Next Application Deadline:
December 1, 2025Spring Requests Selected:
December 15, 2025
Ready to take your course to the next level? We’ll provide the training and resources you need to prepare your online course for Quality Matters (QM) review and certification. You’ll learn how to apply QM standards in your course, receive one-on-one guidance and support as you prepare your course for the review, and participate in an official, QM-managed review of your course. A stipend is available for instructors whose courses successfully pass QM review and achieve high-quality certification.
Certification Steps: Full text transcript
NOTE: Only one instructor per course can receive a stipend. If you are interested in certifying a course that is team taught, contact odl-quality@fsu.edu for guidance.
Course Certification Schedule
Spring 2026
| ADMISSION DEADLINES | DATE |
|---|---|
| Last Day to Apply | December 1, 2025 |
| Applications Selected | December 15, 2025 |
| Last Day to Sign Offer Letter | January 9, 2026 |
| REQUIRED WORKSHOPS* | DATE |
|---|---|
| Quality Kickoff | January 16, 2026 @ 12-1:00pm |
| Align for Quality | January 23, 2026 @ 12-1:30pm |
| Accessibility Fundamentals | January 30, 2026 @ 12-1:30pm |
| Engaging Learners with Online Activities (not required but strongly encouraged) |
February 4, 2026 @ 12-1:30pm |
| QM READINESS REVIEW DEADLINES** | DATE |
|---|---|
| Spring A | June 12, 2026 |
| Fall B | September 14, 2026 |
| Fall C | January 12, 2027 |
*After admission to a cycle, we will be in touch with instructions for joining the required workshops. If you are unable to attend, please email odl-quality@fsu.edu. Attendance is not required for previous workshop attendees.
**Certification cycles are divided into three groups, each with a different QM readiness review deadline. Your offer letter will indicate which group (A, B, or C) your course is assigned.
How to Apply
While our goal is to certify as many courses as possible, to ensure the best outcomes for course quality and instructor experience, we accept a limited number of courses per cycle. After reviewing the schedule above and eligibility criteria below, click or tap the Apply button to complete an application. Please note that only one instructor per course can receive a stipend. If you are interested in certifying a course that is team taught, contact odl-quality@fsu.edu for guidance.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The course submitted is a for-credit online course taught mostly or fully online (80-100% of the course is delivered online) in an asynchronous instructional mode. (Fully and partially synchronous courses will be considered for review as long as the design components present in the course provide sufficient evidence for reviewers to determine if standards are met.)
- The faculty or instructor applying for course quality certification also teaches the course. If you are interested in certifying a course that you do not teach, contact odl-quality@fsu.edu for guidance.
- The faculty or instructor applying for course quality certification has attended the prerequisite Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) training.
NOTE: If the course submitted is being offered for the first time in a new delivery mode (eg, previously offered face-to-face and now being offered online or previously offered in a synchronous delivery mode and now being offered in an asynchronous delivery mode), it is eligible for admission to a certification cycle but will need to be taught in the new delivery mode at least one term before the QM review can be initiated.