Riverland Community College business and office technology instructor Sheryl Barton has received national recognition from Quality Matters™ (QM) for the online course she developed, Medical Terminology.

QM is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. The goals of the program are to increase student retention, learning, and satisfaction in online courses by implementing better course design.

Barton’s is the third course at Riverland to receive this distinction. In 2009 business instructor Jill Holmes’ course Introduction to Online Learning and speech instructor Heidi Schara’s course Interpersonal Communication were QM certified.

BUSO 1668 Medical Terminology introduces the building of medical words including prefixes, suffixes, combining forms from Greek and Latin word parts, and the rules for connecting them to form medical terms. A foundation is created for the continued development of medical vocabulary.

“We are extremely proud of Sheryl’s achievement,” said David Hietala, dean of academic affairs – extended learning for Riverland Community College. “The Quality Matters Seal of Recognition places her course in the top percentile of online courses nationwide.”

In order to meet QM review expectations members of a Quality Matters Peer Review Team evaluate the course against 17 essential standards including course overview and introduction, learning objectives, assessment and measurement, resources and materials, learner engagement, course technology, learner support and accessibility.

Since 1999 Riverland online education has grown. More than 366 Riverland courses are offered either entirely or partially online. Numerous certificates, diplomas and degrees can be completed entirely online in the program areas of accounting, business, computer technology, supervisory management and liberal arts and sciences. Currently, more than 2,000 Riverland students are receiving education online.

Online programs and courses provide flexibility and convenience for students to complete coursework according to their schedules from the comfort of home. Students may also save time on the road and money on gas and childcare. For more information on Riverland online programs and courses visit www.myriverlandonline.com.

The Quality Matters™ program is a faculty-centered peer course review Quality Assurance process. Review criteria are linked to external standards; criteria and process are supported through instructional design principles; and the process is vetted by faculty experts. The goals of the program are to increase student retention, learning and satisfaction in online courses by implementing better course design.  Quality Matters is sponsored by MarylandOnline and has been adopted by hundreds of higher education institutions across forty-two states, Canada, Australia and Bermuda.