Recognition: Guidelines for QM Based HE & K-12 Internal Reviews*
- Must follow Program Review qualified Internal Review guidelines.**
- Must use all QM Essential (3 point) Standards including Annotations without alterations.
- Standards/Rubric may not be linked or used in conjunction with rubrics from other organizations
- Institution-specific standards may be added to the subset of QM Standards used as long as they adhere to all other guidelines
- Submit requests for Internal Review recognition annually to ensure compliance with all internal review processes
The QM Essentials Banner is not an official Certification Mark, however, it should be removed from display related to a course if it has been five years since the qualified internal review was conducted. It should be removed sooner if significant changes have been made to the course.
*In order to use QM's name in sharing your news about meeting Internal Review Standards, the review must adhere to these guidelines. If the review does not meet these guidelines, we ask that you not include any reference to QM or QM Rubric Standards in graphics or statements made about your review process or outcomes, except to cite the source of the Standards you used (e.g. “Adapted from the QM Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition. (c) 2018 MarylandOnline, Inc.")
**Requires use of QM review system tools (CRMS or MyCR). Review team must be comprised of at least two reviewers who have completed the APPQMR or IYOC workshops. At least one of those reviewers must be a QM-Certified Peer or Master Reviewer.
Ready to let us know about your Internal Review(s) achievements? Complete the form on MyQM to get started.
Internal Reviews are an important part of the quality assurance process. They can help you deliver on your online promise while building a culture of quality assurance at your organization. Additionally, they provide movement along the Continuum of Excellence and help prepare your organization for official reviews. Specifically, Internal Reviews can:
- Highlight areas for course design improvement
- Benchmark where courses are in meeting Standards
- Aid in standardizing course design
- Help your organization prepare for Program Reviews
Given the impact Internal Reviews can have, many Quality Matters Members want to let their communities know about their successes in meeting Internal Review Standards. The University of West Florida (UWF) is one such institution. Their Internal Review program is called QM Fundamentals. They have a webpage dedicated to talking about Internal Reviews and offer staff an incentive for completing one. Kennesaw State University also conducts Internal Reviews and promotes their efforts on their website.
We love it when organizations share their QM accomplishments!
You’ve worked hard to achieve your quality assurance goals and that hard work should be recognized. If your Internal Reviews adhere to the guidelines listed at right and you would like to promote your achievement and its relationship to Quality Matters, we ask that you create a webpage with the following elements (at minimum):
- Information about Quality Matters and what constitutes a QM-Certified Course or a link to the “Why QM?” Web page.
- Information about your organization’s Internal Review process and its role in meeting QM Standards in Official Course Reviews.
- Information about the organization’s QM Membership and how that membership provides access to the fully annotated QM Rubric and the QM Course Review Management System (CRMS). (Links to QM web pages indicated may also be used.)
When communicating about Internal Review achievements, please adhere to the following messaging and presentation guidelines:
- Labeling or messaging should not contain terms that could be confused with recognition for meeting Standards in an Official QM Review. These include “QM Recognized”, “QM-Certified” and “QM Quality Course”
- Labeling and messaging in the recognition should clarify the review type as a “QM Internal Review that used all of the essential Specific Review Standards”
- The "QM Essentials" graphic (see below) is NOT to be used as a stand alone graphic. It should be combined with a graphic identifying the organization.
- Any graphical representation including “QM” should separate QM letterforms from organizationally branded elements and include the “QM Essentials” graphical element. Here is an example:
The “QM Essentials” banner graphic is available for use in Adobe Illustrator CC format. Once you have completed the form verifying that your Internal Review meets the guidelines, you may request the graphic.
If you have questions about Internal Reviews or how to share your Internal Review accomplishments, please contact info@qualitymatters.org.
