Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 59

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
(Berge, 1998; Palloff & Pratt, 2001). Nevertheless, empirical findings consistently point to
the lack of training as one of the major barriers to the quality improvement of online
education (Conrad, 2004; Allen & Seaman, 2010).
Meanwhile, educational institutions provide various online teaching training
programs to prepare their faculty members for the challenges of online teaching (Goodyear,
Salmon, Spector, Steeples & Tickner, 2001). Yet, the effectiveness of faculty training
programs has been a concern of online education researchers as well as the faculty members
themselves (Kosak, Manning, Dobson, Rogerson, Cotnam, Colaric & McFadden, 2004;
McQuiggan, 2007). Unless the concern is not sufficiently addressed, instructors are unlikely
to actively participate in training, and in turn, schools may be hesitant to set aside resources
for such program offering.
Online education should be learner-centered, therefore, students are well-positioned
to evaluate online course quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the causal
relationship between faculty training using Quality Matters standards and online course
quality as perceived by students. Based on the literature review, this study first identified
independent and dependent variables and hypothesized relationships between them. To
further test the research hypotheses, observational survey data were also collected. Based on
the statistical results from descriptive and reliability analyses as well as student’s t-tests, the
implications of the findings are discussed.
Research Background
Under the initiative to set up a national benchmark for online course design, educators
established the Quality Matters (QM) program to assist continuous improvement of online
education (Moore & Kearsley, 2012). The program is a faculty-driven peer review process to
facilitate the evaluation of online courses with comprehensive rubrics (Legon, 2006). The
ultimate purpose is to enhance student learning through the quality assurance of online courses.
The QM rubrics contain 41 specific review standards to ensure that the following key
components of online course designs align with each other: 1) learning objectives, 2)
assessment and measurement, 3) instructional materials, 4) learner interaction and
engagement, and 5) course technology (Quality Matters, 2013). B The rubrics offer
instructors a template to review and improve online course designs, and assure educational
institutions of online course quality with sufficient confidence (Parscal & Riemer, 2010).
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B “The materials found on the Quality Matters website may not be used without the express written consent of
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