NC State Instructors and DELTA Staff Share Expertise at Quality Matters Summit

NC State and DELTA were well-represented at the 2024 UNC System Quality Matters Council Annual Summit in February at East Carolina University (ECU). DELTA has worked with 65 instructors to apply the Quality Matters (QM) course design standards to a single online or hybrid course, resulting in QM certification for all submitted courses. QM is a non-profit, quality assurance organization that exists to aid in the creation of consistent, quality online course content creation and delivery.

DELTA and NC State encourage instructors of online or hybrid courses to seek Quality Matters certification because this program promotes using research based best practices while continuously improving course design and content. Several instructors and DELTA’s Senior Instructional Designer Rebecca Sanchez presented and were panelists discussing their experiences with the QM program. 

Certified courses focus on delivering a high quality, equitable learning experience to foster student success. Using vetted rubrics that measure and ensure course quality, instructors use QM’s larger support community to help everyone deliver on the promise of online learning.

In order to truly achieve our mission of defining and maintaining quality assurance in online learning, DELTA and NC State rely on the larger community of QM Coordinators, workshop facilitators, peer and master reviewers, program reviewers, conference presenters, and all the other individuals and groups who are champions for QM.

Sessions Led by Members of the NC State Community

NC State Faculty Experience with QM Certification: Opportunities and Challenges

Panelists: Associate Teaching Professor Carlos Goller, Assistant Teaching Professors Megan Lupek, Tamara Pandolfo and Nicola Singletary, and Senior Lecturer Caitlin Stuckey

This panel session provided an overview of the challenges and opportunities that can come when implementing QM in higher education settings. Panel participants were faculty who had QM-certified courses across a variety of disciplines, course levels, and course structures at North Carolina State University. During this session, panelists:

• Shared their experiences with course preparation for QM review.
• Discussed participation in a cohort and mentorship model.
• Provided considerations for future participants.
• Addressed potential barriers to faculty participation in the QM process.

An opportunity for questions and discussion was available to session participants.

Sowing the Seeds of Course Quality: Gains in Instructor Knowledge and Application of Course Design Best Practices and Tools

Panelists: Teaching Professor Shweta Trivedi and Senior Instructional Designer Rebecca Sanchez and

NC State University’s Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) collaborated with 65 instructors to apply the Quality Matters course design standards to a single online or hybrid course, resulting in QM certification for all submitted courses. To measure the wider impact of participation, we asked faculty to reflect on what they had learned about course design and how they had applied that knowledge in additional courses. Faculty reported a substantial knowledge gain for each of eight key course design concepts and indicated that they used design tools or concepts in a new or different way in courses beyond the one they improved as part of CI. This session provided information about what was learned as a result of this project and discussed implications for the lasting and expanding impact of faculty course quality programs.

Course Quality Research Planning and Implementation at Faculty Level

Panelists: Associate Teaching Professor Carlos Goller and Teaching Professor Shweta Trivedi

At NC State University, several faculty across colleges are conducting course quality research independently. Shweta Trivedi and Carlos Goller are DELTA’s first two Course Quality Research Fellows. Upon completion of QM certification for their courses, two faculty from College of Agriculture and Life Science and College of Sciences are collaborating to have a systematic approach to conducting course quality research. 

The steps that were shared with participants:

• Completing the Designing Quality Online Learning Research DQOLR workshop
• Identifying areas of pedagogical research within their courses
• Consulting with DELTA Staff
• Completing IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval and pedagogical research
• Presenting research at conferences and manuscript preparation

This ongoing collaboration model served as an example of professional development that can be fostered post-QM certification. Through planned interactions participants responded to multiple-choice questions via mentimeter, discussed ideas for designing and implementing as well as used the strategies to set goals for their own research.

UNC System QM Master Reviewer Panel

Panelist Facilitator: Tonya Amankwatia (NC A&T) 

Panelists: Internship Director and Assistant Teaching Professor Tracy Appling (NC State), Jennifer Larson (UNC-CH), Joanie Chavis (NC A&T), Sherry Edwards (UNC-P), Craig Paddock (UNC-C), and Larrisha McGill-Youngblood (NC Central)

QM Certified Master Reviewers have an in-depth knowledge of the QM Rubric and the QM Course Review Process. Participants in this session had the opportunity to ask six QM Master Reviewers from across the UNC System about the review process and best practices for faculty submitting a course for review for the first time or under the new rubric.

Want to learn more about intentionally designing an online or hybrid course? Check out the Course Quality Program at NC State!