Membership

Quality Matters (QM) is an internationally recognized non-profit organization that is committed to promoting and improving the quality of online education and student learning. QM achieves this goal through professional development of faculty and instructional designers and the use of a QM Rubric for quality assurance. Rock Valley College is a member of Quality Matters, and as such, all faculty and staff are encouraged to create a MyQM account to utilize QM resources and register for professional development. Members of Quality Matters are eligible to participate in QM training at free or discounted rates and may conduct a self-review of their online courses using the QM rubric and QM's Course Review Management System (CRMS).

Internal Course Review

To teach online or hybrid courses, faculty members must first demonstrate proficiency in online learning pedagogy through credit course completion, professional development training, and/or equivalent work experience(s). Faculty who do not have experience, training, or education in online learning pedagogy, but who desire to teach online, will complete professional development training in online teaching and learning theory. This training may include, but is not limited to, the RVC online training course, an ION course through the University of Illinois, the Quality Matters Designing Your Online Course (DYOC) workshop, or a course from another institution (as approved by the College in consultation with the e-Learning Committee).  A faculty member who elects to teach an online course must be provided the opportunity to complete any training required by the College prior to the start of the class. The College shall cover the costs of any such external training courses.

Upon completion of online teaching and learning training or verification of prior training, faculty wishing to teach online will contact the CITI department to setup an internal review of their course. The purpose of the review is to offer feedback and make recommendations. The review is not meant to be an approval process. When examining the course, the review team will use the RVC course review rubric, which is aligned with the 23 QM essential standards for quality online courses. After completing the review, the faculty member is then able to teach online and hybrid courses.

Quality Matters Essential Standards Badge

Faculty members who complete the internal review process or have previously done so may also request that their course  be considered for the QM Essential Standards badge, which can be displayed in the course to acknowledge achievement in quality online course design. To earn the badge, an internal team comprised of at least one reviewer who has completed QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) or Improving Your Online Course (IYOC) workshops and one reviewer who is a QM-Certified Peer or Master Reviewer will conduct an internal review of the course. 

If the review team determines that the course successfully meets all 23 of QM's essential standards, the course will earn the QM Essential Standards digital badge, which is valid for five years as long as there are no significant changes made to the course. If it has been more than five years since the badge was earned or if a course has changed significantly, then the course will need to be internally reviewed again.