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Annual Monitoring of Taught Provision - Outline of Process

Applicability, responsibilities and timing

This policy applies to all taught programmes and modules, undergraduate and postgraduate.

Responsibility for producing module and programme reviews should be decided at college or school level, but because of the academic analysis and decision-making involved, would normally rest with the Module and Programme Leaders (or equivalents), and their respective teams, consulting as appropriate.

Module teams would normally be expected to include all those contributing to the module, including, where deemed appropriate, technical and administrative staff. It is regarded as good practice to include an appropriate student representative, if available.

Programme teams would normally be expected to include the dean(s), leaders of component modules and, where deemed appropriate, administrative staff. It is regarded as good practice to include an appropriate student representative, if available.

As far as possible, Schools should attempt to produce and discuss the annual module monitoring reports before making arrangements for the following year's teaching delivery, so that any changes can be formally agreed and incorporated into documentation. The timing of the reporting deadlines should be arranged such that:

• student assessment results are available from the first sitting of the end-of module exams and/or coursework
• student end-of-module feedback results are available
• the experience of delivering and assessing the taught material is fresh in the minds of staff.

For most modules delivered in Semester 1, this could be a date between January and July. For most modules delivered in Semester 2 this implies a date between May to July.

The timing of the annual programme monitoring process is necessarily later than annual module monitoring and it is suggested that this should normally be approximately six weeks after the resit examination diet. This will allow annual programme monitoring to consider overall pass rates of component modules and fit with the timetable for revisions to the School Learning and Teaching Development Plan.

Regarding distance learning programmes and modules, schools should consider how these might best be reviewed on an annual basis. This might be appropriately achieved by grouping cognate programmes and modules or by considering them on an individual programme or module basis. The scheme used for 'standard' taught undergraduate programmes and modules should be modified appropriately and annual reports made for consideration at school level as for 'standard' programmes and modules.

In cases where all the modular components of a programme are wholly exclusive to that programme, subject to agreement by the relevant school board, an annual programme review can encompass all the component modules and there would be no need to produce separate annual module reports (note: this is the case for several taught postgraduate courses).

The Process - annual module monitoring

1. The Module Leader or equivalent, working with the School Secretary, should first collate all the statistical, feedback and other information required for the Annual Module Monitoring Report.
2. The Module Leader should then convene a meeting of the Module Teaching Team (or equivalent) to discuss the above information and agree on potential changes for the next iteration of teaching, recording these in the report.
3. The Team's report should be submitted to the Programme Leader so that outcomes can be considered within the Annual Programme Monitoring Report.
4. If the annual module monitoring processes result in a proposal for substantive alterations to module or programme specifications, the reporting and consultative procedures outlined in Changes to Programmes or Modules must be carried out, including consideration at School Board level.

The Process - Annual Programme monitoring

1. The Programme Leader or equivalent, working with the School Secretary, should first collate all the statistical and student feedback information required for the Annual Programme Monitoring Report.
2. The Programme Leader should note relevant outcomes from annual monitoring of all compulsory or optional modules. The programme leader should note within the report:
   • any aspects of module reports that affect the programme
   • any impacts for the School Learning and Teaching Development Plan.
3. The Programme Leader should note relevant outcomes from the existing School Learning and Teaching Development Plan as well as the College and University Learning and Teaching strategies.
4. The Programme Leader should convene a meeting of the Programme Team or equivalent to discuss the above information and agree on potential changes for the next iteration of teaching within the programme, recording these in the report.
5. The programme team should report on any outcomes from both module and programme monitoring that should be considered by School Board (or sub-committee thereof) and the School Learning and Teaching Plan.
6. The programme report should be submitted to the School Board (or sub-committee thereof) along with all relevant module monitoring reports. School Boards should consider issues that arise and report these to college level and/or integrate responses within the School Learning and Teaching Plan and/or periodic Programme Review process.
7. College Boards should oversee reports from their constituent Schools. Issues that arise should be brought forward to Academic Quality Sub-Committee and/or integrated within the College Learning and Teaching Strategy as appropriate.

If the annual programme monitoring processes result in a proposal for substantive alterations to module specifications, the reporting and consultative procedures outlined in Changes to Programmes or Modules must be carried out, including consideration at School Board level.