Laramie County Community College
Laramie County Community College, in an effort to ensure it offers exceptional online courses, has joined Quality Matters (QM), an international leader in quality assurance in digital teaching and learning environments online and innovative.
QM is a non-profit organization developed in 2015 that provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning, identifying evidence-based practices on what online learning should look like. As a member of the QM, the LCCC has adopted a rubric with 42 rigorous quality standards that help professors design courses so that students’ cognitive load can be focused on the content they are learning. A peer review system will allow professors to continually make improvements to online offerings. QM membership will also allow LCCC to provide faculty with tools, such as continuing education, to refine courses to meet current research-based teaching standards.
“LCCC faculty are committed to providing not only adequate online courses, but also quality online courses that allow students to easily navigate and find information,” said Sue Torney, Program Director of speech-language assistant and co-chair of the online working group. “We needed a rubric to rate our courses so that we could consistently deliver high-quality online course offerings to our students. We want to be a college with a reputation for outstanding online course options for students. »
In fall 2021, LCCC created the Online Task Force, made up of 15 faculty members who teach online or blended courses, to examine how the college can improve online learning. The working group worked to design a common lesson plan based on quality management standards that will address areas previously identified by LCCC students and the Higher Education Commission. Membership in QM will move the LCCC towards the goals identified in its 2030 Strategic Plan, helping to provide more comprehensive opportunities to serve the region, enabling the college to engage more people and increase the inclusion of people from all walks of life and circumstances.
“QM is about continuous improvement and provides tools and direction to move that continuous improvement forward,” said Zac Roehrs, LCCC biology instructor and co-chair of the online working group.
After launching in the spring of 2022, the benefits of LCCC QM membership are already visible, but it will take longer to implement and adopt the changes on campus, Roehrs said.
“I think a good portion of online courses will already start to see improvements next year,” he said. “I believe real success will be achieved when these practices are more widely adopted by all faculty (where applicable) and we have developed a process for support and peer review on our campus.”
The LCCC offers a wide range of online courses and degrees. Visit www.lccc.wy.edu/academics/online/ for more information on LCCC’s online and blended learning options.
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