February 17, 2017

Motion

Distance Learning Committee of the Faculty Assembly

We recommend the Faculty Assembly endorse the Quality Matters© program for online and blended (hybrid) courses and programs offered by SUNY Poly. We further ask that this endorsement be forwarded to the SUNY Poly Governance Council.

Rationale

The Utica Distance Learning Committee forwarded its recommendation to the Council’s Committee on Libraries, Technologies, and Distance Learning where it was endorsed on February 7, 2017.

The Quality Matters program is voluntary for individual instructors and programs. If an instructor wishes to submit a course for review, the course may become Quality Matters certified and a digital badge will be provided for display in the course. If a program has three certified courses, it can achieve recognition as a Quality Matters certified program. This program certification is considered by national ranking organizations such as U.S. News and World Report.

Quality Matters focuses on course design and accessibility issues. It does not judge course content or infringe on academic freedom. It provides the following support for the online/blended environment:

  • Evidence-based course design rubrics and quality standards.
  • Certification process for online courses/programs and instructors.
  • Use of ongoing research to periodically update the rubrics and standards.
  • Instructor training.
  • Potential to market Quality Matters certified courses and programs.

More information is available at:

The Director of Distance Learning (Mr. Richard Shelton) recommended we adopt Quality Matters as opposed to the OPEN SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE) Quality Rubric (OSCQR). The Quality Matters program is nationally recognized whereas the SUNY quality rubric is intended for use in New York State. National recognition is important because in September 2016, the State Board of Regents approved New York’s participation in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). This agreement will make it easier for students in other states to take online courses offered by New York State institutions of higher learning. However, the New York State institutions must apply to participate and they will need to demonstrate quality online offerings. As soon as the State Education Department gets its application procedure in place, SUNY Poly will apply. If approved, students in other states will take our online courses at near in-state rates. Richard Shelton said the out-of-state students will pay 102% of in-state tuition. That is quite a bargain compared to what they have been paying. This will make our online offerings much more attractive to out-of-state students. Out-of-state students are more apt to recognize the Quality Matters certification. For more information about SARA, please see:

The program would satisfy the Middle States CHE requirement to demonstrate quality in online offerings. This is part of the current Standard 13. It is also an example of ongoing assessment of our online offerings.

Interested faculty should contact Richard Shelton, Director of Distance Learning.