About the SDBOR Online QA rubric

• • Originally developed as part of a Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant by the Maryland Online consortium. It is maintained by the QA Rubric Subcommittee, which reports to AAC.

  • The original rubric established eight general review standards from learning outcomes to accessibility and everything in between, which are still present in the SDBOR QA rubric.

  • Each general review standard comprised of specific review standards, which are rated as follows:

    • REQUIRED STANDARD

      • The developers and/or maintainers of the rubric determined that, based on the available literature, certain standards had to be satisfied by every online course to ensure student success; ergo, such standards are rated as required. Missing even one of these standards means the rubric is not satisfied.

    • Recommended Standard

      • The developers and/or maintainers of the rubric felt these standards have a significant impact on the design of the course and/or student achievement, but do not rise to the level of the required standards. Still, instructors should strive to achieve these in their course design.

  • In order to pass review, a course must simply achieve all of the required standards.

NOTE: the QA rubric and process are now outlined in AAC Guidelines 5.8 and 5.9, respectively.