Download - 2011Assuring Quality in Online Courses
ASSURING QUALITY IN LARGE-SCALE ONLINE COURSE
DEVELOPMENT
Deborah RiemerVP of Assessment & Academic
Tina Parscal, PhD Provost
Presentation OutlineInstitution Overviews
Curriculum & Course Development (Tools & Templates)
Assessment Development (Tools & Templates)
Internal QA Reviews
External QA Reviews
Development Models
Faculty Training
Research and Evaluation
Institution Overviews
Ashford UniversityFounded in 1918
Online Figures 88,000+ students 2200+ faculty 606 courses 58 programs 500-750 course
sections starts per week
Curriculum Team Faculty (SMEs) 4 Executive Deans VP of Asmt & Quality Assessment Manager Quality Manager 4 Program Managers 5 Instructional Designers 7 Curriculum Coordinators 2 Learning Tech Specialists 2 Doc Quality Coordinators 4 Assessment Analysts
University of Rockies
Founded in 1998 – became UOR in 2007
Online Figures 2000+ Students 275 Faculty 214 courses 5 programs 15 course sections
starts per week
Curriculum Team Director of Curriculum
Development Director of Academic
Quality Assessment Faculty 3 Instructional Designers 2 Curriculum Coordinators 1 Faculty/SME/Course
Developer (per course) 1 External QA Assurance
(per course) 14 Faculty Curriculum Area
Coordinators
Quality is Intentional
We weave it into the process . . .
Course Development
Assessment Development
Internal QA Reviews
External QA Reviews
Development Models
Faculty Development
Research & Evaluation
Guidance, Templates, Tools, Model
Curriculum & Course Development
Curriculum Development
Faculty Driven
Centrally Developed
Curriculum DevelopmentOutcomes
Based
Curriculum & Course
Alignment
Course Development TrainingGuidance, Templates, and Tools
Prepping the Team
Course DevelopmentMapping and Organizing
Guidance, Templates, and Tools
Learning Outcome Alignment
Ensuring Quality Design
Course Development ToolsDevelopment Template and Blog Guidance
Course Development ToolsWiki Checklist
Course DevelopmentStyle Guide Blog & eCollege Template
Guidance, Templates, and ToolsConsisten
t Presentati
on
Style Guide and Document
ed Processes
Assessment Development
Assessment DevelopmentWaypoint Assessment Tool
• Richer feedback to students impacting achievement and success
• Enhanced experience for faculty and students
Grading Rubric
Assessment DevelopmentGrading Rubric Development Checklist and Blog
Guidance, Templates, and ToolsGrading Rubric
Development Guidance
Assessment DevelopmentWaypoint Electronic Grading Rubric
Guidance, Templates, and Tools
Assessment ManagementTaskStream Outcomes Mapping
Guidance, Templates, and Tools
Assessment ManagementTaskStream Assessment Plan
Internal QA Reviews
UoR Internal QA Reviews
Content Area Coordinator reviews for:
Course PlanCourse Design &
TopicalOrganizerLearning ResourcesOutcomesAssessment StrategyDiscussion Prompts
AU Internal QA Reviews
Checklist Categories:
Typos & Spelling/Grammar
Consistency
Universal Design
Content Context
APA Formatting
Learning Outcomes
Alignment
Grading Rubrics
Self-Assessments
Technology Tools
Links
Quality Matters Standards
External QA Reviews
External QA ReviewsQuality Matters
External QA ReviewsUoR Weekly Internal Reports for Stakeholders
External QA ReviewsQuality Matters Blog
Communicating with the
Review Team
Positive Feedback
External QA ReviewsOrganizing QM with Access
External QA ReviewsAU Weekly Report Emailed to Stakeholders
Development Models
Course
Identified
•Pre-Dev
SMEs
Selected
•Pre-Dev
Developme
nt Perio
d
•Week 1-4
Approval – ID
•Week 5
Approval
- Dean
•Week 6
Ashford UniversityCourse Development Model
Development Model
Rubrics
Developed
• Weeks 7-8
Course Built
in LMS
• Weeks 9-10
Course QA
• Week 11
Final Adjustments Made
• Week 12
Final Appro
val
• Week 13
Course Ready
for Producti
on
Quality Matters Review
University of the RockiesCourse Development Model
Course Development Model
Course Approved by CAC
• Weeks 5-6
Course Loaded
into LMS
• Weeks 6-7
Quality Assura
nce Review
(QA)
• Week 7
Final Adjustments Made
• Week 8
Final Approv
al
• Week 8-9
Course Ready for Online Teaching
Selected for Quality Matters Review
New Course Approv
ed
• Pre-Dev
Developers
(SMEs) Selecte
d
• Pre-Dev
Development
1st Draft
Approved by
ID/CAC
• Week 1-2
Learning
Resources
Selected
• Week 3-4
Final Draft
Review by ID
• Week 3-5
Faculty Training
Faculty Training
Integrating QM awareness into faculty and staff responsibilities . . .
Faculty QM peer reviewer certifiedFaculty QM master reviewer certifiedFaculty Trainers
Assessment AnalystsInstructional DesignersCurriculum Coordinators
Research & Evaluation
Template SurveyGuidance, Templates, and Tools
The University of Rockies has implemented a course development template that supports the Quality Matters principle of alignment. The template requires course developers to explicitly state how the discussions, activities, and written assignments align with the weekly and course outcomes. This template is an improved version of the original template where explicit alignment was not required. As a quality assurance reviewer I have noted the positive impact this template has had on course quality and alignment of essential course elements. As a result the courses will provide a rich learning experience.
- Carole Hruskocy, Ph.D.
Quality Matters GrantAction-Based Research Grant on Teaching and LearningResearch Questions
1. What is the extent to which QM certification impact student perceptions of a course?
2. Which standards have the greatest impact on student perceptions of a course?
3. What do instructors perceive as the positive and negative aspects of teaching the same course before and after the QM course review process?
Emergent ResearchQuality Matters Trends
Peer Review Feedback
QM Standard