Week 7 Final Recommendation

Quality Matters is a non-profit organization that provides training for effective online course design. Considering the high drop-out ratio for online classes, effective course design is critical to help students succeed.

Should this company subscribe to Quality Matters?

Yes, this company should subscribe to Quality Matters in order for the existing Instructional Designers to become APPQMR certified. These Instructional Designers can then assist the instructors in the design of their courses.

Should faculty and course designers who are involved in online and blended learning be required to complete APPQMR training?

​As stated above, the Instructional Designers should complete the APPQMR training, so that they can then assist the faculty. This will save money in the budget since the APPQMR training for faculty can be expensive.

​Should all online and blended learning courses created by your organized be required to be designed to meet Quality Matters standards?

All online and blended learning courses should be strongly encouraged to meet the Quality Matters standards in order to help the students to succeed, and to improve the quality of the training.

If so, should all classes go through an internal review to make sure the class meets QM standards? Who will be responsible for conducting the internal review?

Internal reviews will not incur any extra cost. The Instructional Designers can conduct the internal reviews as part of their assistance to the faculty as they design their courses.

What happens if the course does not meet QM standards?

The Instructional Designers will continue working with the faculty to continually improve their courses. The ultimate goal is for all courses to meet QM standards within two years.

Do you think courses should go through an "official" Quality Matters review to gain the "official" QM rating of quality? If so, what happens if the course does not meet the standards? Who pays for the cost of the review?

Possessing courses that have the official Quality Matters rating can greatly benefit the company by proving the higher standards of their training material. However, official QM reviews can be quite costly. This question can be revisited later after courses have been developed and reviewed internally by the Instructional Designers. If the company decides to pay for an official review, then one course could be chosen that can then be used as a model for other courses.