In response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, Quality Matters has made the difficult decision to transition the QM West Regional Conference from a face-to-face event to a virtual experience. The decision was not made lightly. QM carefully monitored the situation along with responses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and those of member institutions. It was important to ensure that an online conference could still deliver the “aha” moments and impactful insights that the community expects from a QM conference.
The online conference will take place on the same day as the original conference — Friday, April 3, 8:30 a.m. PT – 5:00 p.m. PT. All planned presentations will be available virtually, including Dr. Melody Buckner’s keynote.
Presenters and registered attendees have been notified about the change in delivery for the conference. QM invites those who could not attend the face-to-face conference in Fullerton, California to join their colleagues for the online conference. More information can be found on our website.
Hosting an online conference also provides us the potential to educate more individuals and institutions who can benefit from our community’s extensive experience in online learning. As institutions across the globe grapple with the best way to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, many are turning to — or considering a turn to — online education, a modality that may be new to some institutions or their faculty. We’ve even added a presentation titled “Top Tips to Quickly Transition F2F Courses Online in an Emergency Response Situation.”
As a quality assurance organization, we hope that this crisis does more than raise interest in the access-related affordances of online learning but also creates an increased appreciation of the planning and expertise required to create quality online pathways for student success.
Contact info@qualitymatters.org with any other questions.
About Quality Matters
Grounded in research. Driven by best practices. A community that puts learners first. Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. When you see QM Certification Marks on courses or programs, it means they have met QM Course Design Standards or QM Program Review Criteria in a rigorous review process.
