What is Quality Matters?
Quality Matters is an independent nonprofit organization with a peer-based approach to serving the education community across K-12, higher education and continuing and professional education.
QM aims to pursue quality assurance with an underlying principle of continuous improvement. QM’s goal is to encourage adoption and adaptation of the tools they provide, the standards and processes so they can fit the actual context in which the quality assurance needs occur for distance education. One thing to remember is that QM provides the tools that can inform larger quality assurance initiatives.
Primary Components of Quality Matters
Quality Matters strives to provide an integrated quality assurance process but can be adapted to individual contexts for quality assurance. This can involve training and development of peer review teams who lead a self-review or informal internal review of Distance Education courses and programs.
Why Quality Matters?
- A systematic quality-assurance process with continuous improvement and feedback loops
- Consistency and rigor in online course design reviews using a nationally recognized rubric instrument
- Trained peer review teams (faculty to faculty feedback and recommendations)
- Professional development and certification opportunities for faculty
- Documentation of quality assurance processes, measures and indicators for accreditation agencies such as SACSCOC
- Alignment to BCM’s core values of innovation, teamwork and excellence
