Master Trainer Mary Wells

Mary Wells, principal author and co-director of the 2003 FIPSE grant that funded the initial development of Quality Matters, continues her passion for education and technology. She is dedicated to online learning as a means of expanding student access to quality educational programs. In her current QM role, she leads training courses and participates in national conferences. As quality standards in online learning have evolved, Mary Wells shares her personal story of the Quality Matters initiative from the beginning.

"In the early days, many of us pioneering online learning felt a real urgency about trying to figure out how to assure quality in our online courses. In 2003, the 19 partner institutions of MarylandOnline applied for a Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant around this idea of trying to better understand what a quality online course looked like and to develop a process to review the course and report on it.  That is how Quality Matters got underway, " said Wells.

Key issues that early collaborators worked through included course design, research and best practices, and teaching. According to Wells, "The process invited amazing background and collaborative feedback and was met with enthusiastic interest by colleges and universities across the nation. It was truly unimaginable."

On the successful collaborations, Wells continued, "It was the best team that I have ever worked with and it was a powerful experience. The Quality Matters success story and its evolution is something that I share with hundreds of talented individuals. "

Since 2003, Mary has presented the Quality Matters tools and trainings and has addressed other online learning issues at national conferences. She was recognized by the Instructional Technology Council in February 2006 and received a lifetime achievement award.