QM Essential Standards for MS/MPS Programs

Online and hybrid courses are central to the SPS student experience and to the School’s ability to deliver flexible, rigorous programs.

The QM Essential Standards provide a shared language and practical framework for strengthening course design, improving alignment among learning objectives, activities, and assessments, and supporting clearer, more accessible learning experiences for students.

The QM Essential Standards apply to all SPS online MS/MPS courses, both synchronous and asynchronous, as well as hybrid MS/MPS courses.

Beginning in Fall 2026, the standards guide new course development and substantive revisions to existing online and hybrid courses.

No. The QM Essential Standards are requirements for online and hybrid MS/MPS courses. They do not apply as requirements to fully face-to-face courses.

SPS’s Canvas-use initiative is a schoolwide effort to support more consistent course organization, communication, and student access across instructional modalities. As part of this work, Academic Affairs has developed Canvas templates that provide faculty with a structured starting point for their courses, including a face-to-face template for in-person courses. Program teams should direct faculty to the faculty-facing Canvas guidance for details.

No. Canvas templates can support clear and consistent course organization, but using a template does not automatically mean a course meets the QM Essential Standards. The QM Essential Standards address the broader design of the course, including alignment among learning objectives, activities, and assessments; accessibility; learner support; and the overall student learning experience.

Faculty who teach or design online or hybrid MS/MPS courses are responsible for ensuring that their courses meet the QM Essential Standards.

Beginning in Fall 2026, faculty developing new online or hybrid courses or making substantive revisions to existing courses must apply the standards during development or revision.

Instructional design support is available to help faculty understand and apply the standards. Faculty who are already working with an instructional designer should continue using that support. Faculty who are not currently working with an instructional designer should be encouraged to schedule an instructional design consultation.

Faculty who elect not to work with an instructional designer when developing or substantially revising an online or hybrid course must submit the course syllabus and Canvas course site to the SPS Committee on Instruction (COI) for review and approval before the course may be offered.

During this initial implementation phase, COI will conduct the required reviews while developing the broader formal course review process.

Faculty should be directed to the faculty-facing Quality Matters at SPS webpage. From that page, faculty and staff can access the full Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric through a UNI-protected page.

The QM Higher Education Rubric includes three-point, two-point, and one-point standards. For SPS purposes, the QM Essential Standards are the three-point standards.

Faculty developing or substantially revising an online or hybrid course should work with their instructional designer, if assigned, or schedule an instructional design consultation.

SPS is also developing SPS Course Quality Essentials, an internal training course for faculty; additional resources and guidance; and opportunities for faculty peer support.

The selection process is in progress. The goal is to include a mix of full-time and part-time faculty across programs so the pilot reflects a range of teaching contexts, course types, and faculty experiences.

Programs interested in supporting faculty participation in external Quality Matters training should consult with Academic Affairs before making arrangements. This step will help ensure that external training aligns with SPS’s phased implementation, SPS Course Quality Essentials, and the broader communication strategy.

Programs should also consider how participation will be funded, which faculty will be invited, how participation will be recognized, and how faculty who complete external training may contribute to faculty peer support and schoolwide implementation of the QM Essential Standards.

No. SPS is implementing the QM Essential Standards in phases.

During the initial implementation phase, COI will review new or substantially revised online and hybrid courses when faculty elect not to work with instructional design support. A broader formal process for reviewing courses against the QM Essential Standards is still being developed.

Additional guidance about review expectations, timelines, and procedures will be communicated as that process is finalized.

The SPS Committee on Instruction (COI) is responsible for developing and approving the formal process for reviewing courses against the QM Essential Standards.

Programs and Academic Affairs should remain aligned as the process develops. Programs should not establish separate review requirements or communicate program-specific review timelines unless they have been approved through the schoolwide process.

Programs can say:

SPS has adopted the QM Essential Standards as requirements for online and hybrid MS/MPS courses, but implementation is being phased. Beginning in Fall 2026, the standards must be applied to the development of new online and hybrid courses and to substantive revisions to existing courses. Not all existing courses are required to undergo immediate redesign or review. Additional expectations and timelines will be communicated as the broader course-review process is finalized.

Academic Affairs is supporting implementation through instructional design consultations, practical resources and guidance, faculty peer support, and SPS Course Quality Essentials.

SPS instructional designers are QM-Certified Peer Reviewers with expertise in online and hybrid course design. They can help faculty interpret and apply the QM Essential Standards, strengthen alignment among learning objectives, activities, and assessments, and identify opportunities to improve accessibility, clarity, and the student learning experience.

Faculty who are already working with an instructional designer should continue using that support. Faculty who are not currently working with an instructional designer and are developing or substantially revising an online or hybrid course should schedule an instructional design consultation.

Yes. Programs may encourage faculty who are developing new online or hybrid courses or making substantive revisions to existing courses to schedule an instructional design consultation.

Programs may also work with Academic Affairs to identify courses where instructional design support would be especially useful.

Program administrators should use the approved FAQ and talking points when possible.

Questions involving policy, review timelines, exceptions, faculty workload, compensation, or interpretation of the standards should be referred to the SPS Office of Academic Affairs at [email protected].

Programs should use language consistent with the Dean’s announcement and Academic Affairs resources.

Recommended language:

SPS has adopted the Quality Matters Essential Standards as school-level requirements for all online and hybrid MS/MPS courses. Beginning in Fall 2026, faculty developing new online or hybrid courses or making substantive revisions to existing courses must apply the standards during development or revision. Instructional design support is available to help faculty apply the standards. SPS is implementing faculty training, peer support, additional resources, and a formal course-review process in phases.

Faculty should be directed to:

• the faculty-facing Quality Matters at SPS webpage for general guidance and access to the QM rubric;
• their assigned instructional designer, if applicable, or an instructional design consultation;
• SPS Course Quality Essentials as training becomes available;
• the SPS Office of Academic Affairs for policy or implementation questions; and
• future COI communications for guidance about the formal course-review process.