OSCQR – SUNY Online Course Quality Review Rubric
  • About
    • About OSCQR
    • The OSCQR Process
    • OSCQR is Unique
  • Explanations, Evidence, & Examples
    • Course Overview & Information
      • Standard 1- getting started
      • Standard 2- course overview
      • Standard 3- course information area/syllabus
      • Standard 4- printable syllabus
      • Standard 5- campus policies
      • Standard 6- learner success resources
      • Standard 7- course modality
      • Standard 8- access/participation methods
      • Standard 9- course objectives
      • Standard 10- contact information
    • Course Technology & Tools
      • Standard 11- requisite technology skills
      • Standard 12- scaffolding of technical skills
      • Standard 13- access to technology
      • Standard 14- privacy policies
      • Standard 15- accessible technology
    • Design & Layout
      • Standard 16- course navigation
      • Standard 17- white space
      • Standard 18- contrast
      • Standard 19- instructions
      • Standard 20- grammar/spelling
      • Standard 21- text formatting
      • Standard 22- blinking text
      • Standard 23- font and size
      • Standard 24- tables for layout
      • Standard 25- accessibility of tables
      • Standard 26- header rows/columns
      • Standard 27- slide layout/titles
      • Standard 28- slide transitions
    • Content & Activities
      • Standard 29- variety
      • Standard 30- higher order thinking
      • Standard 31- authentic activities
      • Standard 32- open educational resources
      • Standard 33- copyright
      • Standard 34- text accessibility
      • Standard 35- text equivalents
      • Standard 36- graphics/images
      • Standard 37- hyperlink text
    • Interaction
      • Standard 38- instructor feedback
      • Standard 39- interaction
      • Standard 40- instructor presence
      • Standard 41- class community
      • Standard 42 - learner to learner interaction
      • Standard 43- learner contributions
    • Assessment & Feedback
      • Standard 44- course grading policies
      • Standard 45- learner assessment
      • Standard 46- assignment grading criteria
      • Standard 47- formative assessment
      • Standard 48- assessment accommodations
      • Standard 49- gradebook
      • Standard 50- course feedback
  • Get OSCQR
    • OSCQR-Informed Tools & Resources
    • Implementation
    • Change Log
  • RSI
    • RSI Standards
    • How OSCQR supports RSI
    • What’s new?!
    • RSI References and Resources
  • COIL
    • What is COIL?
    • How OSCQR Supports COIL
    • COIL Standards
      • COIL 1: Intercultural Communication
      • COIL 2: Cultural Awareness
      • COIL 3: Collaboration
      • COIL 4: Teamwork Skills
  • Awards
    • OSCQR Awards
    • 2025 Awardees
      • Individual Achievement Award – April Higgins
      • Program Innovation Award – Karen Caldwell
      • Institutional Excellence Award - SUNY Adirondack – Doris Ostrander
    • Acknowledgements
  • Research
  • Community
  • Certification
    • Course Design
  • Search
Design & Layout

Design & Layout

  1. Logo for Design and Layout sectionA logical, consistent, and uncluttered layout is established. The course is easy to navigate (consistent color scheme and icon layout, related content organized together, self-evident titles).
  2. Large blocks of information are divided into manageable sections with ample white space around and between the blocks.
  3. There is enough contrast between text and background for the content to be easily viewed.
  4. Instructions are provided and well written.
  5. Course is free of grammatical and spelling errors.
  6. Text is formatted with titles, headings, and other styles to enhance readability and improve the structure of the document.
  7. Flashing and blinking text are avoided.
  8. A sans-serif font with a standard size of at least 12 pt is used.
  9. When possible, information is displayed in a linear format instead of as a table.
  10. Tables are accompanied by a title and summary description.
  11. Table header rows and columns are assigned.
  12. Slideshows use a predefined slide layout and include unique slide titles.
  13. For all slideshows, there are simple, non-automatic transitions between slides.
creative commons attribution logoThe OSCQR Rubric, Dashboard, and Process are made available by the Online Learning Consortium, Inc. (OLC - http://olc.onlinelearningconsortium.org/) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC By 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The OSCQR Rubric, Dashboard, and Process were originally developed by the State University of New York, through SUNY Online, Online Teaching (https://online.suny.edu/onlineteaching/). SUNY Online and its logo are registered trademarks of the State University of New York.