Four NKU Faculty Members Receive Quality Matters Certification For Online Course Design

April 15, 2022 - For the first time in NKU’s history, four members of the university’s faculty received the Quality Matters (QM) Certification Mark for their online course design.

The following NKU faculty members earned this honor following a rigorous review process.

• Dr. Zach Hart, for CMST 303 Organizational Communication (certified 1/31/2022)
• Dr. Cristiane Biazzin, for MGT 641 Supply Chain Management (certified 3/17/2022) and MGT 308 Global Strategic Sourcing (certified 4/5/2022)
• Dr. Caroline Macke, for SWK 602 Human Behavior & the Social Environment – (certified 3/24/2022)
• Shannon Alexander, for HSC 410 Healthcare Management (certified 3/31/2022)

“The Quality Matters official reviews provided the opportunity to reflect on these courses and examine them from the learner perspective,” said Stephanie Songer, QM coordinator. “From accessibility to learner engagement to assessments, the reviews used internationally recognized standards and best practices to examine critical course components related to the learner experience and ultimately learner success.”

The QM Certification Mark is the internationally recognized symbol of online and blended course design quality and represents an ongoing commitment to creating learning environments that provide learners with a clear pathway to success. The certifications are the result of these professors’ dedication to continuous improvement.The courses are now listed on the QM directory of certified courses.

The QM official review process provided independent validation of the quality, learner-focused course design found in the certified courses. Reviews are conducted by QM-certified reviewers and use the Quality Matters rubric and associated standards, which are based on research and best practices. A course earns the QM Certification Mark once it meets QM rubric standards at the 85 percent threshold or better and meets all essential standards.

To learn more about Quality Matters at NKU, click here.

About Quality Matters: Grounded in research. Driven by best practices. A community that puts learners first. Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. When you see QM Certification Marks on courses or programs, it means they have met QM course design standards or QM program review criteria in a rigorous review process.