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SENAS 1: New Course Proposals

Download guidance notes in word format

New course proposals are required:-

• where the content being proposed is entirely new or
• where the content of an existing course is being substantially modified such that a student could not reasonably be assessed on it without re-attendance.

After scrutiny and approval at the School level, all proposals to offer a new undergraduate or postgraduate taught course should be submitted as Word attachments by e-mail to the relevant College Registrar (see relevant e-mail addresses at end of Guidance Note). The proposal will be considered initially by the relevant College Committee and, subsequently, by the Academic Standards Committee.

In completing the new course proposal, please would you note the following:-

All boxes must be completed, where appropriate;

2 - Course Co-ordinators MUST be either a member of academic staff or an Honorary member of the academic staff of the relevant School. This is because the Head of School is ultimately responsible for the course. It does not preclude “bought-in”; (including relief) teachers having a major role in organising and delivering a course (but not a programme).

4 - An existing course may be replaced by a new course in one of two ways: (a) when it is no longer appropriate to offer a course (e.g. when the course content is no longer applicable or if the Course Co-ordinator has left the University) and the School wishes to withdraw the course and replace it by a new course on a different topic; (b) when a new course covers similar material to an existing course but the content is sufficiently different to require a different assessment. In both cases there may be implications of withdrawing a course in regard to pre- and co-requisites and to the degree programme(s) associated with the course. While it is not necessary to complete a separate course withdrawal proposal, you should confirm in 4b whether this course is to be withdrawn. You should indicate in 20 those programmes that are sponsored by your School for which the course being withdrawn is either a compulsory or optional component (the ASC Clerks will identify those programmes offered by other Schools for which the course is prescribed). [Details of the programme(s) to be associated with the NEW course should be given in 17].

5 - Although the University’s courses (and programmes) are consistent with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), all of the University’s systems and publications relate to Aberdeen (UoA) levels. Thus, UoA Level 1 is equivalent to SCQF Level 7; UoA Level 5 is equivalent to SCQF Level 11, etc.

If a course is to be offered to both undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, details of the enhanced teaching and/or assessment arrangements for postgraduates should be provided in 20.

6 - Enter the academic year in which the course will be offered for the first time (e.g. 2005-2006). The precise date of commencement of the course will be deduced from 7.

7 - The first half-session teaching period runs from Week 12 to Week 23, and the second half-session teaching from Week 30 to Week 45.

8 - 1 credit point should equate to 10 hours of notional effort that an “average” student would be expected to devote in order to achieve the learning outcomes. This includes time spent in attending the course, in private study and in revision for the assessment. See also 18 below.

9 - Examples of the rationale for a proposal include:-

• in response to feedback (e.g. from students, External Examiners, employers, professional or statutory bodies etc.)
• as a consequence of teaching staff changes
• as a consequence of course review
• to meet strategic objectives
  

10-15 - Resource implications are primarily a College concern although ASC approval for a course is conditional upon the relevant College(s) being satisfied that the course can be sufficiently resourced.

12 - There should be good and specific reasons to seek permission to cap courses (e.g. limitations imposed by laboratory space). A sound academic case for capping should be included in 20 for consideration by the ASC.

14 - Where delivery is to be the responsibility of more than one Discipline, it is essential that all relevant Heads of School give their approval to the proposal to deliver the course. The information supplied in 14 will also be used in the calculation of Student Load.

In regard to the JACS code, the Higher Education Statistics Agency on behalf of the Funding Councils also require the subject classification of each course. Details of the full range of JACS codes available, together with the nationally-agreed descriptors applicable to each, are available on, and can be downloaded from, the HESA website: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/component/option,com_studrec/task,show_file/Itemid,233/mnl,08051/href,JACS2.html/. Courses can be split between different JACS codes where appropriate; in which case the percentage split between codes as well as providing Disciplines should be indicated i.e. C181 - 50%; C185 - 50%.

15 - If bought-in teachers are to be used, details should be provided in 20, including an indication of whether or not an individual(s) has given provisional agreement to teach on the course or that potential personnel have been identified. If appropriate, give details of the course and session where an individual has previously taught on a University course(s).

16 - Refer to the Catalogue of Courses for details of format, as the information provided here will form the basis of the Catalogue entry. It is essential that all relevant information is provided, including the course content. The latter should be sufficiently detailed to provide students with a clear idea of what the course covers, but should not exceed 100 words.

The box for Notes can be used to indicate, for example, the degree or Honours programme to whose students the course is restricted or the proposed availability if the course is not to be offered each academic year. The course aims and main learning outcomes will not appear in the Catalogue but should form the basis of the information to be given to students who register for the course (e.g. in the Course Handbook). These details are requested in 16 to allow the relevant College Committee and ASC to properly exercise their approval roles in regard to the academic content and University policy aspects of a proposal. Aims and intended learning outcomes should be appropriate, consistent and sufficiently detailed. Guidance on composing these has been prepared by the Centre for Learning and Teaching. This indicates that Course Handbooks should give more detailed information e.g. listing learning outcomes as Knowledge & Understanding and identifying Transferable and Practical Skills.

Details of the resit assessment should be included for Level 1, 2 and 3 courses, and those PgT Level 5 courses that have obtained ASC(Pg) approval to offer resits. A general statement “Not normally applicable” could be inserted for the majority of Level 5 courses. Althouth it is not necessary to supply details of the resit arrangements for Level 4 courses, it may be necessary for resits to be arranged for those students who require to resit for credit accumulation purposes in order to satisfy SCQF requirements. In such cases, the timing and format of the assessment will be determined by the ASC(Ug) on the recommendation of the Gead of the relevant School. The Catalogue of Courses contains standard wording covering these circumstances.

17 - ALL degree programmes to be associated with a course should be identified to ensure that the University Calendar is edited correctly. Also, state whether the course will be compulsory or an elective for each degree programme.

18 – The information should be consistent with that in 8 (see above). Each course will be assigned credit points in terms of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) in which full-time students would normally be expected to register for 120 credit points (undergraduate students/level, including PGDE) or 180 credit points (postgraduate students excluding PGDE).

Thus, the notional student effort (which includes the revision and assessment period, in addition to that required during the 6 or 12 week teaching period) required to complete a course (Q18(a)) should comply with the following framework, irrespective of level:-

In regard to the hours of timetabled teaching sessions (Q18(b)), it will be assumed that, pending a review, these will relate to the guidelines given below:-

Guidelines on the relationship between contact hours, level and credit points

Non-Practical Based Courses:

Practical-Based Courses:

For information, Private Study is the estimated time required to complete (a) in-course assignments e.g. writing-up practicals/essays/projects, (b) Self-Directed Learning, i.e. work which is part of the course syllabus and which may include time spent on tasks undertaken (including group work) for discussion at a timetabled session e.g. tutorial or time to be spent in researching a topic, (c) other work, including library work, which a student would need to undertake in order to achieve the course learning outcomes and (d) time that students are expected to devote to revision for end-of-course examinations and the acquisition, development and enhancement of knowledge, which will vary between individuals.

19 – If there are components of the course, including methods of delivery and assessment, that may be inaccessible to students with disabilities or which they may find difficult or impossible to complete, please detail in 20 the alternative arrangements that would be made to allow such students to complete the course successfully [only in exceptional circumstances should the nature of a course be such as to make it impossible for alternative arrangements to be made for students with disabilities: in these circumstances, full details must be provided].

Any resource implications should be addressed in 15.

Appropriate wording should be included in the notes section of the entry for the Catalogue of Courses in 16.

Schools are strongly advised to consult the Student Support Officer/Disabilities Adviser in Student Support Services (extn 2023 or 3935 – see Programme Notes) in completing this information.

20 - Students who are required as part of their course of study to be in unsupervised contact with persons aged under 18, will be subject to a Disclosure (Scotland) check. Students admitted to programmes which already have compulsory elements requiring contact with persons under the age of 18 are routinely subject to a Disclosure check as part of the admissions process. Colleges keep a record of all courses requiring a check and ensure that applications are processed correctly. Further details, including College contacts, are provided in Appendix 6.2 of the Academic Quality Handbook.

Appropriate wording to indicate that a check will be required should be included in the notes section of the entry for the Catalogue of Courses in 16.

21 - Assess the course and assessment methods in terms of race, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation, age and gender. If you believe that there may be an adverse impact for one or more of the equality groups you may need to reconsider elements of the course. The University has a legal duty to 'promote equality of opportunity' in relation to race, gender and disability (although the University's policies also cover age, sexual orientation and religion and belief). This means that we need to look proactively at the content, delivery and assessment of our courses to ascertain opportunities to promote equality. If you have any queries or would like further guidance please contact the Equality and Diversity Adviser.

22 - Use this box to provide any additional information.

23 – The proposal must indicate that the Heads of all relevant Schools have approved the proposals before it is sent to the relevant College Registrar. Where approval required by more than one Head of School, enter date of final approval.

Once approved,the forms should be e-mailed as a 'word' attachment to the relevant college using the relevant e-mail address below:-

• College of Art & Social Sciences: senas.cass@abdn.ac.uk
• College of Life Sciences & Medicine: senas.clsm@abdn.ac.uk
• College of Physical Sciences: senas.cops@abdn.ac.uk