Center for Teaching and Learning
Quality Matters
The QM Course Review Process is a faculty-driven, peer-review process that emphasizes continuous quality improvement of courses. Official QM reviewers experience and review a course from a student perspective and provide feedback based on the Quality Matters Standards. Contact the GSU Quality Matters Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu), for information about course development.
Our course review process consists of two parts. First, an internal review is conducted by two GSU Certified QM Peer Reviewers—one a member of the CTL staff and the other a content-area expert—to provide initial feedback on the course design. After any necessary changes, the course will receive a GSU Exemplary Course Award and be recommended to undergo an official QM Review conducted by a team of three independent, non-GSU official QM Reviewers (a Master Reviewer, a Content-Area Expert, and one additional Peer Reviewer), resulting in official Quality Matters Certification for the course.
Quality Matters (QM) is a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer-review process designed to certify the quality of online and hybrid courses. The QM process is based on research literature and best practices for online teaching and learning. The guiding principles behind QM promote student-centered design, intended to stimulate student learning and increase student satisfaction with the learning process. There are three primary components of QM: the QM Rubric, Professional Development, and the Peer Review Process.
QM provides a rubric that outlines principles of effective online course design. The rubric consists of standards that address course structure and clarity, learning outcomes, and learner engagement and support. Official QM-sponsored professional development opportunities related to online course design and delivery, as well as best practices and pedagogy, are offered both through the CTL Department and directly through QM. The review process is designed to ensure that course outcomes and expectations are clearly communicated and that student learning is assessed based on those expectations. The QM review also ensures that online courses include meaningful interaction between instructors, students, and the course content.
For more information about Quality Matters history and research, visit the QM website.
GovState is a subscriber to Quality Matters. This subscription allows all GovState faculty the opportunity to access subscriber resources using a MyQM account, which provides access to the online version of the fully annotated rubric as well as QM’s online Self-Review tool.
Logging in to the MyQM platform requires using your GovState faculty email address (@govst.edu). If you have not previously signed in to MyQM, you may need to activate your account and create a password. Tip: Select the option “I am new here.” to get started. If you are still having trouble accessing MyQM, contact one of the GovState Quality Matters Coordinators.
GovState’s Quality Matters account access, training, and course reviews are coordinated through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Email the GovState Quality Matters Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu), to learn more.
GovState’s Exemplary Course Award courses by semester and year:
Summer 2024
- MATH-2100 – Elementary Statistics (Instructor: Lauren Ryba)
- COMM-4210 – Communicating Gender (Instructor: Lara Stache)
Spring 2024
- COMM-3411 – Layout, Design & Production (Instructor: Scott Thesen)
Fall 2014*
- LEAD-9102 – Leadership Theories and Ethics (Instructor: Stephen Wagner)
Fall 2013*
- PSYC-3605 – Love: What Everyone Needs to Know (Instructor: Jennifer Boender)
* Previous to subscribing to Quality Matters in Spring 2020, courses receiving GovState’s Exemplary Course Award were evaluated using the Blackboard Exemplary Course Award Rubric.
GovState’s Official QM-Certified courses by semester and year:
Summer 2024
- MATH-2100 – Elementary Statistics (Instructor: Lauren Ryba)
- COMM-4210 – Communicating Gender (Instructor: Lara Stache)
Spring 2024
- COMM-3411 – Layout, Design & Production (Instructor: Scott Thesen)
All courses that have earned official QM-Certification at both GovState and worldwide are listed at the Courses Currently QM-Certified webpage.
Many GovState faculty and staff have already participated in QM training, in addition to holding current certifications as QM Peer Reviewers. Faculty are encouraged to take advantage of QM training to learn more about online course design or to become certified as a QM Peer Reviewer. Opportunities include:
Center for Teaching and Learning
CTL offers official QM professional development workshops several times per semester, including:
- Introduction to QM (INTRO2QM)
Intended audience: newly-hired faculty or any faculty new to online-only or hybrid course design and/or delivery. - Designing Your Online Course (DYOC)
Intended audience: faculty who have never designed an online-only course, who need to convert an in-person course to an online-only or hybrid format, or who have been tasked to design a new master course shell for future online-only delivery. - Improving Your Online Course (IYOC)
Intended audience: faculty who have limited experience teaching in an online-only format from courses they have created themselves or from master course shells inherited from other instructors. - Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR)
Intended audience: faculty with extensive experience teaching in an online-only format and/or who have created their own online-only courses and master shells who wish to pursue an official QM course certification or official QM roles such as Peer Reviewer.
If interested in taking one of these official QM courses through the CTL department at GovState, please email the GovState Quality Matters Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu). You can also see the regularly updated CTL Workshop Schedule for any upcoming workshops.
Quality Matters, Inc.
QM offers a variety of online workshops, courses, and webinars, some of which are free and some of which are paid for by the administration in each college, division, or department and therefore require administrative approval. These professional development opportunities are available throughout the year, and schedules and descriptions can be found in MyQM under “Workshop – Register” → “QM Training.”
Before registering for any paid workshops or seminars, please contact the GSU Quality Matters Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu) to set up your workshop registration and to guarantee funding.
Individualized Consultation
Faculty interested in understanding the QM standards and how they apply to the course development process are invited to request a consultation with one of our QM Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu).
The QM Rubric is a proprietary document and only available to faculty members of subscriber institutions, and as such are not allowed to be shared outside of the institution. Hard copies of the QM Rubric Workbook with the full annotations are available upon request through the QM Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu).
An interactive version of the fully annotated rubric is also available on the QM website through the Course Review Management System. Login is required using your MyQM account credentials. Accounts have been created for all GovState faculty using your GovState faculty email address (@govst.edu). If you have not previously signed in to MyQM, you may need to activate your account and create a password. Tip: Select the option "I am new here." to get started. If you are still having trouble accessing MyQM, contact one of the GovState Quality Matters Coordinators.
The CTL Department has developed two Blackboard templates, one for Original and one for Ultra, which include prompts for 75% of the QM Rubric Specific Review Standards (the remaining 25% is directly related to course content provided by the instructor, as well as each individual instructor’s teaching style preferences). For each version, an Original Template Virtual Video Tour and an Ultra Template Virtual Video Tour were created to show each template from both the student-preview and instructor-editor points of view.
Instructors can request that the template be copied into any blank Blackboard shell (CTL recommends that the QM Template be copied to a blank shell first, then that content from previous courses be manually copied and pasted into the template to avoid confusion that can be caused by multiple course copies). Faculty can fill out the Course Copy Request Form and be sure to note which version of the QM Template should be copied to the requested course shell.
While the QM Rubric was designed specifically with online-only and hybrid (blended) courses in mind, the instructional design principles behind QM are applicable to any course—online, hybrid, or face-to-face. QM is adaptable to your goals, whether they are your personal goals or those of your department or program. The rubric can be used to provide a quality threshold for course design, and QM training serves as excellent professional development that faculty can document on their curriculum vitae.
The rubric can be used informally by faculty seeking pedagogically sound, student-centered course design strategies. Faculty can use the QM rubric to guide their decisions while designing new courses and as the foundation for the review and revision of existing courses. A Self Review tool is available on the QM website to assist with this process. There are significant benefits to using QM informally, but official QM recognition is granted only when the “official” process is followed.
The QM Rubric is used in both the internal GSU Exemplary Course Award process through the CTL department and the official QM peer-review process, of which the Exemplary Course Award review is the first step. Both review processes are voluntary and involve a comprehensive review by trained peer reviewers who utilize the Quality Matters Rubric to provide feedback on the course. Courses that complete the official QM process are listed in a national database of recognized courses. The course developer is provided access to an online “seal” from the CTL department for internal reviews or from QM indicating the year the course completed the official QM process. These seals may be displayed by the faculty course developer each time the course is taught, either in the course syllabus or as part of the banner in the online course shell.
When you are ready to initiate the official QM course review process, send an email to the QM Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu), who will assist you with applying and preparing for the review.
While not required, it is strongly recommended that you complete formal QM training prior to submitting a course for a formal review.
Step 1: Self-Assessment through MyQM
If an instructor has developed a course that is intended to be online-only or hybrid, faculty would first complete a self-review through MyQM using the Self-Review tool.
During this time, the course would be taught for a semester, and any issues that arise through teaching or the self-review would be addressed.
Step 2: Internal Review Process through the CTL Department
After completing the self-review and teaching the course for one semester, the instructor may decide to submit the course to CTL for an internal review. Internal reviews do not earn QM certification but may potentially result in the internal Exemplary Course Award and a recommendation to the department chair and/or dean that the course be submitted to QM for an official review. Internal reviews must be conducted by two official QM Peer Reviewers, one from the CTL department staff and another who is a content-area expert from within the department of the course being reviewed.
During this time, the course would continue to be taught for another semester, and any issues that arise through teaching or the internal review would be addressed. Once the course has passed the internal review, the course developer is provided access to an online “seal” from the CTL department. These seals can be displayed by the faculty course developer each time the course is taught by including them in the course syllabus or as part of the banner in the online course shell.
If a Self-Review has been completed for a course, instructors can fill out the Course Review Request form to begin the internal review process.
Step 3: Official Review Process through QM
If the course passes the internal review process, receives an Exemplary Course Award, and obtains administrative approval from CTL staff, the course is then submitted by the CTL staff QM Coordinators to QM. It is reviewed by a team of three independent, non-GovState QM Certified Peer Reviewers for an official QM review using the QM Rubric. All peer reviewers must have online teaching experience in a college credit-bearing course and be official QM Peer Reviewers to be eligible to serve on an official QM course review. The peer review team must include at least one content-area expert and is led by a team chair who is a QM-Certified Master Reviewer. This combination of reviewers ensures a diverse set of perspectives and impartiality.
During this time, the course would continue to be taught for another semester, and any issues that arise through teaching or the official review would be addressed. Following the first official QM review of a course, the review team’s feedback is provided to the instructor in the form of a Final Report. If the course does not yet meet standards in the official review, 14 weeks are provided for course revisions and improvements based on the review team’s recommendations, as it is assumed that the course will need to be taught again while addressing those recommendations. The official QM review team chair then re-reviews the course after revisions are completed. Once the course meets QM standards, the course developer is provided access to an online “seal” from QM indicating the year the course completed the official QM process. These seals can be displayed by the faculty course developer each time the course is taught by including them in the course syllabus or as part of the banner in the online course shell.
Upon completion of the official QM Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR) and Peer Reviewer Course (PRC) workshops, you are eligible to apply to become an official QM Peer Reviewer for both GovState internal reviews and official QM reviews at other institutions (QM pays a stipend for participating in non-GSU official reviews). GovState is always looking to expand its roster of QM Peer Reviewers in each department so that internal content-area experts can participate in internal reviews whenever possible.
Send an email to the QM Coordinators, Nikki LaGrone (nlagrone@govst.edu) or Scott Thesen (sthesen@govst.edu) to request a time to meet to learn more about QM, discuss your QM goals, or learn specific ways you can address the QM standards in your courses.
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