Information Technology

Quality Matters

Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review national process that is created and design to certify the quality of online courses and online components. This process originated from a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant-backed project developed by Maryland Online. QM is backed by sound research that supports the principles of the QM Standards.

QM Rubric

The QM Rubric is a compilation of the eight QM General Standards covering elements in a hybrid or online course that support student learning:

  1. Course Overview and Introduction
  2. Learning Objectives (Competencies)
  3. Assessment and Measurement
  4. Instructional Materials
  5. Course Activities and Learner Interaction
  6. Course Technology
  7. Learner Support
  8. Accessibility and Usability

Each general standard is broken down intro specific review standards. Each specific area helps to evaluate and suggest ways that instructors can gain measurable, constructive, and substantive feedback. Quality Matters helps to assist in organization and clarity of the course by reviewing the course design, not the delivery or content in a Learning Management System (LMS) by the application of constructive alignment principles. The current version of the QM Rubric is the Sixth Edition, published in 2018.

The standards are grouped into groups, each with assigned values

  • Essential (3 points each)
  • Very Important (2 points each)
  • Important (1 point each)

QM at UW Bothell

QM offers courses and workshops to train in the rubric and how to use best practices for online and hybrid learning. The Office of Digital Learning & Innovation team members have received the following training:

Applying the QM Rubric and Peer Reviewer:

  • Todd Conaway
  • Salem Levesque
  • Marc Studer
  • Ana Thompson

Additional certifications and/or training:

  • Todd Conaway (QM Coordinator)
  • Salem Levesque
  • Marc Studer
  • Ana Thompson (QM Coordinator, Designing Your Online Course, Designing Your Blended Course)

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