Matrix of Review Standards
APPENDIX 1– Standards
As of 12/2003
This is a list of eleven standards sets which were consulted and used in the development of the MATRIX OF REVIEW STANDARDS for the Quality Matters project.
1. Maryland Online Course Sharing Initiative (MOLCSI): Peer Review of Distance Learning Courses (2002)
MOLCSI developed and tested a Peer Review protocol and rubric for Distance Learning Courses with a 56 item checklist supporting recommendations in 11 areas by the Peer Review team to the course instructor. Each item could be scored in four categories: A: Yes, meets Review Criteria; B: Yes, partially meets Review Criteria; C: No, does not meet Review Criteria; NA: not applicable or not known.
2. Maryland's Faculty Online Technology Training Consortium (FOTTC)
In 2000, this project developed Standards of Good Practices for Distance Learning. Grouped according to nine principles of good practice, the project provides a list of detailed quality checks for Distance Learning courses.
3. American Council on Education (ACE) Distance Learning Principles (http://www.acenet.edu/calec/dist_learning/dl_principlesIntro.cfm)
The ACE Distance Learning Principles are very broad statements of five principles; each of which is detailed by a set of “sub-principles.” Principles in three areas, Learning Design, Learning Outcomes, and Learner Support, are relevant to online courses.
4. American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) Guiding Principles for Distance Learning (http://www.adec.edu/admin/papers/distance-learning_principles.html)
Four very broadly worded statements comprise the ADEC Guiding Principles for Distance Learning.
5. NEA/IHEP Quality Benchmarks as found in the report “Quality On the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education” (abstract available at http://www.ihep.org/Publications.php?parm=Pubs/Abstract?30; download full report at http://www.ihep.org/Publications.php?parm=Pubs/PubBrowse.php)
This report contains a set of 24 quality benchmarks related to various areas of providing quality online education. The Course Development Benchmarks section contains four relevant but relatively general benchmarks:
Adopted from principles originally developed by WICHE (see also http://www.wiche.edu/Telecom/projects/balancing/principles.htm), the SREB Principles of Good Practice are currently one of the more widely used set of principles, having been adopted by eArmyU and regional accrediting agencies such as the North Central Association. The 22 principles are divided into 7 areas, three of which are relevant to online courses. These relevant
7. Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) Criteria for Evaluating Online Courses (http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/criteria/online.asp)
SREB also has a list of criteria for evaluating online courses. Although geared to the K-12 environment, many of these criteria are relevant to online student services provision:
8. Middle States Commission on Higher Education. (http://www.msache.org/) Distance Learning Programs: Interregional Guidelines for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs 2002,
The document is prefaced by A Statement of Commitment by the Regional Accrediting Commissions for the Evaluation of Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs. The body of the text spells out best practices that were developed by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET),are divided into five components, two of which relate directly to online courses. The document is by far the most comprehensive list of standards sets and lists more detailed practices than most of the others.
9. Michigan Community College, VIRTUAL LEARNING COLLABORATIVE (MCCVLC): Online Course Development Guidelines and Rubric, last modified 02/22/2002
The MCCVLC Guidelines and Rubric in turn reference some of the standard sets listed here and are organized in eight broad areas, such as Course Outcomes, Course Interaction, Course Technology. Each area is comprised of quality indicators that can be scored in four categories: Beginning, Developing, Accomplished, and Exemplary. (http://www.mccvlc.org)
10. Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, originally published in the AAHE Bulletin (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) provide a popular framework for evaluating teaching in traditional, face-to-face courses. The principles are based on 50 years of higher education research (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). A faculty inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Faculty," 1989) and an institutional inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Institutional," 1989) based on these principles have guided higher-education institutions in their teaching practices.
11. Innovations in Distance Education (IDE). (http://www.outreach.psu.edu/de/ide/guiding_principles/) The project was launched at Penn State University in 1995. Its purpose was to help universities create a supportive institutional culture in which the possibilities of distance education could be realized. The report of the Faculty Initiative lists 25 guiding principles and practices that are grouped into five components. The first three major components refer to educational events. They are 1) Learning Goals and Content Presentation, 2) Interactions, and 3) Assessment and Measurement. The remaining two components undergird the educational events. They are 4) Instructional Media and Tools, and 5) Learner Support and Services.