The Exemplary Course Rubric has been updated for Fall 2025, learn more.
The Exemplary Course Program recognizes faculty and course designers whose courses demonstrate best practices in four major areas: course design, interaction and collaboration, assessment, and learner support. Submitted courses are evaluated by a peer group of faculty and staff using the Exemplary Course Program Rubric.
Download Exemplary Course Rubric (PDF)
The Exemplary Course Program Rubric uses numerical point values for each standard. These point values (from 1 to 5) have been assigned to indicate the relative importance of that standard, with values of 5 representing compulsory standards. Compulsory standards must be met to receive an Exemplary Course Award. The 16 compulsory standards are as follows:
Course Design addresses elements of instructional design. For the purpose of this rubric, course design includes such elements as structure of the course, learning objectives, organization of content, and instructional strategies.
| Standard Subcategories | Exemplary Standard | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Goals and Objectives | 1.1 Goals and objectives are clearly written as measurable outcomes to ensure that learners are aware of course expectations (e.g., SMART) | 5 |
| 1.2 Goals and objectives are easily located within the course and visible in a variety of areas (e.g., within the syllabus and each individual learning unit) | 4 | |
| Content Composition and Structure | 1.3 Content is made available or grouped into manageable segments (e.g., presented in distinct learning units or modules) | 5 |
| 1.4 Content is enhanced with multimedia (e.g., video, audio, images) | 4 | |
| 1.5 Course design is consistent, and content is well-organized | 4 | |
| Learner Engagement | 1.6 Course activities are designed in a way that clearly demonstrate their connection to learning outcomes | 5 |
| 1.7 Course design provides clear and structured guidance that helps learners engage with the content and proceed through the course (e.g., clear instructions, course orientation) | 5 | |
| Technology Use | 1.8 LMS tools are used efficiently to reduce the labor intensity of learning (e.g., providing links to needed resources, using native LMS tools where available) | 4 |
| 1.9 Course contains technology to enhance the learning experience by actively engaging students with the course content (e.g., interactive e-textbooks, incorporating videos and podcasts, links to online databases) | 3 | |
| 1.10 Technology is used in ways that transcend traditional, teacher-centered instruction (e.g., peer-led instruction, personalized learning pathways, flipped classroom) | 3 | |
| Accessibility of Course Design | 1.11 The design and delivery of content supports inclusive pedagogy by integrating alternative options (e.g., transcripts), enabling assistive processes (e.g., voice recognition), and provides different options to support and engage students with diverse learning needs and preferences | 5 |
| 1.12 Text, images, and other multimedia are accessible | 5 | |
| 1.13 The course engages students through diverse sensory and learning methods, allowing each learner to interact with the content according to their preference and need | 4 |
Interaction and Collaboration can take many forms. The ECP criteria place emphasis on the type and amount of interaction and collaboration within an online environment.
Interaction denotes communication between and among learners and instructors, synchronously or asynchronously. Collaboration is a subset of interaction and refers specifically to those activities in which groups are working interdependently toward a shared result. This differs from group activities that can be completed by learners working independently of one another and then combining the results. A learning community is defined here as the sense of belonging to a group.
| Standard Subcategories | Exemplary Standard | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration Strategies | 2.1 Course activities include interactive components/elements (e.g., role playing, peer reviews, group projects, discussions) | 5 |
| 2.2 Communication strategies promote critical reflection or other higher order thinking aligned with learning objectives | 4 | |
| 2.3 There are a variety of collaborative opportunities for learners to communicate (e.g., live meetings, chat, discussions, messages) | 3 | |
| Development of Learning Community | 2.4 Collaboration activities reinforce course content and learning outcomes, while building workplace-useful skills (e.g., teamwork, cooperation, negotiation, consensus-building) | 4 |
| 2.5 Learner-to-learner as well as learner-to-instructor interactions are required as part of the course | 3 | |
| 2.6 Course activities are designed to help build a sense of community, rather than each learner working independently | 2 | |
| Interaction Logistics | 2.7 Learners are provided a rubric or scoring guidelines to evaluate participation and interaction | 5 |
| 2.8 Guidelines are written clearly (e.g., quantity of interactions, levels of participation) | 4 | |
| 2.9 Expectations for interaction are clearly outlined (e.g., what constitutes a substantive response in discussion forums) | 4 |
Assessment focuses on instructional activities designed to measure progress toward learning outcomes, provide feedback to learners and instructors, and/or enable grading or evaluation. This section addresses the quality and type of learner assessments within the course.
| Standard Subcategories | Exemplary Standard | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Learner Expectations | 3.1 It is clear to learners how performance in assessments will be evaluated (e.g., rubric, scoring guidelines, section in syllabus) | 5 |
| 3.2 Assessments measure the goals, objectives, and content to which they are aligned | 4 | |
| 3.3 Instructions are written clearly and presented inline (e.g., grading, acceptable file formats, due dates, number of attempts, required posts) | 4 | |
| 3.4 Templates or examples of quality work are provided to the learner where appropriate (e.g., successful research papers from prior semesters, template with guidelines, written discussion responses) | 4 | |
| Assessment Design | 3.5 Formative and summative assessments occur regularly throughout the course to gauge student success and inform learner progress toward course objectives | 5 |
| 3.6 Multiple types of assessments are used (e.g., research project, objective test, discussions, etc.) | 5 | |
| 3.7 Assessments are designed to mimic authentic environments to facilitate knowledge transfer (e.g., role playing, scenario-based questions, clinical experience, practicum) | 4 | |
| Learner Self-Assessment | 3.8 Opportunities for learner self-assessment and progress tracking are provided (e.g., practice test/quiz, journal, self reflection, knowledge check, etc.) | 3 |
| 3.9 Self assessments are purposeful and clearly marked as such | 2 |
Learner Support addresses the support resources made available to learners taking the course. Such resources may be accessible within or external to the course environment. Learner support resources address a variety of learner services.
| Standard Subcategories | Exemplary Standard | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation to Course and LMS | 4.1 Orientation materials explain how to navigate both the LMS and the course | 5 |
| 4.2 Orientation materials are readily identifiable within the context of the course | 3 | |
| 4.3 Information regarding required/optional technology, including how to access/acquire, and any additional costs, is provided | 3 | |
| Instructor Contact Information and Communication | 4.4 Contact information for the instructor is easy to find | 5 |
| 4.5 Instructor methods for collecting and returning work are clearly explained (e.g., submission details, acceptance of early or late assignments) | 4 | |
| 4.6 Acceptable communication methods for contacting the instructor are identified and included (e.g., email, phone, messages, chat, social media) | 4 | |
| 4.7 Expected response time for instructor replies and grading/feedback is included | 4 | |
| 4.8 The instructor’s role within the course is explained (e.g., full instructor versus facilitator of self-paced course, etc.) | 4 | |
| Course/Institutional Policies and Support | 4.9 Course/institutional policies are clear and easy to find | 5 |
| 4.10 Information on how to obtain technical and academic support is clear and easy to find | 4 | |
| 4.11 Information on how to access disability services is clear and easy to find | 4 | |
| Digital Accessibility and Technical Factors | 4.12 Course materials use widely accepted formats to ensure usability and compatibility with various devices and assistive technologies (e.g., HTML, DOCX, PPTX) | 5 |
| 4.13 Lengthy/large files are broken into smaller segments for improved content consumption and usability | 3 | |
| 4.14 Multimedia is optimized for web delivery and accessibility (e.g., videos are streamed whenever possible, graphics are optimized for web delivery, captions and transcripts are provided) | 2 | |
| 4.15 If technology is required for a specific learning activity, the link to that technology is included along with the instructions and a link to any accessibility information | 2 | |
| Feedback | 4.16 Learners can give formative feedback to the instructor regarding course design, content, and presentation of course delivery | 5 |
| 4.17 Feedback mechanisms allow learners to participate anonymously in course evaluation (e.g., course evaluation information is listed in syllabus, via course announcement, link to institutional announcement, etc.) | 3 |
There are 191 total points available in the Exemplary Course Program Rubric. In order to receive an Exemplary course rating, a score of at least 85% must be earned. Ratings of Compelling and Promising will be awarded with scores of 80% and 70%, respectively.
Exemplary 85% (162 points or more)
Compelling 80% (153-161 points)
Promising 70% (134-152 points)
For more information about the Exemplary Course Program, please visit anthology.com/exemplary-course-program or email ecp@anthology.com
815-753-8100
servicedesk@niu.edu