QMplus Baseline Standards

For consistency and better student experience, it is recommended that you use a QMplus course template. These templates are designed with the needs of the students and principles of learning design in mind. In most cases, your local QMplus contact will set up your course areas using the appropriate template. Therefore, please reach out to your QMplus local school contact as your first step. 

If your school does not have a local QMplus contact, please raise an IT Service Desk ticket to request a TELT course template, and we will create one for you.  

For reference, the standard course format at Queen Mary is ‘Topics QMUL’. 

To ensure a user-friendly experience, structure your course areas for easy navigation, for the benefit of all users, especially those with cognitive disabilities or learning difficulties. As long lists of files or text can be difficult to navigate, avoid clutter by organising content into clearly labelled main section and sub-sections. 

Consider how students should interact with the content 

• Indicate if it is an assessment and whether compulsory (summative) or recommended (formative).   
• Specify when students should engage with the material, and if there's a sequence to follow.   
• Provide guidance on pre- and post-lecture/seminar activities. 

Tips for organising course content 

• Regularly delete outdated content to optimise platform performance. Even when hidden from students, content will slow down the pages.   
• Use the Checklist Activity to help students track their progress.   
• Enable Activity Completion to guide students and monitor progress.   
• Embed an online reading list for library resources, such as  Reading Lists Online (Talis Aspire). 
• Organise students into groups on your module page to streamline content visibility and reduce cognitive load.   

Effective organisation methods 

• Pages: Ideal for presenting extensive content such as handouts, with the added benefit of fast loading and mobile accessibility.   
• Books: Collections of pages organised into chapters, featuring a navigable table of contents, beneficial for screen reader users.   
• Folders: Convenient for grouping and downloading multiple related files.
• Tabs: Tabs are useful for organising and highlighting important content, making it easier to locate. Your school's template should already include tabs, but we recommend limiting the number of tabs to no more than five per course page.

Ask your QMplus local school contact about the school-wide approach to naming conventions. In the absence of one, ensure you remain consistent with what you choose throughout the module pages.  

File Names

Ensure that any files you upload on your module page are given a logical and understandable title. Follow the same convention for all files.   

Topics

All courses, regardless of format, will have topics. Give each topic a clear and logical title signifying its contents to the user to help them quickly identify what they are searching for.  The most common ways of structuring topics are by teaching week, by activity or by topic. 

Examples 

A module that is taught over twelve weeks where each week includes readings, lecture notes, formative assessment and lecture recordings.

An activity-based module where there are very few lectures that does not necessarily include weekly activities.

A module that contains topic-based sections.

It is important that basic information about the module is provided so that students know who is teaching them, how they can contact relevant staff, and when and where the module is taught, as well as its overall aims and objectives.  

Core information includes:  

• Module name, code, credit value.  
• Accurate and up to date name and contact details of the module convenor and other staff as appropriate (co-conveners, teaching assistants or administrative staff).   
• Office hours of all staff teaching on the module.  
• Details of the teaching schedule for the module e.g., a link to the module timetable, any extra sessions such as seminars, or labs.  

The Module Information Block can be used in any QMplus area to make it easy for staff to provide this core information in a consistent way. The block connects with our central systems and provides information automatically wherever possible to avoid duplication of effort. If your module is a standard taught module, then much of this information will appear for you automatically.  

Teaching contexts obviously differ so the block is also customisable in a variety of ways to meet local needs.  

The course template of your School will most likely have the Module Information Block enabled already. 

Important: Check that module information is displayed correctly (i.e., Course Code, Level, Credit Value, Semester). If not, please get in touch with your QMplus local school contact as a matter of urgency or raise a ticket with IT as this may indicate an issue with the systems and may prevent correct student enrolment on the course.

To maximise the accessibility of materials, provide content such as Word or PowerPoint where possible rather than PDFs.

Avoid using bespoke colour-coding schemes that may be difficult for some to read.

Microsoft applications come with in-built accessibility checkers and tools, which should be used to check the accessibility of your files before they are uploaded to QMplus. To learn how to use these tools, visit Accessibility Tools for Microsoft 365. 

Once content is on QMplus, always use the Brickfield Accessibility Checker to ensure that contrast and other factors are not problematic. Consult our Brickfield Accessibility Guidance for Staff for further resources and links to training. 

Brickfield also enables students to download files in a range of different formats to suit their needs. 

TELT’s Digital Accessibility webpage outlines the wider benefits of considering accessibility when creating digital materials and provides links to other resources that will assist you in making your teaching materials accessible.

Images must be optimised for online use to comply with accessibility standards. Most graphics or photo software packages have options to ‘save for the web’ or to save in a lower resolution than the original.

It is important to ensure a textual description has been added for screen reader users.  

Ensure that content and resources that are copyright compliant. Scanned or .pdf documents should include the relevant copyright coversheet with proper acknowledgement. Images included should have an appropriate Creative Commons licence and any necessary attribution. 

We advise that educators use Reading Lists Online (Talis Aspire) to create reading lists, as this application carries out a series of checks to ensure copyright compliance.

Conduct annual checks on content to ensure that it is up to date. Check that all links to external resources and content are active.

It is expected that all lecture slides, notes, or other materials that support in-person teaching will be provided on QMplus, with any reasons why not being made explicit. Avoid uploading images of handwritten notes. All slides and notes should be provided 24 to 48 hours in advance of the lecture to comply with recognised accessibility standards.

Check your lecture materials with the Brickfield Accessibility Checker. 

Ensure that all audio and video content embedded via our QMplus media service (not directly to QMplus) and is consistent with the Disability and Dyslexia Service’s Accessible Materials advice.

Other sources of media are also acceptable e.g. YouTube because it provides subtitling. See uploading and streaming video in QMplus.  

All modules require a structured module reading list(s) compiled using Reading Lists Online (Talis Aspire). The advantage of using Reading Lists Online is that it can be automatically integrated in a QMplus course and accessible scans of reading material can be requested and integrated automatically. For support to ensure your reading list is accessible please contact library-rlo@qmul.ac.uk.

A communication strategy should be clearly articulated to learners at the start of teaching. This should cover: 

How learners will receive important information  
Important information, such as last-minute changes to scheduled teaching sessions, can be communicated in several ways. You may consider using an announcements forum.  Messages sent via this forum will be sent as emails to all students on the module. Only teachers and administrators can post to the forum and students are automatically subscribed and cannot unsubscribe. 

You can also communicate with learners via Quickmail or direct messages in QMplus. To learn more, please read our guide on emailing and messaging your students.

How learners should communicate with staff  
Make it clear how students can contact staff for different types of issues and what response time they might expect. The first point of call for students is usually the module organiser.

You should have information regarding staff availability and working hours in your module information block. 

It is important that you explain to your students how you are going to be using QMplus and its related tools in your teaching, so that students clearly understand: 

1. What is expected of them, in terms of behaviour online, sticking to deadlines, checking for updates etc. 
2. How you organise your module, such as where you put things, how you structure your QMplus module area and why.
3. The tools you're using, such as why you may or may not be choosing to use various tools and capabilities e.g. Are your lectures available immediately on Q-Review; if not, why not? Are you using Turnitin to check for plagiarism?  

Consider offering a quick tour of your QMplus course area at the start of the term to help students familiarise themselves with where to find information.

For each assessment, students should clearly understand the following:

Submission Guidelines

• Instructions: A detailed explanation of the tasks they need to complete.
• Submission Process: How to submit their work and what specific items they need to include.
• File Naming: Any required naming conventions for their files.
• File Format: The format in which the files should be submitted.
• Word Count: The required or maximum word count.
• Deadlines: The exact due dates for submission.
• Late Submission Penalties: Information on any penalties for late submissions.
• Extenuating Circumstances: How to apply for extensions or accommodations due to extenuating circumstances.
• Marking Criteria: The criteria that will be used to assess their work.

For Summative Assessments

• Weighting: The percentage of the assessment's contribution to the final module grade.
• Contribution: How the assessment impacts the overall module total.
• Grades and Feedback: The date when students can expect to receive their grades and feedback.

To make it easier for students to find information about their assessments, use the Assessment Panel. This area centralises assessment resources that might otherwise be scattered throughout the course page, displaying them all in one place. The course organiser can choose which assessments to display in this panel.

Wherever possible, grades and feedback on assignments should be provided through QMplus so that students can find all their grades and feedback in one place (i.e. Gradesplus). To learn more, read our guide on How to Grade Assignments.