Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Consultation on Restructuring

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Four Themes for Consideration: • Credit-hours – currently 7. 5 hours/credit • Range of Module Sizes • Balance of Assessment • Structure of the Academic Year

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Credit-hours – currently 7. 5 hours/credit: • Do not currently match Bologna Agreement • Out of line with the rest of the HE sector • Being identified as an issue by External Examiners and Professional Bodies • Will not be acceptable under the QAA Qualifications Framework

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Credit-hours – currently 7. 5 hours/credit: • Uo. L students apparently study for 900 hours/yr against 1200 for the rest of the UK • Could just add 25 more hours of independent study per 10 credits? – May be OK for a few high contact UG programmes but will impact KIS; may be OK for PGT • Could just call 20 credit modules 15 credits? – Would leave a 30 credit shortfall per year

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Range of Module Sizes - Undergraduate 900 Number of Modules 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 5 10 15 20 24 25 30 Credit Weighting 36 40 60 120

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Range of Module Sizes - Postgraduate 400 Number of Modules 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 10 15 20 25 30 40 Credit Weighting 60 90 120 140 270

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Standardising Module Size • Variety of module sizes creates difficulties for joint programmes • Variety of module sizes would make introduction of Pathways very difficult • Some instances where the same module is delivered as part of different programmes and allocated different credit weightings… • Proposal that we standardise on a 10/20/40 or a 15/30 model – could be different models for UG and PGT schemes

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Standardising Assessment Loading • Significant variety in assessment loading currently • Some programmes are over-burdened with summative assessment – Impact on student learning – Impact on staff marking inc. turn-round times & quality of feedback • Propose introduce a standard volume of assessment per credit.

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum The UG Academic Year • Nominally 30 weeks – but actual teaching is typically 20 – 22 weeks • Split 2 nd semester teaching: 9 weeks – 5 week break – 2 weeks • Three weeks after June exams – commonly student holiday • Compression of teaching: knock-on effect on teaching space • Uo. L students are among the last to finish – impact on e. g. employability

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum The Academic Year Current Model Christmas vacation Induction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 Easter vacation Exams 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 Semester 2 Teaching Semester 1 Teaching Exams 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 Semester 2 Teaching 2 9 Summer vacation 3 0 Post-exams weeks Resit Exams One Proposal Induction 1 2 3 4 Christmas vacation Exams 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 Semester 1 Teaching 1 5 1 6 Easter vacation 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 Semester 2 Teaching Resit Exams 2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 Post-exams week Student Summer vacation

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Proposed Timeline: • Consultation: September – November 2014 • Approval of final proposals: November 2014 • Module/programme development: 2015 – ‘Year of the Module’ • Programme Approvals: May 2015 – Feb 2016 • Implementation – September 2016; along with introduction of Pathways

Consultation on Restructuring the Curriculum Headline Proposals • Credit-hours – move to 10 hours/credit – not negotiable • Move to standardisation of module credit weight: e. g. 15 – 30 – 45 , or 20 – 40; UG & PG could be separate • Move to standardising assessment loading • Restructure UG Academic Year – includes consideration of… – – – Reduction of Christmas & Easter vacations 2 nd semester teaching all between Jan & ‘Spring’ vacation Academic Year to have at least 24 weeks of teaching Academic Year to finish mid-late May Resit period to be in early July Scheduling of 1 st semester exams ? before? after Christmas