Assessment of the Quality of Online Courses: A Case of a Community College
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of online courses at a community college to determine whether the courses address the standards identified for online learning. The assessment results showed that the majority of online courses offered by the college were not in compliance with the standards for online courses. The discrepancies between the courses and standards were used to develop a model course that showed how standards could be applied in one of the online courses. The instructors were given access to the model course and used it in redesigning their courses. Evaluation data were collected to determine the effectiveness of the model course. Results revealed that, while some instructors benefited from the model course, others were not able to use the model course. Formal training in design and development of online learning environments is needed before instructors teaching online courses can use the available resources.