Quality Measures that Matter

Abstract

The increasing number of courses offered online by universities and other institutions of higher education has created an equally increasing need for reliable standards to evaluate the quality of the course design. This paper reviews the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric, which is arguably becoming the national standard for evaluation of the quality of online courses in the United States. To illustrate the use of a QM Rubric, the 40 standards (including essential, very important and important standards) are applied to the case of a graduate accounting course offered online by a state university in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States. The ease of use and difficulties associated with applying the QM rubric are discussed, and potential benefits to faculty and students from the implementation of QM standards are highlighted. Based on this case study, from the faculty viewpoint, the main potential benefit from QM implementation is the alignment of learning objectives with the selection of assessment instruments and instructional materials. From the student viewpoint, the main potential benefit is the increased clarity in the presentation of faculty expectations and the improved access to course components.

The Impact of Previous Online Course Experience on Students' Perceptions of Quality

“…This relates to QM statements 4.1, 4.3, and 5.4. Appreciating the value of instructional alignment constitutes the core of successful course design, and there is much research supporting the absolute fundamentality of strong instructional alignment in online courses (e.g., Bento & White, 2010;Gaytan & McEwen, 2007;Rogerson-Revell, 2015). In a nutshell, when developing instruction, it is critical that the learning objectives, learning materials/activities, and assessments complement one another.…”

Overcoming employer perceptions of online accounting education with knowledge

“…Quality Matters (QM), a self-supporting national organization that offers faculty training and certification programs, is based on research aimed at improving online education. Bento and White (2010) looked at an online graduate accounting course to see if it met the standards established by QM. They found that when a course did meet QM standards, student evaluations and GPAs both increased.…”

Circle the Wagons & Bust Out the Big Guns! Tame the “Wild West” of Distance Librarianship Using Quality MattersTMBenchmarks

“…Bento and White (2010) and Swan, Matthews, Bogle, Boles, and Day (2012) each found that student academic performance improved after their respective courses had been revised to meet QM standards; following the revisions, the class average GPA and the student course ratings rose in the first study while the second study yielded increased project, exam, and final course grades. Instead of revising a course, Dietz-Uhler, Fisher, and Han (2008) developed online courses in both Psychology and Statistics that met QM standards from the outset.…”