“Institutions that have put an importance on high-quality course design, flexible course types and a variation of delivery modes are flourishing. I want to make sure that we are not only competitive but also leading the way.”Bridget Brooks, Instructional Designer and QMC, University of North Dakota
The QM community has long understood that institutions are stronger when they collaborate. That’s why a group of North Dakota institutions have joined together to form the new North Dakota System to help support all their learners with quality online education.
When Bridget Brooks, one of three QMCs for the University of North Dakota, got the opportunity to present to other North Dakota institutions at a recent retreat, she never thought it would spark the beginning of a new era of collaboration. But when her colleagues at fellow QM members Dickinson State University, North Dakota State College of Science, Valley City State University, and Williston State College heard about the institution’s successes with QM, it opened a dialogue between the institutions around their shared interest in exchanging information, strategies, and best practices.
These institutions understood the value of quality as online learning becomes more prevalent. “Institutions that have put an importance on high-quality course design, flexible course types and a variety of delivery modes are flourishing,” says Bridget. “I want to make sure that we are not only competitive but also leading the way.” They began to see the value of partnership around these interests, and decided to reach out to QM to learn more about the benefits of a System Membership.
QM staff met with Bridget and her colleagues to discuss each institution’s goals and how this new venture could support them. “The main things that we were looking for — other than institutional cost reduction — were sharing our training and ability, experience, and knowledge across institutions to make each one of us even stronger through enhanced faculty training and quality assurance,” says Bridget. They learned that by forming a QM System, they could enjoy shared professional development, reviews, resources, and instructional materials, as well as an overall framework for collaboration. The institutions then approached the state university system for support. The state agreed to provide funding that helped reduce the cost of System Membership for each institution.
Since its establishment, the newly formed system has hit the ground running, with the QMCs having registered to become a QM-Certified Peer Reviewer and Applying the Quality Matters Rubric Online Facilitator, respectively. The goal of these efforts is to begin to develop a collaborative, self-sustaining process for faculty professional development and quality assurance. Bridget and one of her fellow QMCs have even created their own podcast to help share the work they are doing across the system. “With QM, we will continue to make sure that faculty have the tools to organize their content, engage with their students, and design their courses with one goal in mind: student success,” says Bridget. “We will keep building on the success of our North Dakota University System institutions every single day. And we will achieve that by consistent and continuous improvement.”
Curious about what you could accomplish by joining with fellow institutions to form a system? Reach out to us to explore your options.
