Quality Matters
The College of Business Administration at Texas A&M University-Central Texas is committed to implement the Quality Matters standards for the design of online and hybrid courses, and we are systematically building and evaluating our courses based on these rigorous, research-based standards. The Quality Matters standards assure that the online components of these courses promote learner engagement and provide students with all the tools and information they need to be successful learners. More information regarding Quality Matters may be found at www.qmprogram.org.
Mission
As part of COBA's commitment to excellence in teaching and desire to create an educational environment conducive to the fullest development of an individual's learning and scholarly potential, COBA will create a culture of continuous improvement in the design of its online and blended courses through the application of Quality Matters (QM), through its associated online course design rubric, online professional development training, and external course reviews.
Intent
The intent for the use of QM is to ensure online and blended courses are designed such that students enrolled in the online or blended courses are able to concentrate on the faculty members' course delivery and learning, not in course navigation. COBA will follow QM's multiple course guidelines and request reviews based on the master course system, whereby a master course with multiple sections (2 or more per term) is established and all sections are structured equivalently, including the use of textbooks and methods of assessment. The master course will be reviewed and certified by QM. This system allows for the certification to be carried over to the sister sections, as long as the multiple course guidelines are followed.
Further, the priority for QM evaluations will be first to each major's core master courses, single core courses, then to individual elective courses. All QM evaluations will be externally peer reviewed.
For more information about QM and to prepare your course for a QM review, navigate through the links below and through the COBA QM in My Organizations in Blackboard.
Professional Development
TAMUCT maintains the requirement for all faculty members to maintain proficiency in online teaching and, thus, requires professional development training in online teaching, teaching methods, and online course design. Select the professional development link below for further information on university procedures. Faculty members teaching online will be required to participate in the course focused workshops (see the QM Professional Development Options document).
The order for taking the workshops should be:
Teaching Online, Applying the QM Rubric, and then Designing your Online Course.
Later professional development courses will be Improving Your Online Course, Designing Your Blended Courses, Design that Welcomes Your Learners, Connecting Learning Objectives and Assessments, and Addressing Accessibility and Usability.
Faculty members are also encouraged to give back to the QM system by volunteering to become peer reviewers and master reviewers. The workshops available are the Peer Reviewer Course and the Master Reviewer Certification course.
Go to Professional Development in COBA QM in My Organizations in Blackboard to read about the QM professional development options.
Course Reviews
In preparing your course for review, assistance is available through the Instructional Design Services, in the link below in addition to the COBA QM Coordinator. Go to the COBA QM in My Organizations in Blackboard and read through each of the documents then conduct a QM Self Review. Select the QM Logo to access the QM Sign In page on the main COBA QM page or in Blackboard. Follow the instructions given in the My Self Review Tutorial in the links below. You may request a course review either using the link below or in Blackboard.
Links
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The College of Business Administration is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Schools that have earned AACSB business accreditation demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence in teaching, research, curriculum development, and learner success.