Unit 1: Introduction to Quality Matters: What Is Quality Matters?
1.1 What Is Quality Matters?
Quality Matters (QM) is a comprehensive, peer-reviewed quality assurance rubric designed specifically for online and blended courses. The rubric consists of a set of evidence-based standards that define what makes an online course "high quality." These standards have been developed, tested, and refined over more than two decades through input from thousands of educators, instructional designers, and subject matter experts across disciplines and regions.
The primary purpose of the QM rubric is to:
- Provide a common language and framework for discussing course quality
- Guide course design and development best practices
- Enable systematic peer review of online courses
- Support continuous improvement in online education
- Facilitate institutional quality assurance processes
1.2 The Origin: Maryland Online and Beyond
The Quality Matters rubric emerged from Maryland Online, Inc., a state-wide initiative to promote online learning in Maryland's community colleges and universities. Founded in 1998, Maryland Online recognized that online courses required a different approach to quality assurance than traditional face-to-face courses. Online education demands careful attention to course design, interaction, and clear communication because the instructor and students are not in the same physical space.
Maryland Online convened a team of experienced online educators and learning specialists to develop a rubric that would ensure quality across diverse disciplines and course types. Over more than two decades, this rubric has evolved into the Quality Matters General Rubricânow the most widely adopted standard for online course quality in North America and internationally.
