According to the latest EDUCAUSE students and technology survey, the number of students who prefer some form of online learning increased more than three times between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic inquiries (Robert, 2022). Additional enrollment tracking of students taking at least some of their courses online also showed increased demand prior to the pandemic (Smalley, 2021; Hill, 2021).

Online learning continues to be a valuable modality at UMBC, supporting students to reach their degree goals through the Finish Line program (Rous, Mozie-Ross, Shin, & Fritz, 2021) or obtain progressional degrees and certifications through our existing catalog of well established programs. UMBC is a growing leader in online learning with its award-winning PIVOT and Quality Matters Impact programs.

Instructional Technology will host a series of Candid Conversations About Online Learning as we explore the theme of leadership across all aspects of distance learning during the 15th anniversary of National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) from November 7-11, 2022.

Our candid conversations will include:

• What does good course design look like? (Nov. 7)
• How do we engage disconnected students? (Nov. 8)
• How do we counter the myths of online learning? (Nov. 9)

Faculty and academic leaders will lead these discussions and the UMBC community is encouraged to join these candid conversations. Event information is posted to the Instructional Technology myUMBC group in October. Register now!

Share your thoughts!

We also invite you to participate in this year's NDLW conversations by contributing your reflection on lessons learned, candid conversation, or what's next in a VoiceThread. To share your reflection, please follow these easy steps:

1. Create your VoiceThread. Not sure how to use VoiceThread? Head over the VoiceThread FAQs!
2. Access the NDLW 2022 landing page in VoiceThread.
3. Click Add Your Own link in the upper right corner.
4. Select your VoiceThread to share.

Be sure to check out the other VoiceThreads throughout the week and add your own comment to the conversation.

Additional resources

Can't make these National Distance Learning Week sessions? Bookmark this post for updates about other virtual events!

• USDLA Schedule of Events (2 events per day all week)
• Blackboard Digital Teaching Symposium - Nov. 10, 2022

After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, four additional UMBC faculty have earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot.

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community. 

The four courses are:

EHS 115 - Medical Terminology  Gary Williams Date certified: 06.01.2022
GWST 210 - Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies Kate Drabinski Date certified: 05.23.2022
SOCY 351 - Health, Illness, and Medicine John Schumacher Date certified: 05.27.2022
CMSC 104 - Problem Solving and Computer Programming  Chris Marron Date certified: 07.26.2022

These four faculty join those who earned QM Certification earlier this year: 

• AGNG 355 - The Experience of Dementia (Louise Murray)
• CHEM 101 - Principles of Chemistry 1 (Sarah Bass)
• EDUC 667 - Structure of English for TESOL (Mary Tabaa)
• ENCH 300 - Chemical Process Thermodynamics (Mariajose Castellanos)
• PBHL 100 - Survey of the US Healthcare System (Katie Birger)

Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching (PIVOT) has received a 2022 Catalyst Award from Blackboard/Anthology for Training and Professional Development. Designed and delivered by DoIT’s Instructional Technology team in response to the pandemic shift to online learning, PIVOT also received an Effective Practice Award from the Online Learning Consortium in 2021. 

The Catalyst Awards honor innovation and excellence in the global community. UMBC previously received a Catalyst Award in 2017 for Leading Change using innovative data analytics to support student success. The Catalyst Award for Training and Professional Development recognizes institutions that display an organization-wide dedication to innovative training and development programs for their educators and staff. The Catalyst Awards are evaluated based on four criteria:

• Design (goals/outcomes);
• Structure (process/people/activities);
• Impact (analytics); and
• Significance (best practices for education).

The Quality Matters Impact program formally recognizes courses that meet Quality Matters (QM) standards and demonstrate exemplary online/hybrid course design. An extension of the award-winning PIVOT program, the call for participation in the Quality Matters Impact program is open now for the upcoming academic year with reviews scheduled in fall, spring, or summer. 

Using the 6th edition of the QM Higher Education Rubric, a formal QM course review is a collegial process to provide helpful recommendations for continuous improvement and reinforce effective, research-based practices for online and hybrid course design.

A QM course review provides independent validation of quality, learner-focused course design. As of May 2022, five of the seven courses in the University System of Maryland certified by Quality Matters are taught by UMBC faculty. A course achieves QM Certification when it meets QM Rubric Standards at the 85% threshold or better and meets all Essential Standards. QM certification is valid for five years.

DoIT's Instructional Technology team manages the QM review process and facilitates the fully online, asynchronous Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshop designed to help instructors prepare for a QM course review.

When a course is deemed having met QM standards, the instructor is eligible to display the QM Certification Mark on the syllabus or within the course itself. To maintain QM certification, and be listed on QM's website, courses may be re-certified for an additional three years or officially reviewed again.

Eligibility for full and part-time faculty

1. You have taught your course as online or hybrid for at least two semesters at UMBC.
2. You have proficiency with Blackboard by your ability to demonstrate the skills in at least six of the eight Skill Builder themes for Blackboard in a current or prior online or hybrid course.

Faculty who meet the eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply by June 30, 2022 for early consideration and feedback. All QMI applications are due no later than July 31, 2022.

Applicants may choose one of two review types:

• QM Review: Full certification review with external reviewers.
• QM Essentials: A partial review completed internally using QM's 23 Essential Standards.

Inclusion Criteria

Faculty accepted into the QMI cohort agree to participate in the following activities:

• Attend a 45-minute orientation session (TBD)
• Complete the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) asynchronous workshop (2 weeks, fully online July 12 - 26 or TBD January 2023)
• Or, if you have successfully completed the APPQMR workshop, you will complete a Self-Review of the course you will take through the review process
• Complete a QM self-review of your course (recommended)
• Attend a pre-review conference call with your assigned review team as QM course review windows are fixed: Once assigned, there are limited opportunities to reschedule.
• Implement recommendations to meet QM standards based on helpful suggestions from your assigned review team
• Respond to both a QM survey and a QMI survey after the course review has concluded  
• Participate on a future panel or record a testimonial about your experience

Each accepted QMI applicant will be assigned an Instructional Design Specialist to answer Quality Matters questions and support your course prep for the QM review.

Application Requirements 

An application to participate in the Quality Matters Impact program must include both course-level objectives and unit-level objectives.

Ready to submit? Please complete the QMI application.

• For early consideration, submit an application by June 30.
• All QMI applications must be submitted by July 31. 

Questions? Please reach out to one of the QM coordinators for UMBC:

Dr. Mariann Hawken, Director, Instructional Technology, mariannhawken@umbc.edu

Dr. Susan Biro, Manager, Online Learning, sbiro@umbc.edu

As part of UMBC's effort to recognize exemplary course design through the Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot, a partnership with the Provost's Office launched in FA2021 as an extension of the award-winningPIVOT program, four Instructional Technology staff are now fully certified as Master Reviewers by Quality Matters:

• Laura Wyatt, Instructional Design Specialist
• Josh Abrams, Instructional Design Specialist
• Dr. Peter Ariev, Instructional Design Specialist
• Dr. Mariann Hawken, Director, Instructional Technology

The Master Reviewer Certification is an advanced certification for experienced QM Peer Reviewers. In a QM review, whether subscriber-managed like the ones at UMBC or facilitated by QM, Master Reviewers serve as Team Chairs for a QM review, ensuring the consistency of the peer review process, coordinating communicating between the team, and maintaining the overall review workflow.

Through the QMI, faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community. A course achieves QM Certification when it meets QM Rubric Standards at the 85% threshold or better and meets all Essential Standards. Currently, UMBC has five certified QM courses through its QMI program. An additional eight courses are scheduled for review through mid-June.

For more information about the Quality Matters Impact program, please contact the QM coordinators for UMBC:

Dr. Mariann Hawken
Director, Instructional Technology
mariannhawken@umbc.edu

Dr. Susan Biro
Manager, Online Learning
sbiro@umbc.edu

After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, five UMBC faculty have earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot. In partnership with the Provost’s Office, the QMI pilot launched in FA2021 as an extension of the award-winningPIVOT program to recognize exemplary course design. 

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community. The five courses include:

These courses are eligible to display the QM Certification Mark, an internationally recognized symbol of online and blended course design quality. The QM Certification Mark represents these instructors’ ongoing commitment to creating learning environments that provide students with a clear pathway to success. QM Certification is the result of the faculty’s dedication to continuous improvement. 

Promoting quality and lessons learned 

In the first GO Chat of 2022, scheduled for February 25 at 1 PM, Louise Murray and Mary Tabaa will share their experiences with the formal review process and showcase their QM-certified courses. 

The call for participation in the Quality Matters Impact program is open twice a year with reviews scheduled in fall/winter and spring/summer. Using the 6th edition of the QM Higher Education Rubric, a formal QM course review is designed to be a collegial process to provide helpful recommendations for continuous improvement and reinforce effective, research-based practices for online and hybrid course design. 

A QM Official review provides independent validation of quality, learner-focused course design. As of February 2022, only nine courses in the University System of Maryland are formally certified by Quality Matters, which is valid for five years. To maintain QM certification, and be listed on QM’s website, courses may be recertified for an additional three years or officially reviewed again. A course achieves QM Certification when it meets QM Rubric Standards at the 85% threshold or better and meets all Essential Standards.

DoIT’s Instructional Technology team manages the formal review process and facilitates the fully online, asynchronous Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshop designed to help instructors prepare for a formal course review. When a course is deemed having met QM standards, the instructor is eligible to display the QM Certification Mark on the syllabus or within the course itself. QMI program participants receive a $1,000 professional development award for completing required activities and their course meeting QM standards.  

For more information about the Quality Matters Impact program, please contact the QM coordinators for UMBC:

Dr. Mariann Hawken

Director, Instructional Technology

mariannhawken@umbc.edu

Dr. Susan Biro

Manager, Online Learning

sbiro@umbc.edu

As an extension of the award-winningPIVOT program, the Quality Matters Impact program is a new initiative to formally recognize courses that meet Quality Matters standards and demonstrate exemplary online/hybrid course design. As part of this process, faculty participants will receive feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers including UMBC faculty and staff and other online learning experts in the QM community.

A formal QM course review is designed to be a collegial process to provide helpful recommendations for continuous improvement and reinforce effective, research-based practices for online and hybrid course design. DoIT's Instructional Technology team will manage the review using QM's Higher Education Rubric, 6th Edition (pdf). When a course meets QM standards following a formal review, it is eligible to display the QM Certification Mark.

Selection Criteria: 

Participants selected for the Spring/Summer 2022 Quality Matters Impact cohort agree to submit a hybrid or online course for a formal Quality Matters course review.

Full or part-time faculty who meet the criteria and have not previously received funding through the Quality Matters Impact program are encouraged to apply by February 4, 2022. 

Recognizing that the QM Impact program does require an investment of time to participate, a $1000 professional development award will be provided to faculty by the Provost's office once a course meets QM standards.

Eligibility:

1. You must have taught your course as hybrid or online for at least two semesters at UMBC.

2. You should have some demonstrated proficiency with and consistent use of Blackboard by your:

1. Ability to demonstrate the skills in at least six of the eight Skill Builder themes for Blackboard in current/past classes.

2. Ranking in the top 50 percent of your discipline's Bb course activity during the current and previous academic years (to be determined by the Blackboard administrative staff and/or faculty using the “Blackboard Analytics for Learn” report in each course). 

3. Complete a complete QMI application by February 4, 2022.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Faculty accepted in the QMI Spring/Summer 2022 cohort agree to participate in the following activities during the spring 2022 semester:

• Attend 45-minute orientation session: Friday, February 4, 2022 at 12 PM or 2 PM (choose one)

• Complete the DoIT-facilitated Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) asynchronous workshop (2 weeks, fully online, February 15 - March 2)

• Complete a QM self-review of your course (recommended)

• Meet with your assigned review team for a pre-review conference call

• Implement recommendations to meet standards based on helpful recommendations from your assigned review team

• Respond to a QMI survey after the program concludes  

• Participate on a future panel or record a testimonial about your experience

SUPPORT

• A 2-week, asynchronous workshop, Applying the Quality Matters Workshop, will be held online from February 15 - March 2, 2022.

• Each participant will be assigned an Instructional Design Specialist to answer Quality Matters questions.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

A proposal to participate in the Spring/Summer 2022 Quality Matters Impact cohort must include your course-level and unit-level objectives.

Ready to submit? Please complete the QMI application.

For more information about the Quality Matters Impact program, please contact the QM coordinators for UMBC:

Dr. Mariann Hawken

mariannhawken@umbc.edu

Dr. Susan Biro

sbiro@umbc.edu