The Quality Matters Program

What is Quality Matters?

Quality Matters (QM) 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. Quality Matters began as an initiative organized by a group of experienced online educators at MarylandOnline, Inc. supported by a FIPSE grant from the U.S. Department of Education. QM is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning. QM has review processes for both online and blended courses, and online programs.

Visit the Quality Matters website for more information about the organization.

Benefits for TAMIU

Quality Matters benefit both individual faculty and their institutions in the following ways:

Improved student learning outcomes and retention
Adoption of a systematic and comprehensive continuous quality assurance process that includes faculty training, course development, and course revisions that are aligned with accreditation standards
Incorporation of new technologies and research findings
Ongoing faculty professional development
Increased flexibility, creativity, and divergent thinking
Increased efficiency in using institutional resources

Faculty Benefits

A course that meets QM standards provides the faculty member with a course whose principal components are in “alignment” with each other (objectives, activities, resources, and assessments) and which is supported by best practices as identified in the literature. Faculty members will have an opportunity to participate in professional development workshops on how to apply the QM rubric and build or improve their online course. The course developer will be an integral part of the internal review process with shared responsibility and ownership. QM influence to hybrid and blended courses is also likely to occur.

Student Benefits

A course that meets QM standards provides the online student with assurance that the course has been planned, developed, and designed with all components to make their learning experience a success. As more courses meet QM standards, the student will become more confident and will become motivated to enroll in more online courses.

Quality Matters Subscribers

Quality Matters subscribers include an array of community and technical colleges, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and systems, and other academic institutions. Over 1000 institutions, internationally, use QM to certify the quality of their online and hybrid courses. Visit the QM database for a full list of current subscribers.

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TAMIU's Membership

While higher education institutions may acquire QM membership in various ways, Texas A&M International University is proud to be part of the Texas A&M University System subscription, including Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas A&M University-College Station, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, and West Texas A&M University.

Included in memberships with Quality Matters, faculty and staff may have:

Discounts on professional development.
Access to the fully-annotated QM Higher Education Rubric.
Access to the QM Course Review Management System used in the course review process.
Ability to conduct subscriber-managed course reviews.