The Sixth Edition of the QM Rubric contains 42 specific standards that are known measures of quality course design in eight general standard categories.
- Course Overview and Introduction
- Learning Objectives (Competencies)
- Assessment and Measurement
- Instructional Materials
- Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
- Course Technology
- Learner Support
- Accessibility and Usability
This page contains information related to each general standard including design tips for meeting specific review standards. You are welcome to use this sample language in your courses.
General Standard 1: Course Overview and Introduction
QM Standard 1.3
Etiquette expectations (sometimes called “netiquette”) for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are clearly stated.
Sample Netiquette language that can be used in your course. You may choose to use it as is or modify it for your purposes.
Communicating online is an everyday activity for most of us; so much so that the tone and form of our communications oftentimes becomes highly informal and abbreviated. A breezy, informal communication style is fine with our friends or but can become problematic when we’re trying to communicate with formal acquaintances (i.e., class instructors) or in situations (such as in online course discussions) where we might be trying to convey or discuss complex ideas with relative strangers.
As online communications are considered part of a college course, your writing style should conform to the rules of Standard English. Accordingly, you should introduce yourself, clearly state your reason for making contact, and use the spell check feature prior to sending or posting. Please refrain from using emoticons, slang, or instant texting terms and never resort to using vulgar language. Don’t use all capital letters as it gives the impression you’re SHOUTING! Finally- be professional and respectful.
Here are some suggestions for contributing to online discussions:
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- Ask Nicely. If you are not certain about the meaning of a comment, ask the original poster to elaborate or clarify what they’ve written.
- Be respectful. Recognize and value the experiences, abilities, and knowledge each person brings to class. Acknowledge the diverse perspectives and viewpoints of class members.
- Disagree with ideas, not classmates. When disagreeing with the ideas of another, be sure that your comments are directed toward his or her ideas and not the actual person. Never use personal attacks to express your disagreement.
- Use humor carefully. Be cautious about injecting humor into your comments and remember that it’s easy to misinterpret humor in written language.
- Be calm. If you’re upset, compose a letter or message and save it for 24 hours before you send it.
- Reread messages. Reread any messages before you send them. You’ll catch any errors and notice areas for revision.
QM Standard 1.6
Minimum technical skills expected of the learner are clearly stated.
Sample Netiquette language that can be used in your course. You may choose to use it as is or modify it for your purposes.
As a student choosing to study through an online learning environment it is anticipated that you have a basic knowledge and experience with the standard digital tools used in online courses. These include use of a learning management system, Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), and communication tools. In addition to these basic requirements the instructor of your course may require the use of subject topic specific tools (e.g. Accounting software, Statistical software, etc. )
General Standard 2: Learning Objectives (Competencies)
Learning Objectives Strategies
- Begin Here: Writing Quality Learning Objectives (Hollenbeck, 2018)
- Uncovering Your Inner Learning Objectives (Varonis, 2015)
- Collaborating with Faculty to Compose Exemplary Learning Objectives (Acevedo, 2014)
Course Mapping Resources
The Quality Matters web site holds several examples of course mapping tools and strategies to achieve alignment in online courses.
- Curriculum Mapping: Program Outcomes, Course Learning Outcomes, Alignment, and Assessment (Crawford, 2019)
- Map Your Way to a Quality Course: Course Mapping (Apodaca, 2017)
- Key to the Quality Highway: Course Mapping (Bussmann, 2015)
- A collection of shared course maps from this survey project is available in Dropbox.
General Standard 3: Assessment and Measurement
- Two (Sometimes Three!) Birds with One Stone: Faculty-Driven Assessment Strategies (Schwegler, 2019)
- Using Effective Assessment Protocols to Maximize Learner Experience (Fulfilling QM Standards 3.4 and 3.5) (Jones, 2015)
- Assuring Quality Through Development of Evidence Based Assessment Practices: Case study on the Value of Applying Assessment Data through Quality Matters Standards (Lum, 2016)
General Standard 4: Instructional Materials
Copyright Portal: Fair Use Checklist
The Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright at PSU Libraries provides a copyright checklist.
Video: Copyright Training (Recorded October 2017)
This video is provided as a supplement to the Applying the QM Rubric Workshop and discusses examples and resources specific to Penn State.
General Standard 5: Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
QM Standard 5.3
The instructor’s plan for interacting with learners is clearly stated.
Sample language that can be used in your course.
Your instructor will routinely respond to e-mails from students as soon as possible, but in no case more than 24 hours after receipt of the student’s e-mail. All assignments will be graded and returned to students, with significant feedback no later than three days after the submission deadline.
General Standard 6: Course Technology
QM Standard 6.4
Links are provided for learners to information about protecting their data and privacy.
Sample language that can be used in your course.
The university takes issues related to student privacy very seriously. As such, all approved third party tools used in our courses are vetted by the university to assure that student data will be protected and secure. For more information on privacy or accessibility please visit the following web sites.
General Standard 7: Learner Support
QM Standard 7.1
The course instructions articulate or link to a clear description of the technical support offered and how to obtain it.
Sample language that can be used in your course. You may choose to use it as is or modify it for your purposes.
For online courses at Penn State there are a number of technical support services. If you are within Canvas you can use the Help link to connect with the central university support desk or with the World Campus HelpDesk. If you are not within the Canvas environment you can access these resources through the following links.
Penn State World Campus Technical Support
Penn State IT Service Desk
QM Standard 7.2
Course instructions articulate or link to the institution’s accessibility policies and services.
Sample language that can be used in your course.
Accommodating Disabilities: Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website (Links to an external site.). provides contacts for disability services (Links to an external site.). at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website (Links to an external site.).
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations (Links to an external site.), you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines (Links to an external site.). If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
QM Standard 7.3
Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s academic support services and resources can help learners succeed in the course and how learners can obtain them.
QM Standard 7.4
Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s student services and resources can help learners succeed and how learners can obtain them.
For 7.3 and 7.4
Sample language that can be used in your course.
The university has a range and academic and student support services available to its students. To find information on these services please click on one of the links below.
For undergraduate students please visit Penn State’s page for current students.
For graduate students please visit the Graduate School page for current students.
For students enrolled in World Campus courses please visit World Campus Student Services.
General Standard 8: Accessibility and Usability
QM Standard 8.6
Information is provided about the accessibility of all technologies used in the course.
The university takes the accessibility of our courses and web sites very seriously. As such, all approved tools used in our courses are vetted by the university to assure that the technology tools adhere to the current ADA standards. For more information on privacy or accessibility please visit the following web sites.
- Penn State Policy and Accessibility Guidelines
- AD69 Accessibility of Electronic and Information Technology
Video: Accessibility Review Training (October 2018)
The video is provided as a supplement to the Applying the QM Rubric Workshop and discusses examples and resources specific to Penn State.
