Course Development Rubric

Core Standards
The Learning House, Inc. (TLH) developed the core standards after reviewing requirements
from accreditation agencies and nongovernmental organizations such as Quality Matters and
The Online Learning Consortium. These standards apply to all courses to ensure that each
course meets the basic requirements of functionality.

Learning Objectives

_____ The course includes measurable, student-centered learning objectives.

_____ Students can view the course’s learning objectives before the drop date.
_____ The course syllabus contains the course’s learning objectives.
_____ The use of technology is appropriate for the course’s learning objectives.
_____ Learning objectives indicate appropriate assessment methods through the use of an
educational taxonomy (e.g., Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy).

Course-Program Alignment

_____ The course includes a course description.

_____ The course description matches the description in the course catalog (including
prerequisites).
_____ Course content reflects the course description accurately.

Student Engagement and Course Materials

_____ Students are required to actively participate in the course.

_____ The syllabus should restate “attendance” requirements and/or participation expectations.
_____ All required content is clearly identifiable.
_____ The course provides study suggestions or practice opportunities.
_____ The instructor’s contact information and credentials are easily accessible.
_____ Course does not have obsolete references, standards, or technology.

Assessment

_____ Student achievement is assessed through more than one methodology.

_____ Student achievement is assessed at more than one time in the course.
_____ Course includes both qualitative and quantitative assessment.
_____ The instructor assesses students on the basis of their achievement of learning
objectives.
_____ The instructor provides the majority of assessment and feedback.
_____ Students receive formative feedback on their performance.

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Legal Responsibility

_____ Materials respect intellectual property rights concerning copyright and plagiarism.
_____ Course materials clearly do not benefit the private interests of the instructor.
_____ Course materials do not use hostile, derogatory, or unprofessional language, and
controversial topics are handled in a scholarly manner.
_____ Course materials meet or exceed mandated accessibility requirements.

Subset A
Learning House creates subset standards based on empirical literature that we analyze to
determine their predictive validity. The goal of pursuing subset standards is to increase student
success in courses. We determine which subsets to use based on the total available
development time and faculty or course writer engagement.

The 10 standards that comprise this group of subsets are strongly correlated with student
achievement (r(88) = .275, p = .010). They are recommended for courses that are being
updated and for courses ordered 160 days prior to launch.

_____ Course assessments do not focus only on memorization or recitation.

_____ Course assessments require application or evaluation.
_____ Assignment descriptions include estimates for how much time students should plan to
dedicate to the assignments or assessments.
_____ The course includes technical recommendations and tools on how to exchange materials
between students.
_____ The course includes a clearly labeled calendar that lists all activities, checkpoints, and
due dates.
_____ The course’s source materials show variety in terms of type, format, or source.
_____ The course’s source materials come from at least five different source types or publishing
formats (e.g. Web pages, journals, textbooks, research texts, newspaper articles).
_____ Assessments and activities require students to use a variety of information and learning
resources.
_____ The course materials and assessments do not make any undue assumptions about the
students’ background or experiences.
_____ The course includes a required journaling or free-response self-reflection.

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