Behrend Online Course Review Process
The Center for Educational Innovation is responsible for upholding the academic quality of Behrend courses utilizing technology as the primary delivery method. All courses delivered in the following instruction modes must be developed in collaboration with CEI and undergo periodic reviews for quality assurance.
- RA – Remote Asynchronous (formerly WEB)
- RS – Remote Synchronous
- RB – Remote Blended
- H7 – Hybrid 75% and up Remote
- H5 – Hybrid 51%-74% Remote
- H2 – Hybrid 25%-50% Remote
Please refer to the registrar’s website for definitions of these instruction modes.
Review Process
Behrend offers over 200 courses in a remote or partially remote instruction mode. In support of and in collaboration with Behrend faculty, we periodically review these courses based on research-backed online course quality standards.
Identifying Courses for Review
CEI collaborates with Behrend school Directors to prioritize course reviews based on the amount of time passed since a course was initially developed with or reviewed by an Instructional Designer (ID). Ideally, courses are reviewed at least once every four years.
CEI Online/Hybrid Course Quality Standards
All new Behrend online/hybrid courses are required to pass a Quality Matters review before development is completed (see Ensuring Course Quality). Full Quality Matters reviews can be very time intensive – even when little to no revisions are required based on the review. Since it is assumed that existing Behrend courses met QM standards at the time of their initial offering, we have developed a custom set of standards for course reviews to lessen the time requirement for IDs to conduct a review of an existing Behrend course. These standards are based on Penn State Quality Assurance e-Learning Design Standards, the Quality Matters standards (7th edition), and the standards developed by SUNY Online and adopted by the Online Learning Consortium for the OSCQR Course Design Review scorecard.
Similar to the OSCQR scorecard, the outcome of a review using the CEI rubric provides a list of items that can be improved as well as an estimate of the amount of time needed to make the improvements rather than generating a score and assigning a pass/fail grade to a course. It also factors in the Department of Education’s requirements for Regular and Substantive Interaction in online courses.
Post-review Revision Process
Once CEI conducts a review, the lead instructor will have the opportunity to meet with an ID to review the results and formulate an action plan. The ID and instructor will work together on any areas the instructor would like to address in the course based on the results of the review.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a review look like?
A review report includes a list of all CEI Quality Online Course Standards. Each standard is identified as one of the following:
- Sufficiently Present (meaning that standard is “met” based on evidence found in the course)
- Minor Revisions (½ hour or less effort needed to improve the course to meet the standard)
- Moderate Revision (½ – 2 hours effort needed to improve the course to meet the standard)
- Major Revision (2+ hours effort needed to improve the course to meet the standard)
- Not Applicable
The report includes an Action Plan column intended for the ID and instructor to identify the steps that can be done in order to address the standard. The ID conducting the review will also provide overall feedback on the course.
How does a review outcome affect my performance evaluation?
You can choose to include the course review in your portfolio. Improvements made to courses based on these reviews can be included as evidence in performance evaluations. Additionally, you may establish a valuable partnership with an Instructional Designer and potentially explore a collaborative Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) research project.
Why does CEI use 3 different review processes? What’s the difference?
New online courses go through a full Quality Matters review as part of the development process. These comprehensive reviews guarantee that a course is of the highest quality from the outset.
Existing courses are periodically reviewed using CEI Quality Online Course Standards. These reviews follow a schedule based on the age of a course and the time elapsed since its last review.
Course Rapid Reviews is a service CEI provides to any Behrend instructor looking for feedback on specific aspects of their course. These brief reviews are designed to swiftly identify potential solutions to any concerns an instructor may have regarding their course.
