008
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Online Peer Reviewer
Training
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02/01/2008 - 04/25/2008
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Project Peer Review of
courses
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05/01/2008
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Course revisions completed
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08/01/2008
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Data submission to Lifelong
Learning
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10/04/2007 - 08/01/2008
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Supporting funds awarded
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Application
Faculty interested in
this opportunity will need to fill out the online application.
Additional Resources
Quality Matters Website
Research Literature and Standards Sets Support for
Quality Matters Review Standards
Underlying Principles of Quality Matters
Comparison of the Quality Matters Rubric to Accreditation
Standards for Distance Learning
Quality
Matters Peer Review Training
Quality
Matters Rubric
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