The 6th Annual QM Conference on Quality Assurance in Online Learning

 The 6^th Annual Quality Matters Conference took center stage in Baltimore recently and CW was there to be part of it. For three consecutive days the QM conference brought together faculty members and teachers, instructional designers, program administrators, educational publishers, researchers, and distance education and institutional leaders who participated in this international community on quality education. Paula Cancro, CW Assistant Professor in Business, General Education and Office Technologies attended the conference and presented a poster titled Beyond the Standards: Now That We Learned How to Apply the Rubric. “My poster was about our journey with QM. I had the chance to have conversations about where we started in 2010 with one Dean taking a lot of courses and looking for ways to implement the program as we built our online program,” said Cancro.

The College of Westchester embraced the QM in principle and is preparing to move forward, supported by a group of faculty and administrators ready to spread the word and show what can be done. CW has 9 faculty members who are certified Peer Reviewers. “This means we can evaluate our online courses based on a set of standards with an eye towards learning goals and all the pieces that go with it.  We are looking to provide our learners with opportunities to achieve a number of learning objectives from new knowledge to the skills to put this into practice,” added Cancro.

With the title, “Charting the Course” as the main topic of the 6^th Annual Quality Matters Conference, the event offered many opportunities to connect with people and organizations that have succeeded in creating high-quality online courses and programs. The attendees had the opportunity to collaborate to address tough topics in education while exploring effective ways for improving course quality. Prof. Cancro returned pleased from the conference and added, “QM is an important initiative here.  As one of the early converts to it, the more I can learn, the better I can apply it and share.  Personally, this helps me to look at my own courses with a more critical eye, to be a better internal QM reviewer, and to share what I know with my colleagues.  The knowledge and ideas I came away with also showed me how we might consider applying many of the QM principles across the board – to our campus classes as well.”

About Quality Matters:

The Quality Matters Program (QM) is an international organization representing broad inter-institutional collaboration and a shared understanding of online course quality. QM's quality assurance processes have been developed to improve and certify the design of online and blended courses. QM is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its scalable, peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning.

To learn more about the QM Program visit: https://www.qualitymatters.org/

About The College Of Westchester:
Located in White Plains, The College of Westchester is a bachelor degree granting private college.  For more information, call 914-831-0200 or visit www.cw.edu