Quality Matters Rising As International Standard And Benchmark For Quality Online Education and Digital Learning

Since its founding in 2003, Quality Matters (QM) has been the go-to organization for U.S. institutions looking to deliver on their online promise. Now, QM is leading the way globally — helping the rapidly expanding international community address quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments.

QM’s 101 international member institutions represent the growing global commitment to quality in online education. Since 2019, QM’s international membership has increased by sixty-nine percent — that’s 41 member institutions from 11 countries, including 26 new members this year alone. 

“Quality Matters (QM) has come along at just the right time for CIA FIRST International School. With the shift towards online and hybrid learning models accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the opening of the CIA FIRST Online High School in September 2020, a QM partnership is the perfect fit,” shared Philip G. Muscott M.A., Head of Curriculum for CIA FIRST International School. “We are certain that with the guidance and recommendations provided by QM regarding student support and course navigation assistance, CIA FIRST’s online students will reach even greater heights of achievement.”

CIA FIRST is QM’s first member institution from Cambodia. Other new members include institutions from the following countries: Bahrain, Chile, the Dominican Republic, France, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

The goals of QM’s international members mirror those of U.S. institutions. And much like QM’s 1,100+ members in the United States, they are using QM’s tools, resources and processes to help achieve those goals.

“By joining the QM international community, our academic staff members are able to access research-supported resources, international success stories and well-prepared professional training on all aspects concerning quality in online higher education,” explained Dr. Jameel Hasan, Institutional Review Manager for Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain. “QM has robust quality processes for online and blended learning. It enables your institution to benchmark your practice with international institutions by using the QM Rubric.”

Dr. Yaping Gao, QM’s Senior Academic Director: Member Services & Partnerships, oversees QM’s international memberships and is instrumental in helping institutions move their quality assurance goals forward. “It is an exciting time for the global online learning community,” shared Dr. Gao. “The exponential growth of the modality has led to a heightened focus on quality, with more and more international institutions embracing proven, effective ways to support the quality of online education and student learning.”

“The IACC Professional Institute in Chile, in its constant search for improvement and in its concern to provide students with quality education, searched for international quality benchmarks for the design of online courses. We discovered and embraced the work of Quality Matters as an organization with high prestige in this modality,” noted Jorge Valenzuela, Academic Vice-Chancellor for IACC Professional Institute. “QM and its set of Standards validate the work we have done over the years and they guide our future work while allowing us to sustain our commitment to continuous improvement together with a community of institutions around the world."

The entire QM community benefits from the unique and important global perspectives that international institutions bring to the table. “The contributions of our international members are immeasurable,” shared Dr. Deb Adair, QM’s Executive Director. “Their participation in our annual and regional conferences, for example, highlights the impact that quality online learning has on students everywhere and provides best practices and lessons learned that can be utilized by educational communities here in the U.S. and abroad. There is a lot we can all learn from each other as well as together.”

At this fall’s QM ConnectLX — an expanded, online version of our annual conference — Dr. Cindy Smith and Toni Dobinson from Australia’s Curtin University will present, “Working Together Just Like We are All in the Same Room… Mentoring College Students Online,” providing peers across the globe with insight into how to build an effective online mentoring program.

QM’s international members also make significant contributions through the iQM Association, a special interest group dedicated to promoting QM and its quality assurance process and services to the international community, particularly non-English speaking countries/regions. Currently, iQM has over 200 members and represents more than 20 major languages. 

To learn more about QM’s international membership or iQM, please contact Dr. Yaping Gao. 

About Quality Matters

Grounded in research. Driven by best practices. A community that puts learners first. Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. When you see QM Recognition and Certification Marks on courses or programs, it means they have met QM Course Design Standards or QM Program Review Criteria in a rigorous review process.