a map to prepare for curriculum review next route 2 review press ‘escape’ key to exit
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A Map to Prepare for
Curriculum ReviewNEXT
Route 2 Review
PRESS ‘ESCAPE’ KEY TO EXIT
How to use the map
The following map has been designed to lead you through the required processes for curriculum review.
Although not exhaustive, this route map will allow you to guide yourself through the ……
The map is easy to navigate. The main line ----- takes you through the eight main stations to complete a review. The lines coming off these main stations give you more specific links to individual topics.
Click on the station, or topic, you wish to find out about. Once you have read the information just click on the logo at the bottom of every page and it will return you to the main map.
NEXTBACK
QMU GUIDANCE
PROGRAMME SUPPORT
MARKET & RATIONALEFORPROGRAMME PROGRAMME AIMS
& OUTCOMES
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE, CONTENT & DELIVERY
QUALITY ASSURANCE & ONGOING EVALUATION
CURRICULUM REVIEWROUTE MAP
BACK
MAKING A START
TOPICAL ISSUES
Programme Specification Form
Suggested Template for
Review Document
Guidance Notes
Regulations
Quality Assurance Handbook
Roles & Responsibilities
Aim ofCurriculum Review
Introduction
Student Engagement
Internationalisation
Employer Engagement
QAA
Codes of
Practice
Student
Input
Employer
Expectations &
Opportunitie
s
Professional &
Statutory Body
Requirements
Sustainability
Changes in
Student D
emand
QE
LTA
University
Strategy
Comparable
AwardsGraduate Attributes
How to Write Good Learning Outcomes
Subject Benchmark Outcomes
Good Practice in Learning and Teaching
PDP Requirements / Good Practice
Constructive Alignment
Personal Academic Tutoring
SCQF Levels & Descriptors Assessment Design
& Good Practice Provision of
Feedback
Teachability
Employability
Digital Literacies
MAKING A START
The Making a Start line introduces you to the purpose of the route map and a of the aims and involvement within a curriculum review.
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the
Making A Start station and map.
• Introduction
• Aim of curriculum review
• Roles & responsibilities
QMU GUIDANCE
The QMU Guidance line provides internal links to help develop your curriculum review.
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the
QMU Guidance station and map.
• Regulations
• Guidance notes
• Suggested template for review document
• Programme specification form
• Quality assurance handbook
MARKET & RATIONALE FOR PROGRAMME
The Market & Rationale for Programme line takes you through …..
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the
Market & Rationale for Programme station and map.
• University strategy
• Changes in student demand
• QELTA
• Comparable awards
• Employer expectations & opportunities
• Professional & statutory body requirements• Sustainability
PROGRAMME AIMS & OUTCOMES
The Programme Aims & Outcomes line summarises ……
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the
Programme Aims & Outcomes station and map.
• SCQF levels & descriptors
• Graduate attributes
• How to write good learning outcomes
• Subject benchmark statements
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE, CONTENT & DELIVERY
The Programme Structure, Content & Delivery line provides ….
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the
Programme Structure, Content & Delivery station and map.
• Good practice in learning & teaching
• PDP requirements/good practice
• Assessment design and good practice
• Provision of feedback
• Constructive alignment
PROGRAMME SUPPORT
The Programme Support line provides you with links about:
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the Programme Support station and map.
• Personal academic tutoring
• Teachability
QUALITY ASSURANCE & ONGOING EVALUATION
The Quality Assurance & Ongoing Evaluation line provides a …..
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the Quality Assurance & On-going
Evaluation station and map.
• Student input
• QAA codes of practice
TOPICAL ISSUES
The Topical Issues line provides links to information on some of the current debates in higher education.
Click on the above categories to start your journey on this line.The QMU logo will take you back to the Topical Issues station and map.
• Student engagement
• Internationalisation
• Employer engagement
• Employability
• Digital Literacies
INTRODUCTION
How can this route map help me?
This route map has been produced to aid staff preparing for Curriculum Review at Queen Margaret University. It is a guide to the processes involved and provides links to internal and external reference points which will inform the work of the programme team.
As you will readily see from the route map, there is an enormous amount of information directly relevant to the process of curriculum review, as well as considerable amounts of useful, indirectly related material. One of the ways you could use this route map is to assign a branch-line to each member of the team to research.
AIM OF CURRICULUM REVIEW
Aim of review Programmes are validated for a maximum period of five years, whereupon they are subject to review. This is an opportunity to reconsider the relevance and market for the programme, as well as to present for approval any major changes to the programme. These may be the result of changed environmental circumstances, feedback from students or other stakeholders or new institutional or government initiatives.
In , you should use the review process to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked and to decide what changes (if any) you wish to make for the future.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The review is a team approach
Those involved in a review include:
• Programme team• Deans of School and Heads of Division• Panels• Quality Enhancement Unit• Centre for Academic Practice• Professional and Regulatory Bodies
A detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of each of the above is provided in the following validation & review handbook:
• QMU: guidance notes for programme teams
REGULATIONS
The regulations laid out in the linked document below contain all the detail required to ensure that new programme proposals and programme reviews fit with: • The University’s quality processes• External statutory and regulatory requirements• The University’s strategic planning process, and
development and review timetable.
QMU Link:
• QMU: programme development, modification, monitoring and review
GUIDANCE NOTES
The link below takes you to a booklet which is designed to accompany the formal regulations for programme review. This document provides you with a practical outline of the processes and procedures involved in the review.
QMU Link:
• QMU: guidance notes for programme team
SUGGESTED TEMPLATE FOR REVIEW DOCUMENT
A guide for programme teams
You may approach your review document any way you like as long as it does what it is intended to do: i.e. as long as it provides a clear and critical evaluation of the success of the programme since the last time it was reviewed, and provides a way of showing how decisions about the programme have been made.
None the less, it is often useful to have a template to follow to help make sure you have covered all the necessary information. A suggested template can be found at the link below to provide a starting point for your document.
QMU Link:
• QMU: putting together a programme review document
QUALITY ASSURANCE HANDBOOK
FOR PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT, MENTORING AND REVIEW
This document brings together information on preparing for validation of your programme.
QMU Link:• QMU: programme planning handbook
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION FORM
This takes the form of a template with headings indicating all the main areas you need to cover when you submit documentation about your programme for validation or review.
QMU Link:
• QMU: programme specification template
CHANGES IN STUDENT DEMAND
The document below will provide information which may help support the rationale for your programme, particularly with regard to the kind of students who might enrol and their potential employment destinations, and the ways in which you plan to deliver the programme. The document also provides a substantial list of references.
External Link:
• Universities UK: changes in student choices and graduate employment
QELTA
While the Student Experience Strategy (SES) sets the framework within which the University’s approach to learning and teaching, and all its other student-facing strategies operate, the strategy for Quality Enhancement of Learning, Teaching and Assessment (QELTA) focuses on enhancing the quality of student learning. Review teams will look for clearly defined links between programmes and the objectives and activities outlined in this strategy.
QMU Link:
• QMU: QELTA
UNIVERSITY STRATEGY
Our work is built around our three academic flagship areas of health and rehabilitation, sustainable business, and culture and creativity. The plan centres on: delivering a sustainable course portfolio and enhancing the experience that we offer our students; focusing and maximising the impact of our research; building on our collaborations; and providing an appropriate infrastructure to support our work. Demonstration of close links to the aims and objectives of the plan will strengthen the rationale for your programme.
QMU Link:
• QMU: strategic plan
COMPARABLE AWARDS
The link below provides a quick way of searching for other programmes in your field, along with other relevant information, such as offering institution, fees charged, etc. This information may contribute to the market research and rationale sections of your validation and review documentation.
External Link:
• WhatUni?: home page
EMPLOYER EXPECTATIONS & OPPORTUNITIES
Employability and more specifically, employer engagement are common themes running through QMU’s strategic planning documents. Hence it is important to demonstrate in programme documentation how we are working collaboratively with employers to ensure that our graduates develop the necessary skills to facilitate a successful transition into the world of work.
Internal Links:
External Links:
• HEFCE: Employer engagement
• QMU: Employer engagement
• QAA: Employer-responsive provision
PROFESSIONAL & STATUTORY BODY REQUIREMENTS
This, of course, is an area which will be very specific to individual programmes.
The report in the link below provides background information on the way in which higher education institutions and professional bodies interact, along with lists of professional and statutory bodies and other useful information.
External Link:
• HEBRG: professional, statutory and regulatory bodies: an exploration of their engagement with higher education
SUSTAINABILITY
The internal document below provides detailed guidance for programme teams on how they should demonstrate integration and embedding of sustainable development education within the curriculum. The UNESCO link gives an overview of all the aspects of sustainability that might be addressed – from climate change to gender equality and many more.
Internal Link:
External Links:
• QMU: sustainability document
• UNESCO: education for sustainable development
• Association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education: Resources on sustainability
• Higher Education Academy: New education for sustainable development guidance for universities and colleges
SCQF LEVELS & DESCRIPTORS
The link below takes you to the latest Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework documentation on all levels in the education system, key skills that students at those levels should develop, and how Scottish levels fit with other
frameworks in Europe.
External Link:
• SCQF: the framework
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTESAlthough the idea of graduate attributes has been around for some time, it
received particular focus in Scotland from 2009 when the enhancement theme Graduate Attributes for the 21st Century was introduced. The links
below take you to background documentation and also to Queen Margaret University’s own graduate attributes.
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QAAHE: the foundation for graduate attributes: developing self regualtion through self and peer assessment
• QMU: future focus – what are your graduate attributes
• Enhancement Themes: research-teaching linkages: enhancing graduate attributes
• QMU: graduate attributes
HOW TO WRITE GOOD LEARNING OUTCOMES
QMU Link:
External Links:
• QMU: Designing good learning outcomes
• MacQuarie University Australia: Writing learning outcomes
SUBJECT BENCHMARK STATEMENTS
The Higher Education Funding Council for England definition of benchmarking is:
A process through which practices are analysed to provide a standard measurement (‘benchmark’) of effective performance within an organisation (such as a university). Benchmarks are also used to compare performance with other organisations and other sectors.
External Link:
• QAA: Subject benchmark statements
• JISC: definitions and discussion on benchmarking
GOOD PRACTICE IN LEARNING & TEACHING
The Centre for Academic Practice at QMU provides workshops, resources, support and guidance to staff at QMU on all aspects of learning, teaching and assessment. You may also find the Institutional Good Practice Guide helpful. This provides an
insight into issues that students have raised through the National Student Survey.
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: The Centre for Academic Practice website
• QAA: Improving Higher Education
• Learn Higher: Teaching and Learning resources
• QMU: Institutional Good Practice Guide
PDP REQUIREMENTS / GOOD PRACTICE
Personal development planning is an integral part of our student experience and the broader curriculum. The links below provide
information which will help you to make the required links with PDP in your programme documentation.
QMU Link:
External Link:• Palgrave study skills: About PDP
• QMU: good practice case studies
• QMU: future focus – PDP & employability
• QMU: PDP at QMU mapping current activity and sharing good practice
• QAA: Recognising achievement beyond the curriculum
ASSESSMENT DESIGN & GOOD PRACTICE
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: assessment procedures
• QMU: guidelines for staff: assessment specifications and feedback
• QMU: good practice case studies
• Enhancement Themes: assessment
• Enhancement Themes: integrative assessment
PROVISION OF FEEDBACK
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: guidelines for staff: assessment specifications and feedback
• QMU: QMU student guide to feedback on coursework & learning
• QMU: good practice case studies
• THEA: enhancing student engagement with feedback – best practice guidelines (Sheffield Hallam University)
CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT
Constructive alignment has been defined as coherence between assessment, teaching strategies and intended learning outcomes in an educational programme. There is some debate as to the order in which one should design each facet of the curriculum so that this coherence is achieved. You can read more about the idea in the link below.
External Link:
• University College Dublin: Using Bigg’s model of constructive alignment
TEACHABILITY
Teachability refers to ensuring that programmes are accessible for students with disabilities. The Teachability Project was funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) between 1999 and 2006 and resulted in publications which assist academic staff in evaluating the accessibility of their course provision.
External Link:
• Strathclyde University: teachability
PERSONAL ACADEMIC TUTORING
The PAT system is an important part of Queen Margaret University’s unique provision for students. It is regularly reviewed and
refreshed – most recently in 2013/14. The links below take you to the current documentation for staff and students.
QMU Link:
• QMU: university policy: personal academic tutoring system
• QMU: being a P@T personal tutor at queen margaret university
• QMU: your P@T personal academic tutor
QAA CODES OF PRACTICE
External Link:
• QAA: the quality code
STUDENT INPUTThe internal link below provides a snapshot of the ways in which students have
been involved in providing input for validation and review of programmes at Queen Margaret. The external link is to a QAA publication which discusses
student engagement in the quality assurance of course provision.
QMU link:
External Link:
• QMU: use of students in validation and review
• QAA: information and guidance
STUDENT ENGAGEMENTThe article below moves beyond the idea of student engagement simply in the quality agenda to discussing the broader construct of the perceptions, expectations and overall experience of being a student.
External Link:
• Newcastle University: Clarifying the concept of student engagement
INTERNATIONALISATIONInternationalisation can be viewed from two perspectives: • The need for students to have a global perspective• The need for institutions work within a global and international economy. The external link below to the Enhancement Themes websites provides discussion and further links on both of these perspectives.
Queen Margaret’s work in this area is carried forward through the Collaborative Operations Group and the International Student Forum.
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: COG intranet site
• QMU: International student forum intranet site
• Enhancement Themes: Globalisation and internationalisation
DIGITAL LITERACIESDigital literacy relates to how people use a broad range of digital devices
(such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs) in a networking capacity to summarise, evaluate, create and communicate information.
Linked pages to:
SOCIAL MEDIA
DIGITAL LITERACY
SOCIAL MEDIA
QMU Link:
External Link:
• New Media Consortium: 2014 report on emerging technologies affecting higher education
• JISC: Employment and social media
• Educational technology and mobile learning: Using twitter as professional development
• QMU: Social media guidance for students
DIGITAL LITERACY
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: Digital literacy modules for staff offered by the QMU liaison services team
• Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development: Developing our digital literacies
• JISC: Curriculum design for the 21st Century
• UK Parliament website: Digital skills committee publications
EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT
In 2006, the Leitch report recommended strengthening the UK’s potential for economic prosperity through shared responsibility between educators and employers; better integration of employment and skills; and increased employer engagement and investment.
The links below provide a snapshot of the QMU position on employer engagement, as well as an update on the recommendations in the Leitch report.
QMU Link:
External Link:
• QMU: Report on employer engagement
• JISC: Literature review – employer engagement
• Learn Direct: The Leitch Review seven years on
EMPLOYABILITYEmployability relates to the set of skills, understandings and personal attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations. Going beyond simply preparing students to do a job, employability skills allow students to recognise not only the specific needs of their chosen career, but also how their skills can be transferable in the wider employment market. Building employability skills into programmes is an integral part of QMU’s learning and teaching strategy. The external link below takes you to reports from the QAA enhancement theme in 2004 – 2006 which dealt with all aspects of employability.
External Link: • Enhancement Themes: Employability