One aspect of the Open SUNY Course Quality Review (OSCQR) Process and Rubric that I really like is that it isn’t a one-time review.  Instead, the OSCQR Process (Online Learning Consortium, n.d.) is a cycle of evaluation, review, and revision.  The first phase of the process is a course review using the OSCQR rubric which is what forms the basis of the action plan.  The second phase of the process is a course refresh in which targeted improvements are made to the course based on the action plan that was created in phase one.  The final phase of the process is a learning review that seeks to identify the next set of improvements to enhance course quality.  This three-phase process sets up a cycle of continuous improvement for online courses.

At Baylor University, we recently adopted the OSCQR rubric as a quality standard for all of our online courses.  Faculty are encouraged to self-evaluate their courses using the OSCQR rubric with assistance from the Learning Design team.  By using an industry standard review instrument provided by the Online Learning Consortium, faculty have a clear set of expectations for what their courses should look like when completed, and they can use this rubric as model as they build their courses.  Knowing what the outcome should be helps faculty know from the beginning what they will need to incorporate into their courses in order to meet quality standards.

While preparing to create my own online course, I discovered several excellent online courses and online programs along the way:

• Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Contact Tracing – This online course was offered by Johns Hopkins University through the Coursera MOOC platform. The course was divided into five main modules with a sixth module consisting of a final exam.  Each module contained videos, readings, a short practice exercise, and a quiz.  The modular approach to this course provided the necessary scaffolding to train participants to become certified contact tracers by beginning with basic concepts like the what is COVID-19 and progressing to skills for effective communication.
• Preventive Health – Reducing Your Risks – Through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas’s WellonTarget program, once per quarter, participants can take a short online course to earn various reward points. Over the years, I’ve been through several of these programs, and each time I’ve learned something new.  Most recently, I took this course over a period of several days.  There were 6 modules that each cover a specific topic related to preventative health issues.  Topics include immunizations, health screenings, and injury prevention among other. Within each module, I was presented with a introductory overview, a few short videos, scholarly articles and reference materials, and some sort of interactive element to help ensure that participants are actively engaged with the content.
• Duolingo Spanish – As different sort of online course, Duolingo offer users the ability to learn new languages with a unique blend of practice, repetition, and mini-games. While I have not personally taken a Duolingo course, both of my daughters have used Duolingo to help learn and/or review Spanish over these last few months prior to the start of the fall semester.  Duolingo lessons really use the scaffolding approach by giving learners a few basic language lessons and then building on those throughout the program.  Each lesson is divided into thematic units with badges, and this provides a gamification approach to learning that I really find effective!
• Khan Academy – Not your traditional online course or program, Khan Academy offers a slew of video-based training courses on a wide variety of subjects. What I like most about Khan Academy is that each subject area is broken down into specific topical units and lessons.  For example, in the Biology library’s unit about Gene Regulation, there video and text-based lessons on gene regulation in bacteria.  In the unit about Cell Division, there are four different modules about cells.  Each module provides videos, text-based lessons, and practice activities. Between different modules are short quizzes and a final unit exam to check for understanding along the way. Each practice activity, quiz, or unit exam also earns points for that topic so that users can “level up” and show off what they’ve learned with points, digital badges, and avatar customizations.
• Baylor Online MBA – I realize that I may be a bit partial to this program, but Baylor’s OMBA program was our very first online degree program. For years after every other university was developing online degree programs, Baylor was still positioning itself as a residential campus with only face-to-face courses and degree programs. While I was not directly involved in the creation of the online courses for the OMBA program, I was deeply involved in the deployment of a new LMS for this program and helped get everything off-the-ground on the technical side of things. In its seven years in existence, this program has received numerous accolades.  S. News & World Report recently named the Baylor Online MBA No. 47 among online MBA programs in the nation!  This program combines asynchronous online learning with live, synchronous sessions which makes the courses in this program unique compared to the other courses or programs mentioned above.

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