Peer Online Course Review (POCR)

Before choosing to participate in Peer Online Course Review (POCR), it helps to first understand a little about the CVC-OEI and the Course Design Rubric.

CVC-OEI stands for California Virtual Campus – Online Education Initiative.  The CVC-OEI is funded by the Chancellor's Office and consists of faculty and Distance Education professionals throughout the State, working to ensure that students have access to high-quality online courses designed to support their learning and success.

The Course Design Rubric was developed by the CVC-OEI in 2014 (last revised in 2020) and is a statewide standard for quality online course design.  The rubric incorporates best practices along with regulatory and accreditation requirements; and is used as a “checklist” when conducting Peer Online Course Review.

The Course Design Rubric covers four areas:

Section A - Content Presentation
Section B - Interaction
Section C - Assessment
Section D - Accessibility

Following a review by a team of trained faculty peer reviewers, each element in Sections A-C is marked in one of three ways:

 • Incomplete: The element is missing or present to a degree that does not adequately support student success in online learning. 
 • Aligned: The element is present and effectively designed to support student success in online learning. 
 • Additional Exemplary Elements: This designation recognizes design choices that are aligned and go even further to enhance the student experience in the online learning environment. 

The rubric is based on work already done by @ONE, the CCC Distance Education Coordinator’s group, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, the Chancellor’s Office, and a variety of other standards established at local colleges and nationally.

Peer Online Course Review (POCR) is a formal process through which a faculty member can voluntarily request to have their course reviewed by their peers, using the Course Design Rubric. The primary goals are to:

 • Improve course design and accessibility
 • Improve student success and completion

In addition, POCR results in:

 • Aligning a course to the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric
 • Obtaining a “Quality Reviewed” badge

• A deeper understanding of widely practiced online course design standards
 • A class that works better for you and for students, saving you both time
 • A class that is more polished and professional looking
 • An opportunity to learn new approaches to teaching online in a safe and supportive environment
 • Membership in a community of practice in which faculty share their challenges, develop new approaches, and support one another
 • A class that is more equitable, and accessible to all students
 • Improved quality in your other courses. Past participants report that what they learned in POCR positively impacted their other online and in-person classes!
 • A stipend of $715

In addition to many of the same benefits faculty will see, such as a user-friendly class that is both accessible and more equitable, students will benefit from:

 • A more engaging and inclusive learning experience
 • Clear expectations, instructions, and supports
 • More varied and authentic assessments
 • A course that meets the highest quality standards in the State

Expect a thorough, in-depth review of every aspect of your course. No course will align with every standard in the first review. This can be challenging. It’s hard to hear that course is not perfect given all the work you’ve put in. Even if your course is close to "alignment," reviewers will still give suggestions to make it even better.  For example: This element is in alignment. Well done! To move into the "exemplary" category, you might consider adding...

POCR will help you build a better class, but it will NOT...
 • Be mandatory
 • Be shared with your supervisor
 • Be part of your faculty evaluation

POCR takes place in the Canvas environment. It is largely asynchronous and you will work independently on your course updates. However this is also a collaborative process and you are expected to participate in occasional Zoom meetings with your peer review team. 

Participants have 1 full semester and the following intersession to complete the updates needed to fully align their course to the Course Design Rubric.

The amount of time needed will vary based on how aligned your course already is to the rubric. A sample schedule might look like this…

Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer Sessions:

Week 3 - Orientation to the POCR Process
Weeks 4-5 - Complete Course Self-Evaluation
Week 5 - Create your POCR Sandbox in Canvas
Weeks 6-8 - Wait for Peer Reviews to be Completed
Week 9 - Meet with Your Review Team
Weeks 10 - 13 Make Your Course Updates
Weeks 14-15 Peer Review Team reviews your updates
Weeks 16 Meet with Your Review Team

Winter/Summer Intersession - You have until the end of the following intersession to complete any additional recommended changes to achieve aligned status.

By Week 6 of Intersession - Meet with Lead Reviewer for final approval

Full-time and adjunct faculty with a current teaching assignment for the semester are eligible to participate in POCR. 

Applicants must:
 • Have participated in online teaching professional development (e.g. SMC’s Online Teaching & Design (OTD) class, an @One class, or equivalent to demonstrate an Advanced knowledge of teaching in Canvas). 
 • Have a “student-ready” Canvas shell for an asynchronous or hybrid course for review (we do not review shells for on-ground classes).

Space is limited and we prioritize first time participants who are willing to make their newly aligned course shell available for adoption by other faculty in their department.

Apply now to participate in POCR for Spring 2025! (opens in new window)

"The heart and soul of this training are undeniably the POCR reviewers. From day one, they exhibited a commitment to genuinely guide and enhance the educational journey. The POCR process with SMC was not just a standard review, but a holistic educational experience. Thanks to the unwavering support, information, and guidance from the POCR reviewers, I feel more equipped than ever to deliver high-quality education to my students."

Dr. Amy Andrada, Sociology

“The POCR was a lifeline for me as I developed a new hybrid class for the fall of 2020. My experience with Canvas was limited, and it was hard to know if my ideas for assignments were coalescing into a legitimate course offering. My reviewer nonjudgmentally offered insights on matters big and small AND there were follow up activities to make sure I confronted and resolved the issues we discussed.” - Janine Poreba, ESL

• CVC-OEI Rubric (opens in new window)
• Apply now to participate in POCR for Spring 2025!
• Teaching Online with Canvas SMC PD Roadmap (opens in new window)
• Become a reviewer (opens in new window)
• For more information, please contact  POCR@smc.edu