
Higher Ed Peer Reviewer Course (PRC)
Please refer to the Schedule & Checklist for more information on course requirements.
The Peer Reviewer Course is designed to prepare experienced online faculty to serve as QM-Certified Peer Reviewers. It includes a review of the foundational principles of Quality Matters and the QM Rubric. In addition, over the three-week period, participants apply Specific Review Standards to an online course (locate evidence, make decisions based on the evidence, and write helpful recommendations). Finally, participants use their new skill-set to complete a practice review of an online course using eight Specific Review Standards from the QM Rubric. This “Practice Review” assignment is completed in the QM Course Review Management System (CRMS) which QM-Certified Peer Reviewers use in a real course review.
It’s important to note the Peer Reviewer Course is a rigorous certification course that is not self-paced. It prepares participants to serve as QM-Certified Peer Reviewers and in doing so, follows a mock course review schedule. It has firm due dates for all assignments and revisions. If revisions are needed they are due within 48-hours of being graded. Participants must meet expectations on all assignments and adhere to the firm due date and 48-hour revision schedule to complete the course successfully. Upon successful completion of this course, eligible participants may complete and submit a Role Application, plus a Memo of Understanding to be approved for a QM-Certified Peer Reviewer role. After approval, QM-Certified Peer Reviewers may serve on both QM-Managed and Subscriber-Managed course reviews.
• Meet the eligibility criteria for becoming a QM-Certified Peer Reviewer or want to learn about being a Peer Reviewer
• Do not meet the eligibility requirements, but who are interested in working on Internal Course Reviews (Institutional)
• Do not meet the eligibility requirements, but who work with faculty/staff to design online courses (e.g., instructional designers)
- Explain the underlying principles of QM and the critical elements of the QM Rubric, materials, processes, and roles and responsibilities.
- Demonstrate correct application of the QM Rubric Specific Review Standards during a practice review of an online course.
- Recognize the events that will transpire during the peer review process.
- Write helpful recommendations for course improvement.
- Reflect on how the recommendations from the AML 2020 review impacted and influenced the instructor's revisions of the AML 2020 course.
Successful completion of the Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR)
- 10-11 hours per week to complete course work
- Ability to meet firm deadlines
Eligibility requirements to become a QM Certified Peer Reviewer*:
- Successful completion of the Applying the QM Rubric Workshop and the Peer Reviewer Course.
- Current for-credit online teaching experience (within the last 18 months).
- Complete an Application and a Memo of Understanding. Submit to QM.
- Be a current Higher Education Subscriber (Affiliated with an institutional subscriber or Individual Subscription)
For those participants who are new to Quality Matters, it’s important to recognize the need for skills application after completing the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop and starting the Peer Reviewer Course (PRC). Quality Matters recommends a three-month waiting period but accepts a minimum of one week to ensure your record reflects successful completion of the APPQMR. Registration in the PRC is not possible until successful completion is recorded on a participant’s record for the APPQMR workshop.
*Instructors who teach "web-enhanced" courses only are not eligible nor are Teaching Assistants (TAs).