Quality Matters (QM)

Quality Matters ImageQuality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses. QM has generated widespread interest and has become a national standard in its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education.

As part of TMCC's continuous efforts to improve the quality of online courses, WebCollege along with other NSHE institutions have formed a consortium. Together, NSHE institutions will collaborate to review online courses using the QM nationally recognized rubric. Course reviews, conducted by a team of QM trained peer reviewers, highlight good design elements and provide feedback on areas of improvement. A course that meets QM standards is awarded a nationally recognized QM official logo to be placed inside of the online course.

QM Benefits

  • Improved student learning outcomes and retention.
  • Adoption of a systematic and comprehensive continuous quality assurance process that includes faculty training, course development, and course revisions that are aligned with accreditation standards.
  • Opportunity to engage in benchmarking activities with peer institutions.
  • Ongoing faculty professional development.
  • Increased efficiency in using institutional resources.

Quality Matters has transformed my teaching ability for my online courses enormously. Students greatly appreciate how quality matters organizes the online course so that they are comprehensible and logical for the students to find the needed material requirements for their courses and presenting the material in a clear, concise and enjoyable presentation. The course review process that is guided by Cathy House has proved invaluable and I recommend everyone to become involved with the implementation of Quality Matters.

Paul B Davis, PhD, Professor of Political Science

Course Review Requirements

  1. The course needs to have been taught at least one semester.
  2. The faculty member will need to get approval from the appropriate supervisor to ensure the course will continue to be offered.
  3. The faculty member will need to complete either the QM IYOC or APPQMR training.
  4. The faculty member will complete the Faculty Self-Evaluation Form.
  5. The course faculty will meet with the Instructional Designer to review the course and be pre-reviewed before submitting it to QM.
  6. Once the course is QM approved and the instructor is provided a stipend the course can be shared with other faculty members of that department.

Course Review Process

  1. Once the Faculty has met the above review requirements, the Program Director will submit the course to QM for review.
  2. QM will create a team of three reviewers and they will be given access to the course. A meeting may take place to ensure all information has been received.
  3. Although not actively involved, the faculty member is still part of the process. During the 4-6 weeks of the review, the faculty may be called upon to clarify information or make minor changes to the course.
  4. Faculty will receive an email from the QM Review Chair when your internal course review has been completed and instructions on how to access the review report.
  5. Courses that meet all 23 essential standards and earn at least 85 points on the QM rubric are approved to display the QM seal in their class.
    1. Faculty must complete the Faculty Response Form indicating acceptance of the review results. This will be provided after the review process. The review will not be closed until this form is submitted.
  6. Courses that do not meet all 23 essential standards and earn at least 85 points on the QM rubric may be revised and resubmitted within the designated time period. Support will be provided to the faculty member to implement revisions.
    1. Once revisions have been made, the faculty member must complete the online Faculty Amendment Form to describe the revisions.
    2. The Review Chair reviews and approves changes to the course and adjusts the QM sore as appropriate.
  7. Once the course becomes officially QM Certified, the instructor will receive a 1 credit stipend.

Certified Courses

Course Instructor Certification Date
ART 100: Visual Foundations Garlock November 2016
BUS 117: Applied Business Math Buehler March 2017
BUS 150: Personal Finance Buehler October 2017
ECE 250: Intro to Early Childhood Education Instructor Swank August 2019
EDCT 302: Instructional Facility Design Lupkey March 2023
EDCT 403: CTE Workforce Leadership Lupkey June 2023
EDCT 413: Advanced Program Evaluation and Leadership Lupkey January 2024
EDCT 416: Instructional Leadership and Coordination Lupkey April 2024
EDCT 439: General Methods of Teaching Career and Technical Education Lupkey October 2023
EDCT 447: CTE Curriculum Development Lupkey July 2023
ENG 98: Preparatory Composition Griffin September 2016
ENG 101: Composition I Griffin March 2016
ENG 102: Composition II Griffin November 2016
ENT 200: Fund. of Entrepreneurship O'Neal May 2018
EPY 101: Ed, Career & Pers Dev Purdy June 2016
HIST 101: U.S. History Reid December 2017
HIST 217: Nevada History Reid February 2018
HUM 101: Intro to Humanities Channing July 2023
IS 101: Intro to Information Systems Doherty October 2014
MATH 126: Pre-Calculus I Hestiyas September 2022
MPT 140: Quality Control Lower June 2022
MUS 121: Music Appreciation Mickey November 2017
NUTR 121: Human Nutrition Lupkey November 2020
NUTR 253: Cultural Considerations in Nutrition and Health Care Lupkey January 2022
PSC 101: Intro to Political Science Hall October 2015
PSC 101: Intro to Political Science Fletcher January 2017
PSC 231: Intro to Intl Relations Fletcher September 2017
SPAN 111: First Year Spanish I Brochu July 2020
SPAN 112: First Year Spanish II Brochu October 2022
SPAN 211 Second Year Spanish I Brochu December 2022
SPAN 212: Second Year Spanish II Brochu November 2021
WMST 101: Intro Women's Studies Channing July 2018

Certified Course Reviewers

Julie Kauffman, Gabriella Brochu, Lisa Buehler, Pat Jarvis, Angela Lee, Marynia Giren Navarro, Crystal Swank.