Bellevue University is putting quality assurance into practice by moving from Self Reviews to QM-Managed Reviews. A QM member since 2015, the University just had its first course — Leadership and Team Development — receive the QM Certification Mark, recognizing not only that the course “Met” Standards but the University’s commitment to creating quality learning environments for its students as well.
The University has been working toward this moment for three years. As Janel Heitz, Bellevue’s Senior Quality Specialist, shares, the process started with professional development, “All course designers and at least one faculty member from each of the University’s four colleges took the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshop.” Following that experience, the University set out to create a new course design process based on QM Standards and University-specific guidelines.
After using the new design process to create and re-design its online courses, the University was ready for external feedback. Based on faculty interest, the graduate course Leadership and Team Development — a mature but recently revised course — was selected to go through the review process but first, it had to complete a Self Review. “The Self Review indicated that the course met all of the Alignment Specific Review Standards and most of the 3-point Essential Standards,” said Janel. “Based on that, the course appeared to be in great shape for an official review. Some minor changes were made such as adding privacy and accessibility statements for all technologies used in the course and then the course was submitted for an official review.”
They found the external review process very beneficial. While it validated their design process, it also provided them with additional recommendations they could incorporate into the course such as putting a student resources button on the course navigation bar. They also got ideas around digital literacy and technical skills that contributed to the continuous improvement of their overall course design process.
As far as additional official reviews go, Janel says the door is open and hopes more faculty will take advantage of the process. “If a faculty member is interested in having a course reviewed, then I will happily go through the process of self review, course edits, and then plan an official review,” shared Janel.
Is your institution ready for a QM-Managed Review? Read, “Top 5 Signs You Are Ready for an Official Review,” to find out!
