What is the Peer Review Process?
After a faculty member has collaborated with Miami Online to develop an online course, the course is reviewed through our structured peer review process to ensure its quality and consistency with Miami’s vast catalogue of online offerings.
During the peer review, the course is examined by at least three reviewers: 1) the Learning Designer who collaborated with the course author (typically a faculty member) to create the course, 2) a Quality Matters-certified peer reviewer, and 3) an accessibility reviewer. Optionally, the faculty who created the course may also participate in the peer review.
Each reviewer checks every page, assignment, element, file, and nook and cranny of the course. We are guided by a custom peer review rubric with over 150 criteria grounded in Quality Matters, SUNY OSCQR, University and government policies, and online teaching and learning best practices.
When the reviewers have completed their review, the faculty and their design partner have an opportunity to address any review comments. After that, all feedback (including any edits made after the review) is combined into an action report, which is archived along with a copy of the course in Miami Online’s records.
After a faculty member has collaborated with Miami Online to develop an online course, that course is reviewed through our structured peer review process to ensure its quality. During the peer review, the course is examined by multiple members of the Learning Design team (and the faculty, if they choose) to ensure consistency and formatting across the course, verify alignment with accessibility law, and identify errors in spelling, grammar, and user experience. This process is vital for two main reasons: 1) it ensures that all online courses at Miami University meet consistent standards (e.g., navigation, online teaching and learning best practices, policy requirements), and it aligns faculty use of Canvas.
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Can I Request a Peer Review of My Course?
If you did not work with Miami Online to build your course in Canvas, you can still request a peer review with Miami Online. Various members of the Learning Design team would then review your course.
Before requesting a peer review, review your course for the following items, as this helps ensure that you submit a strong version of your work, which will speed up the peer review process.
Check the following in your course before requesting a peer review:
- Modules – Ensure that all of your content is organized into modules and that those modules have clear titles. This helps ease student navigation of the course.
- Assignments – Ensure any assignments, quizzes, or exams for the course have been included, and ensure rubrics are attached to relevant assignments.
- Instructional Content – Ensure any instructional materials, such as videos and supplemental readings have been included in the course. Check that all videos have closed captions available.
- Links – Check that any links in your course open appropriately and are not broken.
- Syllabus – Ensure that you’ve included your syllabus in the course. Ensure it includes, at minimum, instructor contact information, course learning outcomes, grading policies, textbook information, required software information, and assignment descriptions. It’s best if the syllabus is created directly in Canvas rather than uploading it into the course as a document. This ensures better accessibility.
- Navigation Bar – Check that any unnecessary items in the left navigation bar have been hidden so as not to confuse students taking the course.
