As the demands for public accountability increase for the higher education, institutions are seeking methods for continuous improvement in order to demonstrate quality within programs and processes, including those provided through online education. A six round Delphi study was undertaken with 43 seasoned administrators of online education programs who agreed upon 70 quality indicators that administrators should examine within their programs to evaluate quality. A method for scoring was also developed. The original set of quality indicators from the Institute for Higher Education Policy study, Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education (2000) were used as a starting point and determined still valid in 2010, with modifications. The study resulted in a quality scorecard for the administration of online education programs.

Online learning is now a common practice in higher education. Because of the continued online enrollment growth, higher educational institutions must prepare faculty throughout their teaching career for learning theory, technical expertise, and pedagogical shifts for teaching in the online environment. This study presents best practices for professional development for faculty teaching online. In this study, the Delphi Method was used to gain consensus from a panel of experts on the essentiality of professional development items to help faculty prepare for teaching in the online environment. After four survey rounds to develop consensus, best practices were identified consisting of essential professional development and institutional/organizational strategies for supporting faculty teaching online. These results are significant for planning new or improving existing faculty development programs that enhance teaching and learning in the online classroom.

Summary Background Transgender individuals face numerous health disparities and report negative experiences with health care providers related to their gender identity. Significant gaps in medical education regarding transgender health persist despite calls for increased sexual and gender minority content. The purpose of this student‐led study was to assess the effectiveness of a half‐day educational intervention on first‐ and second‐year medical students’ attitudes and knowledge of transgender health. Methods Students and faculty members collaborated to develop an educational session on transgender health. This content was presented to first‐ and second‐year medical students at Integrated Grand Rounds, a pedagogical method in which basic science and clinical faculty members co‐present didactic content interspersed between live patient interviews and student‐led small group discussions. Student participants (n = 138) completed voluntary 9‐item pre‐ and post‐session surveys assessing comfort with and knowledge of transgender medicine. Results Students’ comfort with and perceived knowledge about transgender patients increased significantly between pre‐ and post‐test. Students’ knowledge of transgender medicine standards of care also improved, though not all items reached significance. Discussion A half‐day educational intervention improved many facets of medical students’ attitudes and knowledge about transgender patients. The significant disparities in physical health, mental health and access to care currently experienced by transgender persons in the United States warrants the continued testing and refinement of educational interventions for future and practising providers.

Online education is expanding within higher education. However, attrition rates for African American males enrolled in higher education in general, and in online courses specifically, is on the rise. Because the future of our nation depends on how well our educational institutions develop, nurture, and deploy talent, an investigation was conducted to identify factors that promoted online course completion among African American male undergraduate students. Ten males who successfully completed online courses were interviewed, and significant themes were identified. Factors that contributed to online course completion were financial assistance, prior academic achievement, previous information technology (IT) training, continuous academic enrollment, student selection of topics perceived as uncomplicated and less demanding or familiar due to sufficient prior knowledge, use of handheld digital devices, and a non-prejudicial learning environment. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that include strategies policymakers and educationists can implement to promote academic achievement and degree attainment among African American males in higher education.

As the demand for online education continues to increase, institutions are faced with developing process models for efficient, high-quality online course development. This paper describes a systems, team-based, approach that centers on an online instructional design theory (Active Mastery Learning) implemented at Colorado State University-Global Campus. CSU-Global Campus is a newly-created online campus within the Colorado State University System, and launches in Fall 2008 with fully-online undergraduate degree completion programs and Master’s degrees.