Quality Matters at Daemen University
What is Quality Matters?
Quality Matters provides professional development, a set of rubrics, and a course peer review process that work together to support faculty in improving the quality of online and blended courses. QM has received national recognition for its faculty-centered approach to continuous improvement in online education and student learning. QM has review processes for both online and blended courses, and online programs.
Daemen's membership with Quality Matters offers all faculty and staff access to their fully annotated version of the QM Rubric, which aligns with this non-annotated version and offers a deeper and far more detailed perspective. Our membership also invites access to the QM Course Review Management System. This is the system that our teams use to conduct our Internal Reviews.
Learn more about Quality Matters and the research that grounds their rubric and their work.
Benefitting from the Quality Matters Experience
While engaging in QM professional learning experiences and pursuing QM standards is not a requirement for tenure or a part of our evaluation process, both opportunities serve you, your students, and Daemen College very well. For instance:
Course alignment ensures that learning experiences are coherent, thoughtfully scaffolded, and attentive to the course and lesson level objectives. When alignment is tight, learning is rewarding, and performance is typically higher.
The Quality Matters process engages instructors, course designers, subject matter experts, the review team, and students alike in a collaborative and highly collegial process that results in better course design. No one is in the work alone but rather--learning, growing, and dividing the workload together.
Quality Matters supports all instructors and our review teams through a variety of professional learning opportunities that serve to guide and sustain improvement.
The Quality Matters Standards-based design approach enables course builders and instructors to name and then notice the finer elements of high quality courses. This enables all of us to pinpoint our individual and systemic strengths and then, develop the tools, resources, and support mechanisms necessary to respond to very specific needs.
Each Quality Matters experience not only honors but celebrates diverse perspectives, experiences, and practices. There are many ways to meet each QM standard, and each time we create space for collaboration, our collective toolkit grows.
Quality Matters sustains a global reputation for their work in the field. Our affiliation and work toward accredited course design distinguishes Daemen College as a leader in online course design and learning.
The QM Review Team at Daemen College
Our internal review teams consist of the course representative--typically the course designer and an instructor, as well as a certified QM Peer Reviewer who serves as chair and at least one but often two additional faculty reviewers. Angela Stockman, Executive Director of Distance Learning at Daemen University serves as the Quality Matters Coordinator for each review.
Our Internal Review Process
The internal review process begins when a Course Representative informs EPC/QOnEC of the existence of an online course that is ready for review. The process depicted below is then set in motion, and it is typically completed within 2-4 months, depending on the availability of each review team member. You may click on the image below to listen to a description of this process.
Ready to Begin?
If you are interested in learning more about the QM Review Process, registering for a workshop or webinar, becoming a Certified Peer Reviewer, or joining the Daemen QM Internal Review Team, please contact Angela Stockman, QM Review Chair, at astockma@daemen.edu or by phone at 716-839-7252.
Angela is also happy to pre-review your course ahead of the process, offer feedback, and support your course design and amendment work with just-right tools and resources. The entire Instructional Design team is at your service as well. We look forward to serving you.