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... From the Editors
A letter from the editors of the Sloan-C View

This issue introduces the Quality Matters initiative, a continuous improvement model for assessing and assuring the quality of online courses.

Quality Matters offers peer reviewers opportunities to assess courses using standards in eight areas: course overview and introduction; learning objectives (competencies); assessment and measurement; learning resources and materials; learner interaction; course technology; learner support and ADA compliance. Maryland Online (MOL), a statewide partnership, proposes to create a replicable pathway for inter-institutional quality assurance and course improvements in online learning. Look for a Quality Matters Sloan-C workshop to be offered online in Spring 2005.

Quality Matters is an example of the kind of partnership that a plenary panel called for at the 10th Sloan-C International Conference on ALN in November. In “ALN Anniversary: Surprises? Promises? Partnerships,” panelists look back on a decade of innovations and look forward to continuing rapid change.

Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman give a glimpse of this year’s national survey, Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004. Download the full report at the Sloan-C free resources page.

In Hot Off the Blog, Ray Schroeder of the University of Illinois Springfield reports on hot topics including comparisons, debates and discussions.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2004 Sloan-C Awards. “The field of online education continues to show vigor and strength. Every year we see advances in the important matters of quality, scale and breadth within this still fledgling community” says Frank Mayadas, President of Sloan-C. "The individuals and institutions honored this year are recognized for showing exceptional leadership in advancing online education along these dimensions." For more information about the awards, download the Sloan Consortium Awards 2004 pdf. The recipients will also contribute to a special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks in June 2005.

… for the Sloan Consortium

Frank Mayadas, John Bourne and Janet Moore

The purpose of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is to help learning organizations continually improve the quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs according to their own distinctive missions, so that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines. You are welcome to join Sloan-C:
http://www.sloan-c.org