“By creating we think, by living we learn” Patrick Geddes
The following institutional processes for Programme and Module Approval take account of devolved responsibility for certain activities agreed following the University's Reorganisation in 2007 and have been designed to conform with QAA Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education (2006), especially relevant parts of Section 7, Programme Design, Approval, Monitoring and Review and with the Scottish Funding Council's Council Guidance to Higher Education Institutions on Quality (2008). An interactive mapping table for relevant precepts of the QAA Code of Practice is provided here.
The processes outlined here apply to all proposals for new taught programmes or modules, both undergraduate and postgraduate. Separate policies apply to approval of changes to an existing programme or module.
Programme and module design and approval require significant consultation and development work and due allowance should be made for this. The expected norm is for proposals to be formally approved during semester time and for an adequate period to be allocated for marketing and administration related to student records. Consultation with Admissions & Student Recruitment (ASRS) and Registry at the earliest possible stage is desirable.
The document Vacation Power Procedures for Programmes and Modules covers the situation where approvals need to be made outwith the normal reporting process. This involves obtaining retrospective approval from the relevant college board and Senate.
Slightly different processes exist for programme approval and module approval.
The processes reflect responsibilities for management and assurance of standards within the University's organisation and formal committee structure. School boards have the primary role in making judgments and recommended decisions regarding academic provision, reporting to college boards for formal decision and Senate for confirmation. Schools, with deans as key executives, are responsible for managing devolved budgets. When making decisions regarding proposed new programmes, school boards, advised by deans, are required to confirm that adequate resources can be provided, both from school and central support services.
Where a module (or programme) is to be delivered by a central service, then the advice of the Academic Secretary should be sought regarding an appropriate 'home College' for QA matters. Subsequently, the relevant College Head of Learning & Teaching should be consulted regarding the allocation of a suitable School to administer approval processes and later monitoring and review procedures.
Schools should decide on an appropriate mechanism or mechanisms for ensuring that an external view is obtained on the proposals at either or both of the development and approval stages.
Student and academic support services have responsibilities for resources and support relating to their specific remits. They are expected to provide advice to staff who are preparing proposals for new programmes and/or modules.
School secretaries have key roles in communication within the school, with the college, and between the school and other parts of the University, particularly Admissions & Student Recruitment.
Standard forms of approval documents are required; for efficiency, consistency and to ensure adherence to external quality policy expectations. The University intranet should be the primary means of communication of these formal approval documents.
Programme approval involves five main stages (Figure 1):
This stage involves development of the proposal documents by staff at school /programme level.
The impetus for developing a new programme may arise, inter alia, from:
The idea should be discussed in principle at both school and college levels, involving the dean and college head of learning and teaching (or equivalent) to consider:
There should be early discussion with the University's Admissions and Student Recruitment Service (ASRS) to consider likely demand for the proposed programme and considerations and timescales of marketing and recruitment. This will potentially involve market research and the production of a marketing strategy and business plan for the proposal. Any needs beyond current service provision should be discussed at an early stage with relevant student services.
The following document should be produced, in standard format:
1. New Programme Market Research Request (Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate versions): information to allow Admissions & Student Recruitment to undertake market research on the potential demand and existing competition for the proposed programme. Detailed guidelines for completing this document can be found at: New Programme and Module Approval - Guidenotes and Templates.
Any needs beyond current service provision should be discussed at an early stage with the relevant student services. In cases involving collaborations and/or articulations, a memorandum of understanding may be required.
If the initial discussions are positive, the dean should decide how proposals should be developed within the school, prior to submission to the School Board. This may be via:
The approach should be discussed in advance with the college head of learning and teaching (or similar), specifically to consider how an element of externality will be included in the process, typically through involvement by an experienced member of staff from another school or college or by following defined accreditation procedures.
The process may include development of new modules; in which case module approval documents must also be submitted (see Module Approval Process below).
The following four documents should be produced, in standard formats:
Detailed guidenotes for preparing these documents can be found at: New Programme and Module Approval - Guidenotes and Templates. Drafts may be considered at School Board level prior to formal submission (see stages 4 and 5 of the process).
The relevant school secretary should post the approval documents on the University intranet following the procedures detailed at New Programme and Module Approval - Intranet Posting Process. The posting process involves notification to key executives in student and academic support services, other schools, colleges, and DUSA. It is strongly recommended that academic staff contact the relevant Library Liaison Officer in advance of the submission of any new proposal to discuss library resources eg the composition of reading lists. At this stage, the relevant School should consider defining the admissions process for the new programme. Admissions & Student Recruitment provide useful guidelines for this purpose.
The approval documents should be available for consultation for a minimum period of two weeks. Any member of staff or DUSA may:
In particular, heads of student and academic support services are required to consider the approval documents and raise any questions or concerns.
The relevant school board is the primary decision-making body regarding approval, making a recommendation for formal decision by college board and Senate. If a proposal involves more than one school, the relevant deans should agree the approach to be taken. This may involve one school taking the lead, and the decision of that school being submitted to the other school for confirmation.
School Board
The following documents should be submitted to the School Board:
The School Board should consider these documents and make a formal, minuted decision regarding approval and commitment of school resources. This approval decision may also include conditions (which should be specific in terms of actions and timescales) and/or suggestions, either of which may result in revision of the approval documents. Final versions should be posted on the University intranet to inform College Board and Senate's confirmation.
College Board
School Board's decision should be submitted to college board for confirmation, normally as a 'starred' item within the School Board Minutes, hyper-linked to the approval documents.
Senate
The College Board's decision to approve should be included as a specific item in the college's routine report to Senate; again, the report should be hyper-linked to the approval documents. Senate should either:
Programmes may be fully promoted (eg through external websites such as UCAS and UKPASS) and applications will open after School and College Board approval, but students may only be made an offer of admission, after the Programme is formally approved by Senate, unless the 'fast track' route has been taken.
To allow the newly approved programme to be created in the Student Management System (SITS) and applications to be opened, the following document should be produced in standard format:
1. Approved new programme - Admissions and Registry Requirements Form provides sufficient information to create the admissions process, and to setup the programme in both internal (SITS, COGNOS, etc) and external systems (UCAS, GTTR, UKPASS, SLC, SAAS, etc)
Detailed guidelines for completing this document can be found at: New Programme and Module Approval - Guidenotes and Templates.
As with all other taught provision, new programmes will undergo Annual Programme Monitoring. It is expected that in the first few years this takes account of the need to look critically at the new programme's initial operation, with adjustments being made as deemed necessary. After five years, the new programme will enter the cycle of periodic Programme Review.
Module approval involves five main stages (Figure 2):
The impetus for developing a new module may arise, inter alia, from:
The idea should be discussed in principle with the relevant programme board(s). Following this, there should be preliminary discussion with the school secretary, which should include consideration of timescales, and sources of guidance and support to help the development process.
Staff are encouraged to seek advice and guidance from relevant student and academic support services. In particular, there should be early discussion about any requirements that go beyond the current standard level of service provision.
If the initial discussions are positive, the dean should decide how proposals should be developed within the school, prior to submission to the School Board. This may be via:
Deans should decide on an appropriate degree of externality, for example seeking the advice of an experienced member of staff from another school or college or following defined accreditation procedures.
The following documents should be produced, in standard formats:
Detailed guidenotes for preparing these documents can be found at: New Programme and Module Approval - Guidenotes and Templates
The relevant school secretary should post the module approval documents on the University intranet following the procedures detailed at New Programme and Module Approval - Intranet Posting Process. The posting process involves notification to key executives in student and academic support services, other schools, colleges, and DUSA.
The approval documents should be available for consultation for a minimum period of two weeks. Any member of staff or DUSA may:
In particular, heads of student and academic support services are required to consider the approval documents and raise any questions or concerns.
The relevant school board is the primary decision-making body regarding approval, making a recommendation for formal decision by college board. If a proposal involves more than one school, the relevant deans should agree the approach to be taken. This may involve one school taking the lead, and the decision of that school being submitted to the other school for confirmation.
School board
The following documents should be submitted to school board:
The School Board should consider these documents and make a formal, minuted decision regarding approval and commitment of school resources. This approval decision may also include conditions (which should be specific in terms of actions and timescales) and/or suggestions, either of which may result in revision of the approval documents. Final versions should be posted on the University intranet to inform College Board and Senate's confirmation.
College board
School Board's decision recommendation should be submitted to college board for confirmation; the report should be hyper-linked to the approval documents.
Senate
College board's decision to approve should be included as a specific item in the college's routine report to Senate; the report should be hyper-linked to the approval documents.
Senate should either:
Following Senate approval the new module may be advertised and delivered to students.
As with all other taught provision, new modules will undergo Annual Module Monitoring. It is expected that in the first few years this takes account of the need to look critically at the new module's initial operation, with adjustments being made as deemed necessary. The operation of the new module will be considered as part of Annual Programme Monitoring and of periodic Programme Review.
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