HQCDP — High-Quality Course Design Program

The Problem We Solved

Courses built without a framework produce inconsistent quality, unsustainable faculty workload, and compliance gaps that surface too late to fix.

Grading Overload

Faculty spend 60–70% of grading time on low-level recall items that could be auto-graded, leaving no bandwidth for meaningful feedback on student writing and analysis.

Engagement Gaps

Courses lack structured, substantive interaction. Students disengage before Week 4. Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) compliance becomes a last-minute documentation scramble rather than a design feature.

Alignment Drift

Learning objectives, activities, and assessments drift apart over semesters of ad-hoc revision. Quality Matters reviews expose structural gaps too late — after students have already experienced the misalignment.

The HQCDP Model

A discipline-agnostic framework built on four phases and eight modules

Learn

Instructional Content (IC 1–3)

OER readings, videos, primary sources — three content layers per module

Practice

Learning Activities (2 Attempts)

Key terms, identifications, timelines — auto-graded with two attempts for mastery

Apply

Discussion Board & Portfolio Pieces

Analysis, argument, peer engagement — instructor-graded with rubrics

Assess

IC 4 Quiz & Exams

IC 4 primary source quiz per module, plus midterm & final exams

8-Module Framework

1

Module 1

Portfolio Piece Submission

Discussion Board

2

Module 2

Portfolio Piece (saved)

Discussion Board

3

Module 3

Portfolio Piece Submission

Discussion Board

4

Module 4

Portfolio Piece (saved)

Discussion Board

Midterm Exam

5

Module 5

Portfolio Piece Submission

Discussion Board

6

Module 6

Portfolio Piece (saved)

Discussion Board

7

Module 7

Final Portfolio Submission

Discussion Board

8

Module 8

Discussion Board

Final Exam

IC 4: Primary Source Analysis — 8 source types across the semester

Every module includes a fourth instructional content layer — a primary source document analyzed through a timed, auto-graded quiz.

1

What Is a Primary Source?

Source types, context, bias recognition

2

Political Documents

Speeches, legislation, treaties

3

Personal Narratives

Diaries, letters, oral histories

4

Visual & Material Culture

Photographs, maps, artifacts

5

Economic Data

Census records, trade logs, labor reports

6

Media & Propaganda

Newspapers, posters, broadcasts

7

Legal Records

Court decisions, constitutional debates

8

Synthesis

Multiple sources on one event

By the Numbers

22/22

QM Standards

48+

RSI Touchpoints

49%

Auto-Graded

$0

Textbook Cost

Regular Substantive Interaction — 48+ touchpoints per course

8 Discussion Boards with required instructor responses
8 Portfolio pieces with individual feedback
8 IC 4 primary-source quizzes with instructor annotations
24+ auto-graded activities with built-in remediation
2 proctored exams with post-exam review

RSI is designed into the architecture — not documented after the fact.

135-Hour Workload Compliance — CITL-based documentation

Reading

Practice

Apply

Assess

~5 hrs ~4 hrs ~4 hrs ~3.5 hrs

~16.5 hrs/module × 8 modules + exams = 135 documented hours. Open Calculator →

Cognitive Load Management — Learn → Practice → Apply → Assess

Scaffolded progression: each phase builds on the previous
2 attempts on practice activities reduce test anxiety
Low-stakes before high-stakes: auto-graded practice precedes instructor-graded work
Consistent structure: same 4-phase pattern every module reduces extraneous load