Learning and Teaching Committee

Subject: Report of Curriculum Sub-Committee – Matters for Information

Origin Unconfirmed Minutes of the Meeting on 5 May 2005

Learning and Teaching Committee is invited to note the following items from the meeting of Curriculum Sub-Committee held on 5 May 2005.

1. Matters Arising from the Minutes

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.1 It was noted that all recommendations to Learning and Teaching Committee, and subsequently to Senate where appropriate, had been approved. The relevant minute of Senate was noted and the following final paragraph considered:

‘The Director of the Business School drew attention to the change in title of the BSc in Transport Management and Planning to Transport and Business Management, and requested that in future any titles likely to affect Business School rankings be discussed with him personally. It was noted that in this case the Business School had been consulted and the title change had not resulted in any coding change. Departments were asked to ensure that programme titles were not misleading in terms of programme content.’

.2 The PVC(T) informed the Sub-Committee that this had subsequently been determined at Operations Sub-Committee as fundamentally a coding issue. UCAS and JACS codes had significant implications for recruitment purposes and for statistics aggregated for ranking purposes, but to some extent the University did have control over such coding. The Sub-Committee understood the issues that had already arisen and were likely to increasingly arise concerning the wording of programme titles and their coding, but felt that no one department had an exclusive right to any particular nomenclature. Nevertheless the coding of a programme should not put that programme/department at a disadvantage and departments should work together to mutual benefit and ensure that marketing material made clear the context of a programme so that potential students were not misled by a title.

.3 It was AGREED that the issue of programme titles should be addressed during the strategic phase of a proposal for a new or changed title and that the proposal form(s) should be revised to require completed consultation forms from departments with any vested interest in a proposed programme title to be included with the paperwork at that stage. Any disputes between departments should be resolved before submission of a proposal to the Directorate/Operations Sub-Committee. It was also AGREED that clarification be sought over the extent of control by the University over programme coding and whether it would be sensible to explore further the coding of existing programmes to ensure that these were as beneficial as possible to departments.

2. New Programme Proposals from the Business School

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The Sub-Committee considered a request from the Business School for it to give outline approval for three possible new programmes which were awaiting the completion of negotiation with external clients, and to consider fuller details of the programmes over the Summer. The Sub-Committee felt that it could not agree to this at this stage and if proposals came to fruition before the next scheduled meeting of the Sub-Committee on 13 October the Department would need to make a case for convening a special meeting of the Sub-Committee to consider the proposals. The Department could not rely on Chair’s action.

3. Major Changes to Programme Regulations

It was AGREED to approve the following procedure for the approval of major changes to Programme Regulations for the period to October 2005. Proposals should receive CSC consideration by post at the discretion of the Chair. Where concerns were raised a second circulation would summarise these and invite a formal decision. The Chair would be empowered to determine whether the replies constituted a consensus.

4. New Programme Proposal Form

It was noted that, at the request of the Student Recruitment and Admissions Team, proposers of new programmes were now required to consult with Howard Jones (Student Recruitment and Admissions) and Tony Westaway/ Jonathan Clapham (International Office) about the proposed title of a programme prior to the submission of a strategic proposal.

5. Annual Update of Module Specifications and Programme Regulations/Specifications

The Sub-Committee noted:

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.1 The memorandum circulated to departments on 21 February 2005 (without Annexes)

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.2 The proposal forms for Module Specification and Programme Regulation/Specification changes for 2005/06.

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.3 Validated Programmes: The procedure and timetable for revision and approval of Module Specifications and Programme Regulations/Specifications for 2005/06.

Author – Jennie Elliott

Date – May 2005