Peer Online Course Review

About MVC's Peer Online Course Review Process

Peer Online Course Review (POCR) allows faculty teaching online to have their course reviewed by their peers. This local review process helps improve course content, design and accessibility, as well as serves to better align content with the CVC-OEI rubric.

Goals and Benefits

  1. Serve as an exciting and engaging professional development experience for new and experienced online faculty.
  2. Lead to more engaging and satisfactory online experiences for both instructors and students.
  3. Create a community of practice in which instructors share their challenges, develop new approaches, and support one another.
  4. Result in more aligned "Quality Reviewed" courses from Moreno Valley College in the CVC Exchange.
  5. Improve the quality of all courses taught by faculty participants. Past participants have shared that the course design principles learned in POCR positively impact other online and web-enhanced courses they teach.
POCR Completion Badge

After Completion

Upon completion, faculty earn:

  • The POCR Aligned badge. This serves to represent a commitment to teaching and learning in the online environment.
  • A Quality Badge on their course in the CVC-OEI course exchange.
  • RCCD certification for online teaching.

About the POCR Team

The POCR team is comprised of faculty and classified staff, and is led by the Distance Education Committee. Faculty receive support from several members of the POCR team in this process: POCR leads, a POCR mentor, POCR anonymous reviewers, and a District accessibility specialist.

General Timeline

In a 16-week term, the typical timeline for POCR completion is:

  1. Week 2: Complete training and application
  2. Weeks 2 - 4: Assigned mentor and complete self-assessment
  3. Weeks 4 - 6: If accepted, finalize any updates for review
  4. Weeks 6 - 8: First POCR review completed
  5. Weeks 9 - 11: Updates (if needed) completed
  6. Week 12: Second review completed
  7. Weeks 13 - 15: Additional steps (if needed) and POCR Aligned!

Review and Approval Process

This process has been adapted from City College of San Francisco and recommended by the MVC Distance Education Committee. You must be enrolled in the DE Den to access some of the resources on this page.

Self-Enroll in the DE Den

  1. Get informed
    • Attend an informational session to learn about the POCR process, watch a recorded session in the DE Den, or meet with a POCR mentor.
  2. Get Your Course Ready: Guiding Questions
    • Ensure you’re familiar with the OEI Course Design Rubric and integrate best practices into your online course and review information about online training for Distance Education faculty.
    • Select a course that would offer the most benefits for students, faculty, and your discipline to become aligned. Here are some questions to consider:
      • Have you taught the course online in Canvas for at least one term?
      • Is the course part of an ADT, Gen Ed Transfer, or CTE program?
      • Are you planning on continuing to teach this course online in the future?
    • Request a POCR development shell and import your course.
  1. Submit POCR Application
    • The application asks you about your online course and your online teaching experience. We want to make sure your course is a good fit for POCR.
    • Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.
  2. Complete Self-Assessment with a Mentor
    • After you submit the application, you will be assigned a mentor to complete the self-assessment (sections A through C) for your course using the Course Review Prep Form.
    • If you need help completing either of these self-assessments, your mentor will be available to answer questions and offer clarification of criteria.
  3. Application Approved
    • After your application and self-assessment is reviewed and approved, you will sign a POCR agreement and receive a Sandbox/Master Shell to import your course for review.
    • If your application is not accepted, you will continue receiving support from the POCR team to prepare for future applications.

POCR Application Course Review Prep Form

  1. Work in Your Master Shell
    • Based on the results of your self-assessment, work on your course using resources provided on POCR Resources for aligning your course.
    • You’re not alone in this work! Your mentor can help direct you to additional resources and be a sounding board. 
  1. Course is Reviewed
    • Two anonymous POCR reviewers and the RCCD Accessibility Specialist will review your course using a Course Design Tracking Plan. Your mentor will go over the results with you and make sure you have any resources needed.
  1. Make Revisions
    • This step takes a lot of time! Continue to communicate with your mentor as you make all needed revisions to bring your course into alignment. Record your work in the Tracking Plan. 
  1. Final Review
    • When you and your mentor agree that your course is ready, submit your course for final review. Both anonymous reviewers will sign off when all areas in the Rubric are aligned.
  2. Achieve POCR alignment
    • Congratulations! You have made significant strides in creating a much more equitable, rich, and valuable learning space for your students.

Your POCR Resources

This process has been adapted from City College of San Francisco and recommended by the MVC Distance Education Committee.

Important Resources

POCR Faculty

These faculty have successfully completed the POCR process.

  • Monica Eastridge
  • Kanya Godde Chrisco
  • Jose Oceguera
  • Kyla Rankin
  • Debbi Renfrow
  • Samantha St. Claire
  • Melissa Thompson

These faculty are part of the POCR review teams.

  • James Bany
  • Brielle Erike
  • Carrie Patterson
  • Kyla Rankin
  • Kari Richards-Dinger
  • Michael Schwartz
  • Angela Thomas