As part of our mission to provide faculty support for teaching and learning through the use of Blackboard, we have implemented the Quality Matters program at UA Little Rock.

The purpose of this program is to contribute to faculty excellence, facilitate student success and provide a continuous improvement process for courses in Blackboard.

What is Quality Matters?

Quality Matters is a not-for-profit subscription service providing tools and training for quality assurance of online courses.

Designed by faculty for faculty, the program entails three main components: a rubric, a peer review process and professional development opportunities.

There are over 480 subscribers located throughout the United States and increasingly abroad. Undergoing review every few years, the rubric is based on research, best practices and sound instructional design principles.

What are the benefits?

Faculty benefit from the use of a tested rubric to guide their online course development process.

By undergoing a quality matters review of their course whether officially or not, faculty can improve their course and gain additional skills for designing and administering a course in Blackboard.

The peer-review process means faculty work with one another across institutions to understand best practices and design principles related to online and blended courses.

A variety of workshops focused on online instruction and course design provide opportunities to build faculty excellence.

How can I get involved?

eLearning’s instructional design team has developed resources to support the application of the rubric and the meeting of QM standards. Contact the ID team ([email protected]) for more information on how to participate. You can also visit the Quality Matters website by going to www.qmprogram.org

Congratulations to these faculty for their dedication to providing our online students with an exceptional educational experience!

Faculty who have received Quality Matters certification for their online courses:

Find out more:

  • Read our Best Practices Guide to the QM Rubric.
  • View the QM Self Review Tutorial to find out how to conduct a Self-Review.