What is Quality Matters (QM)?
Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. QM is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning. QM subscribers include community and technical colleges, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and systems, and other academic institutions. Click here to learn more.

Quality Matters at FIU Online
As part of our continuous effort to improve the quality of our online courses, FIU Online subscribed to the Quality Matters program in 2010. The QM Program has three primary components: The QM Rubric, the Peer Review Process, and QM Professional Development. FIU Online is implementing the QM Program to its fully online courses to ensure they meet expectations, either from initial design and development or through revisions. The Quality Matters Rubric is research supported and promotes best practice-based quality standards and procedures. Faculty peer-reviewers will use the QM Rubric to review FIU online courses. FIU Online is adopting the QM Rubric and using the Underlying Principles of Quality Matters to help meet our primary objective of ensuring quality assurance and promoting continuous improvement.

How is FIU Online benefiting from implementing Quality Matters?
Quality Matters processes benefit both individual faculty and their institutions in the following ways:

• Improved student learning outcomes and retention

• Adoption of a systematic and comprehensive continuous quality assurance process that includes faculty training, course development, and course revisions that are aligned with accreditation standards

• Incorporation of new technologies and research findings

• Opportunity to engage in benchmarking activities with peer institutions

• Ongoing faculty professional development

• Increased flexibility, creativity, and divergent thinking

• Increased efficiency in using institutional resources

FIU Online Quality Matters Showcase