Higher Ed Program > Rubric The Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, Fifth Edition, 2014 is a set of 8 General Standards and 43 Specific Review Standards used to evaluate the design of online and blended courses. The Rubric is complete with Annotations that explain the application of the Standards and the relationship among them. A scoring system and set of online tools facilitate the review by a team of Peer Reviewers. Unique to the Rubric is the concept of alignment. Download the Standards from the QM Higher Education Rubric**. ** Please note: This document requires you to Sign In using your MyQM account credentials. The Eight General Standards: Course Overview and Introduction Learning Objectives (Competencies)Assessment and Measurement Instructional Materials Course Activities and Learner InteractionCourse Technology Learner Support Accessibility and Usability What is Alignment? When Do I Use the Rubric? How Do I Obtain Access to the Rubric? Higher Education Program:
OPAL | Open Educational Quality Initiative PBL: What Does It Take for a Project to Be "Authentic"? Everyone thinks that Project-Based Learning has something to do with "authentic" learning. But not everyone agrees what this means. Take this quick quiz. Which of the following projects could be called authentic? a) Students learn about endangered species in their region and take action to protect them, including a public awareness campaign, habitat restoration fieldwork and communication with local government officials. b) Students design and create a calendar with pictures and information about endangered species, which they sell at a pre-winter break community event and donate the money to an environmental organization. c) Students play the role of scientists who need to make recommendations to an environmental organization about how to protect endangered species in various ecosystems around the world. To authenticity purists, a project is not really authentic unless it is in the real world, connected directly to the lives of students and real issues in their communities. Not Authentic