Research and Evidence

As campus QA efforts mature, it is important to determine the impact of QA professional development and course certification on teaching performance and student success in your online courses. This helps to build evidence that instructors who complete QA professional development and/or obtain course certification are better able to design and deliver online courses, more effectively engaging students and resulting in higher grades, improved course completion rates, greater student satisfaction, and ultimately a reduction in equity gaps.

The following resources serve as examples of informing or driving this important area of research:

• Oregon State University, Online Learning Efficacy Research Database
  • Searchable resource of academic studies on the learning outcomes of online and/or hybrid education in comparison to face-to-face environments.
• Quality Matters Research
  • Focused on curating and supporting research studies related to the impact and use of the Quality Matters model.
• Student Quality Assurance Impact Research
  • California State University effort to determine the impact of QA professional development on instructor efficacy and student success in online courses.