Senate

Subject: New Programme Proposals/ Strategic Changes/ Other Matters requiring Senate approval

Origin: Unconfirmed Minutes of the Meeting of Curriculum Sub-Committee on 9 October 2003.

At its meeting on 6 November 2003 Learning and Teaching Committee recommended to Senate that approval be given to the following proposals. Details are available from the Secretary.

1. Masters Level Programme in Chemical Sciences: New Programme Proposals

.1 The Sub-Committee considered proposals from the Department of Chemistry for introduction in Semester 2, 2003-04. The proposals pulled together four award titles within a single set of Programme Regulations and a single Programme Specification for the Masters level programme in Chemical Sciences as follows:

Analytical and Pharmaceutical Science
Analytical Chemistry (new title)
Pharmaceutical Science and Medicinal Chemistry (new title)
Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Science (new title)

It was noted that the Department was considering the introduction of an additional title, Forensic Analysis, for 2004-05.

.2 The Sub-Committee did not consider it appropriate to debate the more general issues contained within the paperwork, and restricted its discussion to the programme proposals themselves. Whilst acknowledging that the single set of Programme Regulations should allow easy comparison of the content of the different award titles, the Sub-Committee found this difficult with the format as presented. Whilst there was no University guidance on the minimum difference in content between degree titles, the Sub-Committee remained concerned that there should at least be some difference and requested that Learning and Teaching Committee consider again the provision of some guidance on this matter.

.3 It was AGREED to recommend the proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee subject to the following matters being resolved to the satisfaction of the Associate Dean (Teaching) and Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee prior to the next meeting of Learning and Teaching Committee:

(i) Revision of para. 5.10 of the Programme Regulations to make clearer via a table how the module components of each title compare and the minimum differentiation, and transfer of this to the Content section rather than Assessment section of the Regulations.

(ii) Replace Section 4 of the Programme Specification, which was difficult to follow and included too much detail on timing which was subject to change, with the table resulting from (i) above.

(iii) Identify DL modules within the Programme Regulations.

(iv) Ensure that the dissertation reflected the content of the award title, either by using different dissertation modules or preferably by a stated requirement within one dissertation module.

(iv) In view of the comments from WEDC, provide reassurance that the WEDC modules were appropriate for the Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Science degree.

.4 Mindful that a proposal for an additional degree title was possible during the year, the Sub-Committee considered whether such a proposal could be ‘fast-tracked’ in view of the new overarching format of the Programme Regulations. It was AGREED that such a proposal would remain strategic and would require the approval of the Directorate and Operations Sub-Committee, but questioned as to whether it should need to await the next meeting of Curriculum Sub-Committee or could be handled by Chair’s action. The Chair was uncomfortable about handling such a proposal in this way, particularly with the absence of any University view on the minimum difference in content to warrant a new degree title, the probable absence of grounds for non-approval, and the long-term effect of incremental changes without any committee overview. The Sub-Committee AGREED to forward these comments to Learning and Teaching Committee to seek its view on whether a proposal of this nature could be handled satisfactorily by Chair’s action.

2. Undergraduate Programme in Chemical Sciences: New Programme Proposals

.1 The Sub-Committee considered proposals from the Department of Chemistry for introduction in Semester 1, 2004-05. The proposals pulled together the Department’s existing undergraduate degree titles (excepting Chemistry and Sports Science) within one set of Regulations. There were no changes in content proposed for those titles and it was understood that each would retain its current UCAS code.

.2 The Sub-Committee was unclear as to whether under the new Regulations one list of candidates would be presented at the Programme Board, thereby all considered within the same boundaries, or whether candidates would continue to be considered as separate lists for each degree title, thereby possibly being subject to different boundaries. This raised the more general issue of whether candidates on closely-related programmes should be considered as a single list by a Programme Board and whether the Student Records and Examination system could cope with such an arrangement. It was agreed that consideration of all students on a combined list was preferable to ensure equity. The Sub-Committee AGREED to forward its comments to Learning and Teaching Committee for further consideration as part of the discussion on minimum differences between degree titles.

.3 It was AGREED to recommend the proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee subject to the following matters being resolved to the satisfaction of the Associate Dean (Teaching) and the Chair of Curriculum Sub-Committee prior to the next meeting of Learning and Teaching Committee:

(i) Exclusion of the degree titles in Chemistry with Environmental Science and Chemistry with Materials from the Programme Regulations as those programmes were discontinuing.

(ii) Provision of one Programme Specification only covering the degree titles listed in the Regulations, capturing the distinctive nature of each degree title and making transparent the differences between the pathways.

3. MSc Mobile Communications/MSc Networked Communications: New Programme Proposals

The Sub-Committee considered proposals from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering for October 2003 entry. It was AGREED to recommend the proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee subject to the following matter being resolved to the satisfaction of the Associate Dean (Teaching) and the Chair of Curriculum Sub-Committee prior to the next meeting of Learning and Teaching Committee:

(i) Assurance that it would not be possible for a student to be awarded one of the proposed new degree titles having undertaken identical taught modules to a student awarded the Digital Communication Systems title.

4. MMath Mathematics: Introduction of DPS Award

It was AGREED to ratify the action of the Chair in recommending to the Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee the introduction of the DPS option for students on the MMath Mathematics programme from 2003/04.

5. Professional Certificate/Diploma in Retail Automotive Management:
Change of Title

.1 The Sub-Committee ratified the action of the Chair on behalf of Curriculum Sub-Committee in recommending to the Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee a change in the title of the above programme to Automotive Retail Management, from 2003-04.

.2 The Department had been requested to provide additional information on a further proposal subsumed within the above to change the awards for the programme from Professional Certificate/Diploma to Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma. It was AGREED to approve the proposal subject to the following amendments being made to the Programme Regulations to the satisfaction of the Associate Dean (Teaching) prior to their submission to the Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee for approval on behalf of Learning and Teaching Committee:

(i) All references to Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma should be revised to read Loughborough Postgraduate Certificate and Loughborough Postgraduate Diploma respectively, in accordance with GRMPA, under which the programme would now be governed.

(ii) References to Ordinance XXXIII should instead be to GRMPA.

(iii) Deletion of references to a distinction for the Certificate, which GRMPA does not allow for.

.3 The Department had also been requested to provide additional information on 31 new modules created for the above programme for which approval had been sought during the Annual Update process. With the Sub-Committee content that the proposed module changes to the programme fell within the boundary of a minor change, the Chair was prepared to approve the modules as part of the Annual Update process.

6. Discontinuation of Programmes

.1 It was AGREED to ratify the action of the Chair in recommending to the Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee discontinuation of the following programme (proposed date of last intake shown in brackets):

BEng Mathematical Engineering (October 2002)

.2 It was AGREED to recommend to Learning and Teaching Committee discontinuation of the following programme:

MA Design Studies (no current students)