Creating Quality Online Course Design through a Peer-Reviewed Assessment

In online instruction, the effectiveness of the learning experience is manifest, in part, in the course design (Yang & Cornelious, 2005). The investment in up-front planning of a course is critical to constructing a comprehensive plan of instruction. It expresses the intentions of instruction, the methods of delivery and, most important, the assessment of learning necessary to produce learned graduates of our institutions. This paper explores the incorporation of Troy University’s Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI), based on Quality Matters (QM) principles, to conduct a peer-reviewed evaluation and subsequent improvement of online course design within its Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. The authors offer several key components to quality course design, specific components of the design that aid the student in understanding and following course instruction, and, finally, suggestions for continuing to improve online course design to meet the challenges that come with new technology and a new generation of students with advanced technological skill sets and expectations from their educational experience.

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