You Are Here:

Peer Online Course Review (POCR)

Peer Online Course Review

Peer Online Course Review, also known as POCR, is the Distance Education Committee’s process to identify and badge quality online courses.

What is a Quality online course?

A Course is considered to be “Quality Reviewed” when it has met the requirements of the CVC Course Design Rubric.

What is the CVC Course Design Rubric?

CVC Course Design Rubric

The CVC Course Design Rubric is a course quality rubric that is used across all California Community Colleges. There are 4 sections and 44 elements in the rubric. Faculty who design and a facilitate an online course that is aligned to each of the 44 elements of the rubric meet the requirements to be considered a quality online course.

What does it take to earn the Quality Reviewed badge?

Quality Reviewed Badge

The Palomar POCR process is a process where a course is reviewed by several peers, as well as our Lead POCR Reviewer, in order to determine whether the course has met all of the 44 elements of the CVC Course Design Rubric.

Courses that are determined to have met the requirements of the rubric will be certified through our local process and will have a “Quality-Reviewed” badge in the CVC Course Exchange.

Palomar’s Local POCR Process:

From POET, to Quality Quest, to POCR, and ultimately earning a Quality-Reviewed badge.

Participants in the  Spring  POCR Cohort will refine a 100% online course using the CVC-OEI Rubric’s research-based standards and interaction with your colleagues. We’ll focus on content presentation, assessment, interaction, and accessibility. 

Below is a big-picture checklist to help you better understand the flow of the peer review process. As you work with your team to review your course and develop a revision plan, you’ll create a more granular, customized checklist specifically for your course. 

Participants in the  Spring  POCR Cohort will refine a 100% online course using the CVC-OEI Rubric’s research-based standards and interaction with your colleagues. We’ll focus on content presentation, assessment, interaction, and accessibility. 

Below is a big picture checklist to help you better understand the flow of the peer review process. As you work with your team to review your course and develop a plan for revisions, you’ll develop a more granular, customized checklist specifically for your course. 

Zoom sessions will be held throughout this process to help you succeed!

Step 1

  1. Complete POET 
  2. Review the @ONE Course titled:  “Course Design Resources.”  This course walks you through how to use the CVC Rubric to review a course with examples and best practices. This is a very helpful guide!
  3. Self-enroll and review the information in Quality Quest
  4. Create your course master shell
    1. Name your MasterShell using this format:  MasterShell_CourseC-ID_LastName (Example: MasterShell_MATH110_Bell)
    2. Copy the content of the course to be reviewed into this shell.

Step 2

  1. Complete a self-assessment of your course using the CVC Rubric. Rubric file name should follow this structure:
    1. Reviewee First initial last name_ Course_Self_semesteryear_CVCRubric.pdf
    2. Example:  kfalcone_HE100_Self_F21_CVCRubric.pdf
  2. Complete the POCR Participation Form 
    1. This acknowledges that you have completed steps 1 and 2 and are ready to move forward in the POCR process.

Step 3

Add the POCR Leads to your course. Amy Caterina acaterina@palomar.edu and Linda Morrow lmorrow@palomar.edu
The POCR Leads will review your course and self-assessment to determine your readiness for the POCR process.

  1. If you meet or exceed POCR readiness, you will work directly with Amy and Linda to complete the POCR process.
  2. If you are approaching POCR readiness (Almost There), you will be placed into a  POCR cohort. You and your faculty cohort will review each other’s courses using the CVC Rubric.
  3. The Peer review rubric file name should follow this structure:
    1. Reviewee First initial last name_ Course_reviewer first initial last name_semesteryear_CVCRubric.pdf
    2. Example:  kfalcone_HE100_acaterina_F21_CVCRubric.pdf
  4. Each faculty member will receive two CVC Rubric peer reviews. Once you complete the CVC Rubric for each course, schedule a meeting with your cohort to review the rubrics. This is a great opportunity to ask for guidance from your peers if there are elements scored as “incomplete” and you are not sure how to move them to aligned or exemplary. 

Move on to Step 4

  1. If you need to make improvements to meet POCR readiness (Needs Improvement), you will continue to prepare your class with assistance from a POCR lead and Instructional Designer.
    1. When the Instructional Designer confirms all elements are aligned, the Instructional Designer will notify the POCR Leads who will either put you in a cohort (Almost There) or confirm and submit your name and course to the CVC as having received a Quality Reviewed badge.

Step 4

  1. Make changes to your course to bring your course into alignment with the CVC Rubric.  All elements must at least be “Aligned” and faculty should be reaching for “Exemplary.”
  2. Track suggested changes from your peers and changes you made to your course using the POCR Review Change Matrix (you will be submitting ONE change matrix to your POCR cohort leader in Step 5).   Make a copy and change the name of the Matrix for your Cohort. 
  3. The Change Matrix file name should follow this structure:
    1. Reviewee CohortNumber_Lastnames_CourseNumber_semester year_POCR_RCM
    2. Example:  Cohort1_Caterina125_Morrow120_Hiro100_F21_POCR_RCM
  4. Submit the Final POCR Review Form where you will upload the POCR Review Change Matrix and your two CVC Peer Reviews.
  5. Your POCR leader will review your Change Matrix and communicate directly with each faculty member to address any questions or concerns about the course.

Step 5

  1. A Palomar College POCR Lead will review the peer reviews, review the change matrix, and conduct a final review of your course to certify it as a local POCR reviewed course.  
  2. A Palomar College POCR Lead will work directly with the faculty member if there are any remaining issues, questions or concerns about the course.

Final Approval

  1. After final approval by the Lead POCR Team and Instructional Designer, the course will be submitted to the state to be verified and badged as a Quality Reviewed Course. 
  2. Congratulations!

How to get started on POCR

Interested in knowing more about the POCR process? Fill out the Peer Online Course Review (POCR) Interest Form!

Already have a State certified POCR course and thinking about becoming a POCR Reviewer? Sign up here!

For more information, contact Professors Amy Caterina at acaterina@palomar.edu or Linda Morrow at lmorrow@palomar.edu.