What is Quality+?

Overview

Good online learning goes hand-in-hand with good course design and online teaching. Courses that go through the Quality+ program meet benchmark design standards for quality in online education and the professional development faculty complete improves their online teaching.

History

In 2012, an ISU faculty committee convened to explore processes for assuring the quality of ISU’s online courses. Based on that committee’s recommendations, the Quality+ program was developed and piloted through three additional faculty committees.

The Quality+ program officially began in the Fall of 2017. The program continues to help faculty apply evidence-based practices from the Quality Matters Rubric and its model peer-review process to courses at ISU.

ISU has subscribed to Quality Matters since 2012. Through this subscription, the Quality+ program provides ISU with professional development training opportunities from Quality Matters, as well as ones created here at ISU.

Quality+ vs. Quality Matters™

The Quality+ program is related to, but distinct from, Quality Matters™ (QM). Effectively, Quality+ is ISU’s implementation of Quality Matters. The foundational framework of Quality+ is modeled on QM’s peer review process and rubric.

QM is an internationally recognized, faculty-centric non-profit that includes both a rubric and a peer review process designed to certify the quality of online course design. QM does not evaluate online teaching, nor is it an evaluation of the online instructor. It is focused solely on the design of the course.

QM principles promote a collegial, collaborative faculty experience based on the idea of continuous quality improvement.