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QM Members in the Spotlight
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QM members have once again shown the world that quality matters! U.S. News & World Report released its annual rankings of the Best Online Programs this month. Nine out of the top 10 and 70 of the top 103 are QM members. Congratulations to these members of the QM community for this major recognition, showcasing the fruits of their commitment to creating quality online experiences for their learners.
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Catch Up With the Latest QA Insights
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 Have a resource related to course design or quality assurance for online learning? Tell us about it!
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Looking for resources to support your journey of continuous improvement? These three items are full of fresh, helpful perspectives on quality assurance and more:
High-Impact Design for Online Courses (HIDOC)
This new book presents an eight-step course design model that leverages the unique considerations of online and hybrid modalities at each stage in the process. Written by QM’s Bethany Simunich and QM members Penny Ralston-Berg (also a QM Research Colleague) and Andrea Gregg of Penn State University, the book includes design documents that culminate in a full course blueprint ready to develop in the LMS. QM members can use the code EFL04 to get 20% off the purchase price (with discount: $128 hardcover; $39.16 paperback).
Centering Learner Agency and Empowerment: Promoting Voice and Choice in Online Courses
This chapter from the book Toward Inclusive Learning Design discusses student voice and choice within the contexts of learner agency, personalized learning and inclusive design strategies. Design choices that promote voice and choice are important for helping to guide learners as they navigate what can be a very different type of learning experience. Read this chapter, authored by QM’s Racheal Brooks and Bethany Simunich and QM member Amy Grincewicz, to explore techniques for empowering your students to exercise their voices.
Unlocking Excellence in Higher Education: Quality Matters and Quality Delivery
Watch as QM’s Deb Adair, Bethany Simunich, Racheal Brooks, and M.J. Bishop (QM Board Chair) discuss a broader view of purpose-built, quality online education in light of increased student demand for online options. Grounded in data from the CHLOE report, the panelists weighed in on institutional trends and strategy — offering some advice for institutional leadership in the post-pandemic era — during a Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) pre-conference panel.
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Share Your Expertise for Impact
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QM Connect 2024
Empowering Learners, Enabling Potential
Nov. 4 – 6
Loews Chicago O’Hare
Pre-conference workshops Nov. 3
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Your ideas, best practices, research and techniques for empowering learners and supporting their potential are needed by your peers. Presenting at QM Connect gives you the opportunity to share your knowledge, gain professional recognition and help learners beyond your home institution.
“Presenting at QM Connect felt like I had finally reached the next level of my professional process. Learning and collaborating with colleagues from across the nation was a fresh breath of inspiration and motivation for creating new pathways for growth and innovation at my institution.”
— Maikel Alendy, QM Connect presenter
This year’s Session Concentrations:
- Quality Assurance Implementation
- Approaches to Equity
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
- Advancing Learner Success
- Learner Journeys
The 2024 Call for Proposals is open now. When you submit your proposal by the March 29 early submission deadline, you’ll get feedback and the chance to make updates before your final submission. Plus, if your early submission is accepted, you’ll receive a $100 discount on early conference registration. Create your submission now to optimize your proposal and share your expertise with educators everywhere.
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Set Expectations for Learner Communication
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Last month, we wrote about being clear and specific regarding how you expect learners to communicate with their instructor. Now let’s focus on how learners should communicate in the context of their coursework.
Once again, setting clear expectations is key. When learners know what kind of input you expect, they can plan better to be active participants in their learning. These interactions might be with other learners, with the instructor or with course content.
How often are learners asked to interact, and with whom? What counts toward their grade, and what is expected but doesn’t affect grading? What is mandatory and what is optional? For example, if a student’s grade is affected by how and when they respond to communications initiated by the instructor, make sure to set that expectation upfront.
Being clear about how learners will be assessed for their interactions in discussion posts, synchronous class meetings and other opportunities for input will enable them to prepare to deliver the length and quality you’re looking for. By providing the “who, what, where, why, and how” of your expectations for learner communication in your course, you help set them up for success from the start.
These tips support QM Specific Review Standards 1.3, 3.3 and 5.4 from the QM Higher Education Rubric, Seventh Edition.
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Please join us in congratulating the following Higher Education, Publisher and Continuing & Professional Education members for having one or more courses recently QM-Certified.
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- Augusta Technical College
- Austin Community College District
- Austin Peay State University
- California State University-Los Angeles
- Cameron University
- Clemson University College of Education
- Delaware County Community College
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida International University
- Florida SouthWestern State College
- Florida State University
- Galen College of Nursing-Louisville
- Indiana University-East
- Indiana University-Southeast
- Instituto Profesional AIEP
- Instituto Profesional DUOC UC
- Miami Dade College
- New Mexico State University-Doña Ana
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- North Park University
- Northeastern State University
- Pitt Community College
- Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
- The University of Alabama
- The University of Texas at Arlington
- The University of Texas at San Antonio
- Truckee Meadows Community College
- University of Florida
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- University of North Florida
- University of South Carolina-Upstate
- University of Southern Indiana
- University of the District of Columbia
- University of West Georgia
- University of Wisconsin-Parkside
- Region 7 ESC
- Wyoming Department of Education (Region Four)
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