Applications will be reviewed on the following two criteria as well as the six criteria in Phase II. A minimum score of 6 for Phase 1 criteria must be met.

Basic Criteria Basic Criteria Description Submission Meets Basic Criteria for Review
Meets Award Description Criteria Alignment to correct area of excellence
Addresses award description completely with submission
4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Provides a Quality Overall Submission Design
No Formatting Errors
Complete Submission (Evidence, Total # of Recommendation Letters)
4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:

Applications will be reviewed across the OLC Five Pillars of Quality as well as for the submission’s contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Pillars of Quality
How well does this submission impact:
Pillar Definition Evidence
Submission includes evidence of excellence for this pillar.
Learning Effectiveness Learning effectiveness is concerned with ensuring that online students are provided with a high-quality education. Instructors and course developers should take advantage of the unique characteristics of online environments to provide learning experiences that represent the distinctive quality of the institution offering them. 4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Scale Scale is the principle that enables institutions to offer their best educational value to learners and to achieve capacity enrollment. Institutional commitment to quality and finite resources requires continuous improvement policies for developing and assessment of cost-effectiveness measures and practices. The goal is to control costs so that tuition is affordable yet sufficient to meet development and maintenance costs — and to provide a return on investment in startup and infrastructure. 4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Access Access provides the means for all qualified, motivated students to complete courses, degrees, or programs in their disciplines of choice. The goal is to provide meaningful and effective access throughout the entire student’s life cycle. Access starts with enabling prospective learners to become aware of available opportunities through effective marketing, branding, and basic program information. It continues with providing program access (for example, quantity and variety of available program options, clear program information), seamless access to courses (for example, readiness assessment, intuitive navigability), and appropriate learning resources.  4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Faculty Satisfaction Faculty Satisfaction reflects instructors finding the online, blended, or digital teaching experience to be personally rewarding and professionally beneficial.  Faculty satisfaction is enhanced when the institution supports faculty members with a robust and well-maintained technical infrastructure, training in online instructional skills, and ongoing technical and administrative assistance, building instructor autonomy and agency in supporting the success of their students.  4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Student Satisfaction Student Satisfaction reflects the effectiveness of all aspects of the educational experience. The goal is that all students who engage in digital learning experiences express satisfaction with course rigor and impact with professor and peer interaction, and with support services. Students put a primary value on appropriate, constructive, and substantive interaction with faculty and other students. Educators assist students in achieving learning outcomes that match course and learner objectives by using current information and communications technologies to support active, individualized, engaged, and constructive learning. 4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reflects the impact of the strategies, initiatives, and support that ensure access to a quality online, blended, and digital learning experience for all learners.  Through research, practice, continuous improvement, and organizational leadership, this area of excellence focuses on the advancement of equitable and inclusive actions across internal organizations and external community actions. 4 – Strongly Agree
3 – Agree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree or N/A
Reviewer Comments: