Media Room

University of the Rockies was honored with a 2013 Making a Difference for Students Award by Quality Matters in a presentation held on Oct. 3 during the Quality Matters 5th Annual Conference. The University received the award in recognition of its research that documented the impressive success of students in Quality Matters recognized courses.

“We are honored to receive such an important distinction from Quality Matters. This award is indicative of the hard work and dedication of our team to deliver high-quality, accessible learning opportunities to students around the world,” said Dr. Tina Parscal, provost at University of the Rockies. “We believe that holding our online courses to the rigorous standards set forth by Quality Matters will help distinguish University of the Rockies from our competitors.”

Quality Matters has developed a widely respected set of standards for the design of effective online courses and a rigorous faculty peer review process for applying these standards to existing courses. Through this process, reviewers provide instructors and instructional design teams with insights and recommendations that increase student engagement, retention, satisfaction, and achievement.

“The recipients of the awards demonstrate different but impactful approaches to improve the learning outcomes for their students through the application of Quality Matters Standards, and implementation of Quality Matters practices and processes,” explained Brenda Boyd, chair of the awards committee and director of professional development & consulting at Quality Matters. “Their transformative efforts make the student experience more consistent and enable student success. They demonstrate a systematic commitment to assuring the quality of their online courses—resulting in significant impact on student learning.”

The Quality Matters 5th Annual Conference was held in Nashville and was attended by more than 800 universities, community and technical colleges, K-12 schools and systems, government agencies, corporations, and other education-related organizations and academic institutions.

About University of the Rockies

University of the Rockies is a leading graduate school of the social and behavioral sciences that offers programs for students seeking their PhD, PsyD, or Master of Arts degree. In addition to the campus in Colorado Springs, Colo., students may take classes at a state-of-the-art instructional site in downtown Denver, Colo., or work toward degrees online from anywhere in the country. Whether on campus or online, University of the Rockies students enjoy the same access to industry professionals, research, and publishing opportunities. For more information, please visit rockies.edu or call Shari Winet Rodriguez, Vice President of Public Relations, at 866.621.0124 x2513.