Wes Tobin, assistant professor of physics, received a Quality Matters certification for his course ST-A105: Stars and Galaxies.

Quality Matters (QM) is a nonprofit organization that provides the gold standard for certifying the quality of online courses and programs. During the QM process, courses are reviewed by a team of three faculty members with current experience in teaching online and a subject matter expert. The review team uses the QM Rubric for Higher Education, which includes 42 specific review standards. In order to meet QM standards, the course must meet all 23 essential standards and earn 85% of the total possible points.

The online course, Stars and Galaxies, focuses on topics including the physical properties of stars, principles of spectroscopy as applied to astronomy, double stars, variable stars, star clusters, gaseous nebulae, stellar motions and distributions, Milky Way system, external galaxies, expanding universe, and cosmic time scale.

Tobin received his Ed.D. in Science from Ball State University, his Master of Astrophysics from Iowa State University, and his Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics from Indiana State University. His current research interests include observational astronomy and educational research in the physical sciences.

Tobin joined the IU East School of Natural Science and Mathematics in fall 2015. He received IU East’s Horizon Service Award in 2022. The award recognizes excellence in service by an IU East faculty member.

About IU East Online Programs
IU East’s online degree programs offer the high quality of an Indiana University degree to students throughout Indiana, nationally and internationally. IU East offers 52 options for students to complete a bachelor’s degree or certificate online in English with an emphasis in Technical and Professional Writing, Mathematics, Natural Science and Mathematics with a Mathematics Concentration, Communication Studies, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Political Science, Psychology, General Studies, an R.N. to B.S.N. Mobility Option, and more. IU East also offers a Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Mathematics.