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Notes for preparation of
Programme Specifications.
These notes are intended to
assist academic departments in the preparation of programme specifications for
all taught courses.
They should be used in conjunction with the
appropriate
QAA Subject Benchmark Statement
and
The QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education
You may also find it helpful to refer to the HE
Academy’s materials on learning outcomes, available via their website at:
www.heacademy.ac.uk/1562.htm
Programme Specifications
Section A
The
categories of information in Section A provide standard details of the
course; awarding body/institution; teaching institution; accreditation
details (where appropriate); final award; course title; UCAS code; relevant
QAA benchmark group(s); admissions criteria; publication/revision date.
Section B
Section B of the template
provides a concise overview of the curriculum provision in the course,
identifying the course aims, the course’s learning outcomes and the
corresponding methods of learning, teaching and assessment. When drafting the
course outcomes departments should be aware that the course aims and
outcomes must be suitable for the course and must relate to the benchmark
statements, the National Qualifications Framework and, where appropriate, to the
requirements of any professional bodies.
In order to ensure that students
and all teaching staff are made aware of the aims and learning outcomes, they
should be reproduced in documentation intended for these groups, such as student
handbooks and briefing materials for part-time teachers. Students should also
be made aware of how to access the full programme specification, such as through
reference in student handbooks and links from departmental web resources.
What is
meant by the course aim?
Course aims are intended to
provide at a glance a clear understanding of the course’s teaching
intentions. For the purpose of programme specifications, this should be a brief
statement of what the course intends to deliver, identifying the core
concepts and any rationale.
What
is meant by the course’s learning outcomes?
The course learning outcomes
are statements of what the student will reasonably be expected to know,
understand or be able to do on completion of the particular course of study.
When drafting the course outcomes, departments should be aware that learning
outcomes must operate at threshold level (ie the minimum standard needed to
obtain third class honours) but that consideration should also be given to how
students can demonstrate achievement beyond threshold.
For the
purpose of programme specification, the course learning outcomes are divided
into four categories of knowledge and understanding, practical skills, cognitive
skills and key skills. Within the programme specification database each
learning outcome will be numbered in accordance with the section to which it
relates, e.g. outcomes in the section headed knowledge and understanding will be
numbered A1, A2 and so on. The system will automatically allocate a number to
each learning outcome, but this may be overridden where appropriate, e.g. where
a learning outcome is shared by a related group of degree courses. When
completing the section on key skills, departments will be required to input text
against the six categories of key skills used at Essex: communication; numeracy;
IT; working with others; problem solving; improving own learning and
performance. The key skills will be numbered D1 to D6 though departments may
list a number of points against each heading. There is no requirement to input
outcomes against each key skill since it would be inappropriate or impossible to
do so in many cases. However, where no text is inputted against one of the key
skill headings, the key skill will not appear in the programme specification.
What
relationship needs to be specified between the learning outcome and methods of
learning, teaching and assessment?
The programme specification must
identify a clear link between the learning outcome and the method of learning
and teaching which enables the students to achieve that outcome.
Learning and teaching
methods/strategies can refer to the type of learning environment, such as
lectures, small group classes, laboratory classes and workshops. They can also
refer to the type of activities within these classes such as group discussions,
case study analysis, presentations, practicals etc.
When specifying the assessment
methods for the learning outcomes, departments can identify generally the form
of assessment, such as examinations or continuous coursework but can also
provide more detail by identifying the type of assessment as essays,
presentations, group reports, assessed practicals etc. When mapping the
assessment method to the learning outcomes, departments should consider whether
appropriate grading criteria exist to enable staff to identify achievement of
each learning outcome beyond threshold level.
Section C
Section C provides summary data
for the course structure.
Section D
Section D specifies the rules of
assessment and normally this will be a simple weblink to the University’s rules
of assessment. This will normally be completed centrally by the Academic
Section.
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