Quality Assurance for Distance Education
Quality assurance for distance programming at Creighton University is a multi-faceted process involving faculty, staff, students, administrators, and external stakeholders. Data is gathered from a variety of sources for the purpose of assuring Creighton University's reputation for high quality, values-based education is reflected in its distance education programming. Additionally, the process is structured to help assure alignment with Federal and accreditation regulations including those promulgated by the Higher Learning Commission. The University employs a cyclical process of data gathering, reporting, and resultant actions to make data driven decisions for continuous examination and improvement of its online educational offerings.
Criteria for evaluating the quality of the University's online programming is found in the Quality Assurance for Distance Education Programming document (view document). Encompassing nine categories, these criteria are based on nationally accepted standards of quality for online courses and programs including the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education.. Quality Assurance data is gathered throughout each year from multiple sources.
Individual distance education courses undergo a review process to assure alignment with best practices. The Distance Education Course Design Review Rubric used for the review is based on the nationally recognized Quality Matters online course review criteria.
In-class and out-of-class time equivalencies for distance education courses is documented using the criteria outline in the seat time and distance education courses: information and process.
Parity of courses offered in both an online and on-ground format or in both a compressed term and traditional term is documented using the evidence of parity process.
