Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 40

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
Students’ Perceptions of Online Course Quality: How Do They
Measure Up to the Research?
By Penny Ralston-Berg, Penn State World Campus, Janet Buckenmeyer, Coastal Carolina
University, Casimir Barczyk, Purdue University Calumet, and Emily Hixon, Purdue
University Calumet
ABSTRACT
The Quality Matters (QM)™ rubric presents a set of research-based standards on which to
judge the quality of online courses. The authors of this study investigated how students’
perceptions of online course quality compare to those put forth in the QM rubric.
Participants in this study n = 3,160 included students currently taking an online college-level
course were invited to rate the importance of each QM standard restated from the student
perspective. Students’ ratings of each item were compared to the ranking of each item
received by QM (3-Essential, 2-Very Important, or 1-Important). The student rating for each
item was at least 1.0 indicating that students do value the QM criteria as important to their
success in an online course. Items related to having clear instructions for getting started in
the course and ease of navigation were rated highly by both QM and students. However,
students did not value items related to the importance of interacting with peers and the
instructor at the same high level indicated in the QM rubric. Other findings related to
practical differences between student and QM ratings of rubric items are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
The number of students taking online courses has risen dramatically. In 2013 alone,
the number of additional students taking an online course continued to grow at a rate far in
excess of overall enrollments with 7.1 million students taking at least one online course
(Allen & Seaman, 2014). That is, about one-third of all eligible postsecondary course
enrollment is in online courses.
Quality Matters (QM) is a continuous improvement program available to higher
education institutions whose purpose is to ensure the design quality of online and blended
courses. Since the inception of the QM program, its leaders began sponsoring research
focused on the impact of Quality Matters - both its rubric and its review process, which
involves analyzing the design of a peer’s course and providing recommendations for
improvement of that course’s design. The review process culminates with a determination as
to whether (or not), the course design meets the thresholds established for quality (Shattuck,
Zimmerman, & Adair, 2014).
38!