Grants FY2012

We are excited to announce funding of three research projects.  Results of these studies will be presented at the 4th annual QM conference in the fall of 2012. 

Accessibility Policy and Guidelines for Online Programs: Barbara Frey, Principle investigator, University of Pittsburgh

Research methodologies will be used in development of a generic accessibility policy that will be made available to QM subscribers.  This study will compare and analyze components of accessibility policies in a sampling of higher education institutions.  Next, a Delphi communication process will be used among experts to develop a generic policy that QM subscribing institutions might adapt for their own use.    This study builds on previous work done by Frey and King (2010) in which they discovered that 87% of responding QM institutions indicated they did not have an accessibility policy for online programs.

Does Findability Matter?:  Findability, Student Motivation and Self-efficacy in Online Courses:  Bethany Simunich, Principle investigator, Kent State University

Findability, the ease in which a student can discover or locate needed information within the online design, will be explored in this study.  RQ1:  Do QM-recognized courses have higher finability than non-QM courses?  RQ2:  Does higher cognitive load, as indicated by sudden increase pupil size, correlate with lower findability?, and RQ3:  Is findability positively correlated with feelings of motivation and self-efficacy in online courses?  At least 40 students in at least four online courses (two QM recognized and at least two others in which specific standards associated with findability are not met) will participate.

Impact of Quality Matters Peer Review and Perceptions of Course Design within the School of Public Service Leadership Pilot Study; Joseph Pascarella, Principle investigator, Capella University.

Thirteen course design measures in course evaluations (N=240) will be analyzed from a single course taught by the same instructor to test student perceptions of impact of course design improvements.  Evaluations from five sections of the course before the QM review and five post will be used.  Since the course had been identified as a Blackboard Exemplary course the study will include a detailed analysis/comparison of Bb and QM quality standards and how they impacted revisions to the course.