The Curriculum Management System (CMS) supports the approval process for introducing new courses and programmes or amending or withdrawing existing courses and programmes.
New Programmes, Programme Withdrawals and Stand Alone Courses
Schools wishing to establish new programmes and/or withdraw existing programmes from their portfolio should use the templates below. For further information please contact the Programme Management Committee (PMC) via pmc@abdn.ac.uk.
Please note: In adherence to the School Planning process a development consent form is required for all new programmes and these, together with the withdrawal of programmes, should be reflected in School plans and projections.
- Development Consent Template – use along with the finance template to request PMC approval to develop a new programme for QAC review and approval.
- Finance Template – use along with the development consent template to request PMC approval to develop a new programme for QAC review and approval.
- New Programme Template – use once PMC approval granted to submit a new programme for QAC review and approval.
- Business Case for Withdrawal of a Programme – use to request PMC approval to withdraw an existing programme.
- Business Case for a Stand Alone Course – use to request PMC approval to develop a new stand-alone course. Use New Course Proposal template once PMC approval granted.
Completed templates (excluding new programme templates) should be e-mailed to pmc@abdn.ac.uk.
Once development consent has been granted by the PMC, new programme templates should be e-mailed to the relevant Curriculum Administrator (CA) by the end of the winter term at the latest. The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) meets monthly to review School submissions. Schools will be notifed by their CA when QAC has a query in regards to a submission and when QAC approval has been granted. Schools will be required to respond to any QAC queries via their CA.
New Courses, Course Changes and Course Status Changes
- New Course Proposal – use when proposing a brand-new course, or proposing radical changes to a course.
- Course Change Template – use to propose changes to an existing course.
- Request to Cap a Course or Change a Cap on a Course – use to request that a course is capped or request changes to a cap already in place.
- Course Status Change Form – use to change a course status between live, dormant, or withdrawn.
Completed course templates should be e-mailed to the relevant Curriculum Administrator (CA) by 30 November at the latest. The CA will be responsible for ensuring that the data is entered into the CMS.
The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) meets monthly to review School submissions. Schools will be notifed by their CA when QAC has a query in regards to a submission and when QAC approval has been granted. Schools will be required to respond to any QAC queries via their CA.
Programme Modifications
- Programme Modification Template – use to propose changes to an existing programme.
Completed programme templates should be e-mailed to the relevant Curriculum Administrator (CA) by the end of the winter term at the latest. The CA will be responsible for ensuring that the data is entered into the CMS.
The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) meets monthly to review School submissions. Schools will be notifed by their CA when QAC has a query in regards to a submission and when QAC approval has been granted. Schools will be required to respond to any QAC queries via their CA.
Intended Learning Outcomes
In developing course and programme proposal forms, it is important to consider the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) that are associated with the new course or programme. In doing so, the Centre for Academic Development have prepared helpful resources on creating and developing ILOs which are available on the University webpages. Resources include: (i) Intended Learning Outcomes presentation; and (ii) Video on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Course Assessment Changes
Schools wishing to make assessment changes after the teaching/assessment of a course has finished and before the next delivery of a course will be able to submit assessment change requests outwith the planning cycle for:-
Sub-Session 1 (First Half-Session) Courses - in June
Sub-Session 2 (Second Half-Session) and Full Year Courses - in November
Curriculum Administrators
Your CA is always available to answer any questions you may have about the above.
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Curriculum Administrator E-mail |
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School of Biological Sciences |
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Business School |
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School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History |
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School of Education |
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School of Engineering |
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School of Geosciences |
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School of Law |
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School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture |
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School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition |
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School of Natural and Computing Sciences |
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School of Psychology |
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School of Social Science |
The University Calendar and the Catalogue of Courses
Once approved, courses and programmes are made available to staff and students via the:
- University Calendar – lists every programme offered by the University in a given academic year, the academic regulations which must be adhered to, and the courses which must be studied to ensure a student can graduate.
- Catalogue of Courses – a catalogue of all the courses the University offers in a given academic year, categorised by subject area.
The approval process is summarised in flow chart format here.