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Subscription Information

How do I decide if a Quality Matters subscription is a good match for my institution?
Institutions participate in QM for a variety of reasons. The goals and budget of your quality assurance effort will determine when your institution is ready for a subscription. In some cases, we recommend that your institution decide on specific implementation issues before you subscribe. Some questions to ask yourself before subscribing include:

• Who will lead a QM project and where will it report?
• How will you introduce QM to the institution's faculty?
• Will QM reviews be mandatory or optional?
• Will there be rewards or incentives for faculty course developers to submit their courses for review? For those who receive certification?
• How will internal reviewers be compensated?
• Will you display the QM certification mark on your certified courses and where will it appear?
• Will you also use QM training and the rubric to help faculty build, as well as improve a course?

What are the steps in obtaining a Quality Matters subscription?
You may initiate the subscription process by contacting us. Once a QM representative assesses your needs and helps determine if a subscription is a good match for your institution, the following will occur:

1. An Intent to Subscribe form will be sent to you. This document identifies the type of subscription you are seeking and the subscription fees. In addition, it will ask for your institution's and Institutional Representative's contact information and commits the institution to the subscription process.
2. Once you submit the Intent to Subscribe, we will send you an Invoice and a Subscription Agreement. The subscription agreement is the actual contract between QM and the institution and details the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of both contracting parties. It is a legal document that must be signed by both the institution and an officer of MarylandOnline.
3. Upon receipt of a fully executed Subscription Agreement, QM will activate the subscription, giving the institution access to all online materials and resources and subscriber rates on all fee-based services.

The Full Subscription Option identifies two fee structures based on the number of online programs. How does QM define "online program?"
A course of study, at least 2/3 of which is offered as distance education or electronically mediated, that culminates in a degree and/or full certificate. In practice, schools that plan and advertise a full degree program but have just started enrolling students can subscribe as a "small" program in their first year until the majority of the classes in the program have been taught.

In order to qualify for the Consortia rate, must all three schools choose the Full Option?
Yes, at least three schools in a Consortia must be on the Full Option in order to receive the discount.

Does the 25% Consortia discount apply to trainings, materials, or other services?
No, it does not.  It is specifically and exclusively a subscription discount.

With a Statewide subscription, what type of membership benefits are afforded to the Statewide Subscriber and to the Affiliate Institutions?
Please see our summary of benefits & responsibilities outlining the benefits of taking a Statewide subscription.

We've got a subscription, now what?
Your path depends on your specific goals and implementation plan. However, every school has some common first steps.

1. Your faculty needs to be involved with the process. Distribute QM information and provide opportunities for presentation, questions, and answers about QM. Ensure the faculty understands the plan for QM at your institution and their role in this plan.
2. Arrange for QM training. Determining which training, how it will be administered, and who will attend all depend on your goals but the first step for attaining any goal is to have QM-trained faculty.
3. Identify key staff who may eventually provide internal QM training and/or manage the course review process at your institution. If this is your goal, you will need to provide opportunities for these individuals to gain experience as a QM peer reviewer. The most expedient way to do this is explained in Step 4.
4. Submit at least two courses for a QM course review. This can help institutions fulfill a number of different goals, including: gaining external validation through QM recognition of your courses; learning from a model course review process; and providing opportunities for key staff to gain course review experience by requesting their assignment to these courses.

I'm not ready to commit to a QM subscription - what are other ways I can participate in the QM process?
You have several ways to gain more information about Quality Matters and participate in the process.

• Distribute QM publications to key stakeholders within the institution. An online order form is available to order the QM mini-rubric booklet.
• Register for a QM training - either contract with QM for an onsite F2F session or send key personnel through one of our online trainings. Please visit our trainings page for a complete list of training offerings.
• Arrange for a Quality Matters Overview Presentation. Use this as a tool to increase the understanding of and support for Quality Matters among your institutional leaders and administration.

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