Quality Matters Implementation in Florida Colleges: Using the Behavior Engineering Model to Explore Effective Environmental Supports

Online course quality is a prominent issue due to the increasing number of online programs and courses offered by institutions of higher education. To ensure the best student outcomes, it is necessary to implement effective systemic support for quality assurance in online learning. Providing faculty with the environmental supports required to design their courses using quality standards may ensure better outcomes for students. Similarly, if best practices are not well-supported, not only will student outcomes suffer, but so will the reputation of online learning. As complex ecosystems with limited resources, colleges that are developing online programs and courses should know what environmental factors are effective for improving faculty adoption of quality standards. Quality MattersTM (QM) is a quality assurance process for online learning comprising a rubric, training, and peer review. Research by QM established the effectiveness of the QM standards when implemented in online courses. Other research suggested that there may be a gap in implementation after training. Although faculty training to design courses around quality standards is intended to ensure the best outcomes for students, faculty often do not demonstrate the adoption of those standards. While QM focuses on three areas of quality improvement to improve the knowledge and skills of faculty, Gilbert's (2007) Behavior Engineering Model predicts that other factors have an influence on actual performance. As institutions of higher education invest in faculty professional development to improve course quality, additional institutional resources may also be required to support faculty to implement what they have learned. This study explored effective strategies for supporting quality assurance practices that encourage the adoption of QM criteria into online courses at state colleges in Florida. Three research questions guided this study: 1. What environmental supports are colleges in the Florida Quality Matters Consortium (FLQMC) providing to ...