Quality Matters initiative for online courses applauds Dewhirst, Bansal, Ortiz
Three popular UWGB courses have been awarded “Quality Matters” certification for the high quality of their course design. They are:
• Popular Music Since 1955, Prof. Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Music
• Business Statistics, Prof. Gaurav Bansal, Business Administration
• Perspectives on Values: The Contemporary World, Prof. Cristina Ortiz, HUS
McQuade Dewhirst, Bansal and Ortiz were participants in the Advanced Online Teaching Fellows, a program offered to experienced online faculty seeking to elevate their online teaching and course design. Facilitated by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) the program will be offered again in Summer 2013 with the aim of gaining QM recognition for an additional ten online courses.
The Quality Matters Program is a national, faculty-driven, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses. The QM rubric provides a set of standards for the design of online courses at the college level and looks for classes with quality objectives, materials and assessments that support and engage students with accessible technology.
Prof. Aeron Haynie, director of CATL, said of the recognition, “We are very pleased with this recognition of our faculty’s strong work providing high quality online teaching. Congratulations to Michelle, Gaurav and Cristina! Expect many more announcements as our faculty complete the review process.”
Expanding the team of Quality Matters reviewers
Additionally, the campus has begun to expand our team of QM trained reviewers. These include three new Master Reviewers – Heather Pokorsky, Dan Schrickel, and Pat Theyerl – and two Peer Reviewers — Profs. Angela Bauer and Gaurav Bansal. Becoming a reviewer requires a solid understanding of online course design and 20-30 hours of training. For more information on the Online Teaching Fellows program, visit the CATL website.
