Hamline Online: Quality Matters

QM Rubrics and Standards were created to help course developers, faculty, entire organizations, and — most importantly — students. The General Standards and Specific Review Standards in each Rubric are intended to guide course developers through the development, evaluation, and improvement of their online and blended courses. The Rubric and associated annotations are based on best practices that promote student learning and instructional design principles for quality course design. The Rubric is supported by a thorough review of the research literature and is updated periodically to reflect new techniques and technologies that have become available.

At Hamline University, we endorse the following Quality Matters Rubric standards:

• Course Overview and Introduction – The overall design of the course is made clear to the learner at the beginning of the course.

• Learning Objectives (Competencies) – Learning objectives or competencies describe what learners will be able to do upon completion of the course.

• Assessment and Measurement – Assessments are integral to the learning process and are designed to evaluate learner progress in achieving the stated learning objectives or mastering the competencies.

• Instructional Materials – Instructional materials enable learners to achieve stated learning objectives or competencies.

• Course Activities and Learner Interaction – Course activities facilitate and support learner interaction and engagement.

• Course Technology – Course technologies support learners’ achievement of course objectives or competencies.

• Learner Support – The course facilitates learner access to institutional support services essential to learner success.

• Accessibility and Usability – The course design reflects a commitment to accessibility and usability for all learners.