An Online Course Quality Enhancement Project

Between 2018 and 2019, according to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, the total reported distance education enrollment increased 129.1% (Straut & Boeke, 2020). This explosive increase in the number of students taking distance education courses during this timeframe is intriguing and undoubtedly increased further in 2020 and 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts of colleges and universities to shift courses online in order to continue operations while also preventing the spread of the virus. Moreover, there has been growing concern regarding student success in online courses and the quality of instruction provided via the online delivery method (Guidry, 2013). This concern is mirrored at Cleveland Community College, and summary data for grades in online courses indicate a drastic difference in student success rates (final grade of A, B, or C) when compared to success rates in other delivery methods. In fact, success rate seems to be strongly correlated with delivery method; the more time a student spends in the classroom, the higher their chance of success in the course. Institutional data show a 10.2% difference in success rate between face-to-face and online courses. The purpose of this project was to develop a rubric of quality standards for online courses and develop a peer-mentorship professional development program for faculty to assist in the development of online courses that adhere to the rubric of quality standards. The goal of this project is to improve student success in online courses through enhancing quality in online courses