Institutional Quality Standards

The COE has adopted and codified the following institutional quality standards governing all online courses at Âé¶¹Éç. These standards apply uniformly across all schools and colleges and are enforced through OPS review and reporting.

 

Quality Matters (QM) ” Institutional Standard

All online courses at Âé¶¹Éç are held to the  as the institution's common quality standard for online course design.

Minimum passing threshold: Courses must achieve a score of 85% or higher on the QM rubric. All non-negotiable standards must be met.

Mandatory Review & Certification Cycles

Five-year course re-review cycle: All approved online courses are subject to a mandatory QM re-review every five years to ensure continued compliance with institutional quality standards.

Five-year faculty certification renewal: Faculty teaching online at Âé¶¹Éç must re-certify every five years through completion of QM training and the OPS technology orientation course.

Online Course Development Requirements

Before an online course may be offered at Âé¶¹Éç, the following requirements must be met:

  • The course must be approved by the appropriate governing body at the college or school
  • If the course is the first in an academic program to use the online modality, it must be approved by the Educational Policy Committee (EPC)
  • The teaching faculty member must be certified to teach online at Âé¶¹Éç, having completed a two-part training series: certification in Quality Matters and the OPS technology orientation course
  • The course must pass QM review (≥85%, all non-negotiable standards met) before first delivery

Modality Definitions

The COE maintains institutional definitions for course modalities. An online (distance) course achieves 22.5 or more contact hours through online delivery; limited in-person meetings may be scheduled to reach 45 total contact hours. All courses scheduled as online must adhere to the Âé¶¹Éç Online Course Development Process. "Distance Education" and "Remote Instruction" are no longer valid modes of instruction at Âé¶¹Éç.

For complete modality definitions, see the .