Assistant teaching professor Dr. Angela Katenkamp became the 20th faculty member to earn Quality Matters (QM) certification for PSYC 200 (Developmental Psychology) as part of the Quality Matters Impact program. More than half of the QM-certified courses in the University System of Maryland are from UMBC. 

"Going through Quality Matters certification for this course helped me make changes not only to this course but all the courses I teach," said Dr. Katenkamp. "The process has strengthened my skills in course design, helping me to design high quality student-centered courses that promote success."

The first faculty member from UMBC has earned Quality Matters (QM) certification for an online course utilizing the new 7th Edition Higher Education Rubric as part of the Quality Matters Impact (QMI) program. This brings to 19 the total number of certified courses at UMBC. More than half of the QM certified courses inthe University System of Maryland are from UMBC.

Faculty participants received feedback from certified QM subject matter experts and peer reviewers as part of a formal course review. They also earned a digital credential for completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) online workshop in preparation to take a course through the peer review process.

The most recently certified using the 7th Edition Rubric is:  

Four additional faculty have earned Quality Matters (QM) certification of their online or hybrid courses during the Spring and Summer 2023 semesters following peer reviews as part of the Quality Matters Impact (QMI) program. This brings to 18 the total number of certified courses at UMBC. More than half of the QM certified courses in the University System of Maryland are from UMBC.

Faculty participants received feedback from certified QM subject matter experts and peer reviewers as part of a formal course review. They also earned a digital credential for completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) online workshop in preparation to take a course through the peer review process.

The most recently certified courses are: 

Two additional faculty have earned Quality Matters (QM) certification of their online or hybrid courses during the Spring 2023 semester following peer reviews as part of theQuality Matters Impact (QMI) program. This brings to 14 the total number of certified courses at UMBC. 

Faculty participants received feedback from certified QM subject matter experts and peer reviewers as part of a formal course review. They also earned a digital credential for completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) online workshop in preparation to take a course through the peer review process. The most recently certified courses are: 

Three additional UMBC faculty have earned Quality Matters (QM) certification of their online or hybrid courses in the Fall 2022 semester following rigorous peer reviews as part of the Quality Matters Impact (QMI) program.

Faculty participants received feedback from certified QM subject matter experts and peer reviewers as part of a formal course review. They also earned a digital credential for completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop earlier this year as part of the preparation to take a course through the peer review process.

After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, four additional UMBC faculty have earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot.

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community. 

The four courses are:

EHS 115 - Medical Terminology  Gary Williams Date certified: 06.01.2022
GWST 210 - Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies Kate Drabinski Date certified: 05.23.2022
SOCY 351 - Health, Illness, and Medicine John Schumacher Date certified: 05.27.2022
CMSC 104 - Problem Solving and Computer Programming  Chris Marron Date certified: 07.26.2022

These four faculty join those who earned QM Certification earlier this year: 

• AGNG 355 - The Experience of Dementia (Louise Murray)
• CHEM 101 - Principles of Chemistry 1 (Sarah Bass)
• EDUC 667 - Structure of English for TESOL (Mary Tabaa)
• ENCH 300 - Chemical Process Thermodynamics (Mariajose Castellanos)
• PBHL 100 - Survey of the US Healthcare System (Katie Birger)

After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, five UMBC faculty have earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot. In partnership with the Provost’s Office, the QMI pilot launched in FA2021 as an extension of the award-winningPIVOT program to recognize exemplary course design. 

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community. The five courses include:

These courses are eligible to display the QM Certification Mark, an internationally recognized symbol of online and blended course design quality. The QM Certification Mark represents these instructors’ ongoing commitment to creating learning environments that provide students with a clear pathway to success. QM Certification is the result of the faculty’s dedication to continuous improvement. 

Promoting quality and lessons learned 

In the first GO Chat of 2022, scheduled for February 25 at 1 PM, Louise Murray and Mary Tabaa will share their experiences with the formal review process and showcase their QM-certified courses. 

The call for participation in the Quality Matters Impact program is open twice a year with reviews scheduled in fall/winter and spring/summer. Using the 6th edition of the QM Higher Education Rubric, a formal QM course review is designed to be a collegial process to provide helpful recommendations for continuous improvement and reinforce effective, research-based practices for online and hybrid course design. 

A QM Official review provides independent validation of quality, learner-focused course design. As of February 2022, only nine courses in the University System of Maryland are formally certified by Quality Matters, which is valid for five years. To maintain QM certification, and be listed on QM’s website, courses may be recertified for an additional three years or officially reviewed again. A course achieves QM Certification when it meets QM Rubric Standards at the 85% threshold or better and meets all Essential Standards.

DoIT’s Instructional Technology team manages the formal review process and facilitates the fully online, asynchronous Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshop designed to help instructors prepare for a formal course review. When a course is deemed having met QM standards, the instructor is eligible to display the QM Certification Mark on the syllabus or within the course itself. QMI program participants receive a $1,000 professional development award for completing required activities and their course meeting QM standards.  

For more information about the Quality Matters Impact program, please contact the QM coordinators for UMBC:

Dr. Mariann Hawken

Director, Instructional Technology

mariannhawken@umbc.edu

Dr. Susan Biro

Manager, Online Learning

sbiro@umbc.edu