The University of Arkansas has adopted the Quality Matters rubric as a resource to help our online courses meet national standards and best practices. The rubric focuses on the form and function of the course while allowing a lot of flexibility and leaves the content up to the instructor.

 

We believe that using these standards will help bring our courses to the next level. If you have any question about the rubric and how to apply it to your course, feel free to contact your instructional designer.

From the Quality Matters website:

Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. QM is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning.

Learning Resources

  • Quality Matters website
  • Quality Matters Rubric –
    • [Note: this link will require you to log into the website to see the rubric. If you would like a paper copy, please contact your Instructional Designer or the University’s QM representative. Due to copyright restrictions we cannot provide the QM rubric to the public.]
    • When you look over the rubric, notice the point values beside each standard. A standard worth 3 points is an “Essential” standard and must be met for the course to be QM certified. A 2-point standard is very important and a 1pt standard is important. QM has an 85% principle. This means that a standard is considered to be met if it meets it 85% of the way. This also means that a course needs earn 81 of the 95 possible points on the rubric (including the 63 points from the essential standards) in order to be QM certified. The reasoning behind this is that not every course has or even should have evidence of every standard and the 85% principle allows a lot of flexibility in the design of the course while still requiring it to meet a rigorous standard. If you need clarification on a standard, be sure and contact your instructional designer. We are all QM certified reviewers.