Certification

Professional Development Paths and OSCQR Certifications

To earn OSCQR Self-Assessment or Reviewer Certification, you must:

Attend/Complete the Introduction to OSCQR.
Review an online course using OSCQR and complete the full OSCQR Review and Refresh process, including presenting your suggestions to the instructor and discussing your recommended action plan, assisting the instructor to prioritize improvements and following up to understand what improvements were made, why/why not, and what the plan is for the continued improvement of the course from the instructor’s perspective. If you have a course that you have already reviewed and in collaboration with faculty, you can use that. I want to make it easier and quicker for you to get the certification. So, if you have any courses you have reviewed and refreshed with OSCQR and can provide the rubrics and the reflections for that work as evidence, that can be considered for the OSCQR Reviewer Certification.
Submit the filled out OSCQR Rubric as part of your evidence.
Write and submit a reflection of a minimum of 250 words documenting your course review and lessons learned that documents the review and refresh process you completed and what you learned from both the review and from conversations with the instructor about the refresh process and how that will inform your practice as an online course reviewer in general as well as in your next course review.

After you complete the introductory webinar, you will need an online course to review. If you have a connection with someone you know that teaches a fully online course, you could reach out to them to secure permission to use their course for your review. The course should be free of learner interaction, so you are just looking at the instructional design of the course. As a reviewer you will need to meet with the instructor after your review to discuss your suggested changes. Documenting that interaction and what changes the instructor decides to make based on your review is important to document in your reflection. That is a key part of being an online course reviewer. What did you learn from giving feedback? Were they receptive? What did they choose to change in their course based on your feedback? Why or why not? What did you learn from that interaction that will inform your future reviews?

Once you have a course, you will use what you learned in the introductory webinars to complete a full course self-assessment or course review, looking at every OSCQR standard and determining if it needs any improvement. You will fully detail and document your suggestions for improvements on the .pdf of the rubric downloaded for this purpose.

When completed, for the Reviewer Certification, you will meet with the instructor to review your suggestions and discuss priorities for the improvements. Once the instructor has had time to consider the suggestions, and make improvements you will follow up with them to understand what they improved, and what went into their decisions… the goal is to understand the instructor context, to understand how they arrived at priorities to address, and what they plan to do regarding ongoing continuous improvements associated with your review. Yor reflection should include information about this full review and refresh process.

Keep in mind that the point of the OSCQR self-assessment or review is not to rubber stamp the quality of an already well-designed course, but to consider what could be improved in any course even if it is already well designed – in the spirit of continuous improvement and the understanding that there is always something that can be improved.

For courses that are already quite good, I recommend that the instructor/reviewer spend time looking deeply into the suggestions and resources found on pages on the OSCQR website to see if anything resonates.

For example, what is one way you could improve the ability for learners to understand and navigate the course? (e.g., a video tour of the course to showcase important areas or information as part of the instructor’s video welcome).
What could you do to improve the trust and sense of community in the course? (e.g., create a weekly magical question posted in a discussion area dedicated for community building, or a themed photo Friday – where everyone that wants to participate posts a photo of what is on their desk, night table, or their pet, or a baby picture 😊)
What one thing could you do to help learners develop self-regulated learning skills?
What one thing could you do to support the development of their sense of self-efficacy? (send a midterm email individually to every learner telling them one unique thing you observed about their learning and progress, and that you believe in them).
What is one thing you could adjust to be more learner-centered? (e.g., instead of your power points, have the learners put together presentations, become “experts” on a topic, and lead the class discussions on those topics).
What could you do to improve accessibility of the materials for your course? (e.g., check your tables, images, and pdfs).
What could you add to your course to demonstrate compliance with the RSI regulation? (e.g., do you specifically refer to how you will address Regular and Substantive Interaction in your course and syllabus using those specific words?
Do you have a statement in your syllabus regarding your expectations for learner use of AI and/or the campus/departmental policy?
Are there any critical reflection activities you yourself could undertake to interrogate your own implicit biases?(e.g., take the Harvard Implicit Bias test.
What one thing could you do in the design or facilitation of your course that would address what you learn from that critical activity to address DEI?
What is one thing you could do in your course to help learners feel like they belong?

The time it takes to complete the review varies from person to person. There is no cost for SUNY staff/IDs/Faculty.

The Trainer Certification is essentially the same as for the Reviewer, but you must submit evidence for 5 course reviews/refreshes, not including your own course, or the one you may use for the Reviewer certification. Evidence will include separate rubrics for each of the 5 courses you review, and a reflection that covers each course, and lessons learned from the review process and interactions with the instructors, and how you will use that to inform your future OSCQR online faculty training initiatives/practice.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if at any time you need any assistance or further explanations.

To register for OSCQR Introductory sessions and formal certification, please visit the OSCQR Spring 2026 webinar series registration website.

OSCQR Certification:

SUNY Online OSCQR Self-Assessment Refresh – Certifies that the holder has been trained and has completed an online course review and refresh on their own online course. This certification requires verification of the Introduction to OSCQR workshop completion, and evidence of having completed the full online course quality review and refresh process with the OSCQR self-assessment rubric on your own online course*.
SUNY Online Certified OSCQR Reviewer – Certifies that that holder is trained and has sufficient experience to review online courses. This certification requires verification of the Introduction to OSCQR, or Reviewer workshop completion, and evidence of completing the full OSCQR “review and refresh” process on at least one online course, other than your own*.
SUNY Online Certified OSCQR Trainer – Certifies that the holder is trained and has sufficient experience to train others in the use of OSCQR tools and resources to conduct online course reviews/self-assessments and refreshes. This certification requires verification of the Introduction to OSCQR, or Reviewer workshop completion, and evidence of experience completing the full OSCQR “review and refresh” process on at least five fully online courses (not including a self-assessment on your own online course*).

* The same course may not be used as evidence for multiple certifications.

SUNY Online Certified OSCQR Implementation – TBD. Certifies that that holder is trained and has developed a plan for a larger-scale online course quality initiative using the OSCQR Implementation Plan template. This certification requires verification of Designing an OSCQR Implementation Plan workshop completion, and evidence of completing the development of a larger-scale online course quality initiative implementation plan.

OSCQR Reviewer/Trainer Certification is recommended for anyone interested in joining the SUNY Online Teaching Course Reviewer Network.

View the OSCQR Collection of certifications/badges.

Contact Alexandra M. Pickett for an OSCQR consultation or more information about obtaining and a formal OSCQR certification. Examples of evidence required for certification are available upon request.