A Map to Prepare for

Curriculum ReviewNEXT

Route 2 Review

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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.

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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