Use of the Quality Matters Rubric and annotations are restricted to institutions that subscribe to Quality Matters. Academic Partnerships is an Academic Service Company subscriber and has the right to use the rubric and annotations on behalf of its subscribing partners. For more information visit www.qualitymatters.org or contact [email protected].

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Improve Your Students' Experience

Anatomy of a Quality Course

Explanations, images, and videos that provide examples and help you gather ideas about how to best meet specific review standards.

Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. The QM 6th Edition Rubric and accompanying 42 Specific Review Standards help support and guide faculty and instructional designers through the development and improvement of online courses.  

The rubric is divided into eight general review standards that tackle various facets of course design and quality: 

  1. Course Overview and Introduction
  2. Learning Objectives (Competencies)
  3. Assessment and Measurement
  4. Instructional Materials
  5. Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
  6. Course Technology
  7. Learner Support
  8. Accessibility and Usability*
 
To explore the anatomy of this quality course and better understand each of the standards, select a checkmark icon or one of the links above. 
 

* Meeting QM’s accessibility standards does not guarantee or imply that specific country, federal, state, and/or local accessibility regulations are met. Please consult with an accessibility specialist to ensure that accessibility regulations are met in your area.

Screenshot of online course homepage

QM Standard 1:
Course Overview &
Introduction

QM Standard 2:
Learning Objectives

QM Standard 3:
Assessment &
Measurement

QM Standard 4:
Instructional Materials

QM Standard 5:
Learning Activities
& Interaction

QM Standard 6:
Course Technology

QM Standard 7:
Learner Support

QM Standard 8:
Accessibility &
Usability

Course Quality Tips from Academic Partnerships

Learn more about the quality review process used at Academic Partnerships and get tips for preparing your course to best meet course design standards developed by Quality Matters.

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THE STANDARDS

QM Standard 1

Course Overview & Introduction

QM Standard 2

Learning Objectives (Competencies)

QM Standard 3

Assessment and Measurement

QM Standard 4

Instructional Materials

QM Standard 5

Learning Activities and Learner Interaction

QM Standard 6

Course Technology

QM Standard 7

Learner Support

QM Standard 8

Accessibility and Usability
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AP & QM Course Review Management System

All subscribing partners of AP and QM benefit from enhancements made to QM’s Course Review Management System (CRMS). Funding provided by AP allowed for streamlined software updates and reporting across institutions on QM Specific Review Standards enabling data-driven decisions across programs.

QUALITY REVIEW RESOURCES

Assessments and Assignments

How to Build a Rubric

Before developing your rubric, consider the assessment you are creating the rubric for. Ask yourself:  Is my assessment developed completely? What are the course and

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Use of the Quality Matters Rubric and Annotations is restricted to institutions that subscribe to Quality Matters. Academic Partnerships is a subscriber of QM as an Academic Service Company and as such has the right to use the rubric and annotations on behalf of its subscribing partners. For more information, visit www.qualitymatters.org or contact [email protected]