Today, Riverland celebrated a significant milestone, the notification that its 50th course has received Quality Matters^® (QM^®) certification for online courses. This achievement places Riverland at the forefront of the QM^® movement among public institutions of higher education in Minnesota and demonstrates Riverland's commitment to providing a high-quality online educational experience to its students. Currently, Riverland courses represent 20 percent of all of the QM certified courses within the U of M and MnSCU public higher education systems.

Quality Matters^® is a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. Colleges and universities across and beyond the U.S. use the tools in developing, maintaining and reviewing their online courses and in training their faculty.

Quality Matters^® is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. QM^® is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning.

Twenty-one different faculty have received QM^® certification for one or more of their courses, including in such areas as Accounting, Anthropology, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Economics, English, Geography, Humanities, Math, Philosophy, Psychology, Speech, and Supervisory Management. J.C. Turner, Director of Instructional Technology and Intellectual Property at Riverland, serves as the college's Quality Matters^® Coordinator.

Riverland celebrated the accomplishment with a reception held in Riverland's Collaborative Learning Center and Library. A program featured comments by Riverland President Adenuga Atewologun, J.C. Turner, Riverland director of instructional technology and intellectual property, Deb Adair, managing director, Quality Matters^® and Riverland faculty that teach certified courses.

The faculty being celebrated and recognized include Sheryl Barton, Business & Office Technology; Richard Campbell, English;  Jenny Corey-Gruenes, English; Heather Earl, Business & Office Technology; Al Erdahl, Biology; Michael Grenier, Supervisory Management; Kim Hansen, Accounting; Rayce Hardy, Economics; Catherine Haslag, Chemistry; Jill Holmes, Business; Barb Houle, Psychology; Sharon Hyland, Psychology; Sue Knoll, Biology; Deb McManimon, Business; Katie Nelson, Anthropology; Jon Olseth, English; Suzette Overby, Human Services; Laurel Panser, Psychology/Philosophy/Geography; Pam Ruble, Math; Heidi Schara, Speech; and Dan Wirkus, Accounting.