Senate
Subject: Report
of Curriculum Sub-Committee - New Programme Proposals/ Strategic Changes/Other
Matters requiring Senate approval
Origin Unconfirmed Minutes of the Meeting
on 17 January 2008
Curriculum Sub-Committee at its meeting on 17 January 2008 recommended
to Learning and Teaching Committee and Senate that approval be given to the
following proposals. Details are
available from the Secretary.
1. BSc Sport and Exercise Science
(Gymnastics): New Programme Proposals
.1 The Sub-Committee considered proposals
from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences for a new full-time pathway
within/alongside the existing BSc Sport and Exercise Science programme, with
effect from October 2008. It was understood that students would apply initially
to the Sport and Exercise Science programme and transfer subsequently to the
new programme title.
.2 It was AGREED to recommend the
proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee subject to the following matters
being resolved to the satisfaction of the AD(T) prior to the meeting of
Learning and Teaching Committee:
(a) Programme
Regulations
(b) Programme
Specification
Section 7 to be revised to remove
outdated information and comply with the revised section in the Programme
Specification template.
(c) Module
Specifications
(i) Module
Specifications should be entered onto the LUSI system
(ii) PEC004:
MTLA field required expansion on form of delivery, frequency and interim
targets
(iii) PEC050:
should be 10 credits with 100 hours of student effort. ‘Preparation for
examination’ in the MTLA field did not appear to apply. Assessment on
‘contribution to discussions’ required expansion in the text.
.3 It was observed that the Curriculum Map
for the programme was relatively sparsely populated for Parts A and B, but more
densely populated for Part C, indicating that the ILOs were developed and
assessed through most modules in Part C. This led to a general discussion about
the Curriculum Map and whether or not there was a particular population density
that should be expected. It was not uncommon for Curriculum Maps from SSH
departments to be heavily populated. This could be a function of the nature of the
ILOs, with more generic ILOs resulting in a more densely populated map; a
function of discipline, or possibly a function of how many staff were involved
in compiling the map or whether the Programme Director provided an overview of
the programme. In the case of the programme under consideration, it could be
that the map represented a position that has evolved from a long-established
programme, and were the programme to be developed ab initio the resultant map might be different. The Curriculum Map
provided a useful tool to students, staff, External Examiners and CSC to show
where ILOs were delivered and assessed, and could be used to identify
over-assessment. The Assessment Matrix was a complementary tool, through which
the validity of assessment methods in assessing the ILOs could be determined.
The definition of ILOs was itself a fine balance: too general and the result
would be a highly populated Curriculum Map; too specific and it would become
difficult to demonstrate that each had been assessed. After much discussion it
was suggested that the way forward was to make clearer that ILOs on the
Curriculum Map should only be ticked for modules where they have been assessed.
It was AGREED that the Curriculum Map be revised accordingly, and guidance
provided on the completion of the Curriculum Map and Assessment Matrix and the
relationship of these to each other, and the draft tracked changes of the
document circulated to members of the Sub-Committee for their approval and
reflective views. At the same time the AD(T) of SSH would seek views from his
Faculty on whether this approach might solve some of the difficulties being
experienced in completing the Map. The proposers of the programme under
discussion would be asked to revisit the Curriculum Map for this and other
programmes to bring them in line with any new requirements in time for their
next Periodic Programme Review.
2. BSc, DIS/DIntS Physics with Cosmology:
New Programme Proposals
.1 The
Sub-Committee considered proposals from Physics for a new full-time programme
with effect from October 2009. It was noted that the Department intended to
review the structure of its programmes in the course of the year. The structure
of the new programme was based on current provision and might therefore require
some revision for approval via normal channels before its commencement in 2009.
It was commented that some external evidence of demand for the programme might
have been expected, but acknowledged that it was sometimes difficult to
approach competitor institutions in this way. In this case, and often in other
cases for UG programmes, the market need for a programme has been identified by
Howard Jones in Student Recruitment and Admissions. It was AGREED that for such
cases in the future a note of support from Howard on market potential should be
provided for the Sub-Committee. The PVC(T) agreed to explore whether similar
marketing support could also be provided as appropriate from the International
Office.
.2 It
was noted that Part C of the programme included level 7 (D) modules up to a
maximum of 50 credits. This was questioned in terms of the likelihood that this
might not conform with the University’s credit framework for awards
currently under development, the impact on Part D students also studying these
modules and the difficulty of justifying these as Master’s level modules
if routinely taken in Part C. Compliance with the University’s new
framework, once approved, would be tested when the Department’s paperwork
for restructuring its programmes came forward. No Curriculum Map had been
provided for the Sub-Committee as the Department had started work on the
proposal prior to this being a requirement. It was expected that the map would
be submitted as part of the restructuring proposals. Also as part of those proposals
the Department would be expected to consider redressing the imbalance in
assessment methods which were dominated by examinations.
.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 AD(T) prior
to the meeting of Learning and Teaching Committee:
(a) Confirmation
that all resource issues concerning the proposed observatory, which appeared to
be integral to the programme, had been resolved, including that for the siting
and housing of the equipment. Confirmation also that the Department had taken
into account the presumed need for students to use the facility at night.
(b) Amendments to the documents as annotated by the AD(T)
(c) Programme Regulations
(i)
(ii) Paras 3.2
& 3.3: references to GRUA should be revised to read Regulation XX
(d) Programme Specification
(i) Aims should be more strongly expressed:
about 6 aims would normally be expected (para 7 of the Specification could
provide some useful input)
(ii) ILOs should make mention of Cosmology
(iii) The level
of transferable skills should be raised (Jan Tennant could provide advice)
(iv) The first
cognitive skill should be more specific in relation to the areas
(v) TLA
strategies needed strengthening
(vi) There
should be some mention of use of the new observatory
(e) Module
Specifications
(i) Module
specifications should be entered onto the LUSI system
(ii) ILOs
needed strengthening
(iii) Consideration
of whether there should be an appropriately titled project module specifically
for this programme, to ensure subject coverage, or whether the existing generic
project module was sufficient
(iv) PHC201,ILO
3: ‘and should be able to…..logical manner’ to be deleted as
unnecessary.
3. MA/MSc 2D and 3D Visualisation: New
Programme Proposals
.1 The Sub-Committee considered proposals from LUSAD, in collaboration with
Design and Technology, for a full-time/part-time programme with effect from
October 2008.
The Sub-Committee saw this as an
exciting development and recognised the genuine attempt of two departments to
design a new programme which was not simply a union of existing provision.
Attention was drawn to the external advisor’s concern that the
opportunity appeared to have been missed of integrating 2D and 3D
representations in investigative and creative work. The Sub-Committee was
assured that the integration would be covered in the curriculum, though this
had not been clear from the documentation. In response to the Careers
Centre’s comment that the inclusion of employability and enterprise
modules would be a valuable addition to the programme, the Sub-Committee was
advised that the proposers were incorporating this within the curriculum but
did not wish to have discrete modules. The Sub-Committee was assured that
existing equipment was adequate for the proposed programme.
.2 It was AGREED to recommend the
proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee, subject to the following matters
being resolved to the satisfaction of the AD(T) prior to the meeting of
Learning and Teaching Committee:
(a)Programme
Regulations
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(b) Programme Specification
(i) Make reference to the integration of 2D
and 3D representations
(ii) Address the apparent overlap of ILOs in
the Knowledge & Understanding and Skills categories (advice was available
from Jan Tennant in Professional Development)
(c) Module Specifications
(i) Consider
whether the integration of 2D and 3D representations could be made clearer in
the titles and specifications for DTP702 and SAP102.
(ii) SAP103:
MTLA field required revision to delete erroneous text on assessment
.3 The difficulty of differentiating Knowledge and
Understanding ILOs from Skills ILOs was raised as a general problem. It was
AGREED that some clarification was required within the Programme Specification
template and that the proposed wording should be circulated to the
Sub-Committee for approval. The AD(T)s were asked to inform the Secretary of
any exemplary Programme Specifications for inclusion on the exemplar website.
4. MSc/PGDip/PGCert Management and
Leadership (Professional) (Aggregate Industries): New Programme Proposals
.1 The Sub-Committee considered proposals from the
.2 It was AGREED to recommend the
proposals to Learning and Teaching Committee, subject to the following matters
being resolved to the satisfaction of the AD(T) prior to the meeting of
Learning and Teaching Committee:
(a) Programme Regulations
Paras 4.4 to 4.7 were a repeat of
the requirements in Regulation XXI and should be deleted
(b) Programme Specification
(i)
(ii)
(c) Module
Specifications
(i) Header
information in modules (e.g. Responsible Examiner) required completion and
typos required amendment
(ii) BSP904/905:
The appropriateness that 50% of the assessment was based on less than a quarter
of the student hours of effort should be considered, in relation to the
assessment of module ILOs.
(iii) BSP906:
‘Assessment is by coursework (50%)’ to be deleted as this was
confusing
(iv) BSP907:
Clarification of Assessment section in MTLA field
(d) Curriculum
Map
(i) The Curriculum Map did not always align
with Assessment Matrix (e.g. modules with group/teamwork as shown on the matrix
did not fully align with the population of the D6 column in the map). Revision
of the map/matrix or both was required.
(ii) Confirmation that the D7 skill was only
assessed by one module, as more would be expected
5. Changes to Programme Titles or Awards
It was AGREED to recommend to Learning and Teaching Committee the
following changes:
MSc Occupational Health to
MSc Workplace Health (with effect from October 2008
intake)
6. Discontinuation of Programmes
It was AGREED to recommend to Learning and Teaching Committee
discontinuation of the following programmes (proposed date of last intake shown
in brackets):
BSc Information Networks and Physics (no intake)
BSc Information Technology and Physics (Oct 2008)
BSc Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying (3 year version only)
(Oct 2008)
MSc Citizenship, Identity and Globalization (no recruitment)
MSc Financial Globalization (2004/05)
Author – Jennie Elliott
Date – February 2008
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