Approved by: Senate Date first published: Sep-2015
Version No. 1.0 Date updated: Sep-2015
Owner: Academic Quality Directorate Review Date: Sep-2021 This document has been designed to be accessible for readers. However, should you require the document in an alternative format please contact the Academic Quality Directorate.
Procedure
Course Amendment
Contents
Introduction 2 Purpose of Amendments 2 Nature of Amendments 2 Consultations 4 Amendment Process 5Course Amendment Panel (CAP) 5
Membership of CAP 6
Roles and Responsibilities 7
Documentation 8
Chair’s Actions 9
Timelines 9
Amendment Matrix 10
Appendix 1: Course Amendment Process Diagram 11
Appendix 2: Amendment Matrix 12
Related Forms:
Introduction
1 The University’s course amendment process is intended to provide a framework for the modification and enhancement of courses so that they continue to accord with
institutional policies and national expectations and to be of a standard appropriate to the qualifications to which they lead.
2 It is a requirement of the University that a clear and complete definition of an award is maintained and held by the appropriate faculty and Academic Quality Directorate (AQD) at all times.
Purpose of Amendments
3 The University recognises that in order to maintain the currency (both academically and professionally) of an award and to respond to market forces it is necessary to enable course teams to propose amendments to awards without necessitating a full revalidation of the provision.
4 This process will consider the currency and validity of the courses in light of developments in the sector, in research and pedagogy.
5 The process will evaluate whether the students are attaining the intended learning outcomes and whether the assessment regime enables this to be appropriately demonstrated.
6 Course Amendment is an enhancement process which aims to improve the learning, teachings and assessments of students.
7 The courses will also need to continue to align with their aims and the University’s strategy and mission.
8 The University requires that all awards are presented for re-approval as detailed in the validation process.
Nature of Amendments
9 Amendments are divided into three categories: editorial amendments, minor amendments and major amendments.
a Editorial amendments are changes that do not alter the outcome or nature of the course or module. These do not require committee approval but updated
documentation should be provided to AQD for processing. They will also report the changes to the course amendment panel at the next meeting.
b Minor amendments are changes that go beyond editorial amendments but do not amount to major change. These will require approval by the Course Amendment Panel.
c Major amendments are changes that alter or have the potential to alter the outcome or nature of a large part of an entire course. These require approval by the Course Amendment Panel and, in some cases, also by Senate.
10 Where there is concern over the cumulative volume of amendments to an award the responsible School is advised to seek advice from AQD in respect of the necessity to revalidate the programme.
11 An indication of the extent of cumulative amendments which would necessitate a revalidation consists of amendments to an award’s learning outcomes, assessment regime and structure which equates to more than one third of the total credits compared with the original definitive documentation.
For example: for a Foundation Degree, changes cannot be made to 80 credits or above; 120 credits for an undergraduate degree; and 60 credits for postgraduate courses.
12 Where a course has been through validation, there will not normally be any minor or major changes made until formal student and external examiner feedback is available at the end of the module. This is to ensure that student and external examiner
feedback has been taken into consideration and that the contractual arrangement made with the students is premeditated.
13 The following table details the type and category of amendments.
Category Type of amendment
Editorial Change Typographical corrections and clarifications
Editorial Change Factual information, e.g. changes to Schools or Department names
Editorial Change Entry requirements, e.g. changes to IELTS Editorial Change Key Text updates/Other learning resources Editorial Change Module semester of delivery
Editorial Change Assessment hand-in weeks
Editorial Change Minor changes to indicative content that do not affect its learning outcomes
Minor Change Module Title Minor Change Course Structure
Minor Change Changing a module from core to optional in a programme Minor Change Adding new optional modules to a programme
Minor Change Discontinuation of a module
Minor Change Module Assessment Weighting and Type Minor Change New stand-alone module
Minor Change Module Credit Value or Level Minor Change Length of Course / Module Minor Change
Minor Change
Extension to Expiry Date (Maximum of 1 year permitted) Balance of learning, teaching, independent study hours Major Change Course Title
Category Type of amendment Major Change Addition of a new module
Major Change Programme or Module Learning Outcomes
Major Change Significant changes to Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategies
Major Change Addition or changes to the Mode of Study
Major Change Increase or decrease in the total number of Credits for a Course
Major Change Award Designation
Revalidation Introduction of a new Pathway on a programme Revalidation Method of course delivery
Revalidation Addition of a new Academic Partner to deliver the course Revalidation Addition of new top-up routes
Revalidation Curriculum re-design
Revalidation Multiple module changes within the course structure
Consultations
14 Consultations will need to be undertaken for minor and major amendments only. 15 Changes can be identified through student module feedback, programme committees
or through the National Student Survey (NSS) results. Other changes can be identified through external examiners reports and/or visits and through the annual programme review and enhancement process.
16 All colleagues that are associated with the course must have an opportunity to be made aware of the changes and to be involved in the consultation process. This is to ensure that there are no barriers to making the proposed changes.
17 When staff are preparing changes to an existing course they need to be aware of the impact of the changes on other stakeholders in the course for example students, professional bodies, employers, academic or practice partners. Therefore all those involved will need to be consulted.
18 Staff need to be aware that a change made to a course at Bucks New University will have an impact on the same course taught at a partner institution and will need to consult with them over any changes to be introduced. This engagement will also enhance the University’s relationship with its partners and improve their knowledge of the approval processes undertaken at the University.
19 Staff have a responsibility to consult other Schools which have or could have an interest in the course or subject area via the relevant Head of Academic Department. Proposed changes to modules run jointly with another School must be signed off by both Head Schools.
20 Staff should discuss the resource requirements and funding implications of any course amendment with appropriate professional service colleagues.
21 Where students are registered on a course they should also be consulted; this should involve a range of students which reflect the diversity of protected characteristics and should seek to include students from different modes of study and location where appropriate. The consultation should clearly outline the changes that are being made and the only time consultations with students is excused, is where the course has not recruited and there are no similar courses running.
22 For minor and major changes staff should seek advice from external experts on academic aspects of the proposed amendments. External experts who may be consulted include the current or recent external examiner, colleagues from sector bodies and potential employers of graduates from the course.
23 The Course Amendment Panel will be managed by AQD and will report to the Academic Planning Committee.
Amendment Process
Please refer to Appendix 1: Course Amendment Process Diagram.
24 Prior to proposing any amendment, schools are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate level of internal and external consultation has been undertaken. The academic leading on the proposal will then present the changes to the Head of School who will sign upon agreement the amendment proposal.
Form: Course and Module Amendment Form
25 The proposals along with any supporting and definitive documentation should be presented to the relevant School Registrar, who will upload all completed documents to the shared drive for the AQD Secretary.
26 Documentation received in AQD which does not comply with the requirements will be returned to the responsible school for inclusion of further information prior to the reporting and implementing of the amendment.
Course Amendment Panel (CAP)
27 The Course Amendment Panel (CAP) will consider course and module amendments and new developments such as new short and professional courses or stand-alone modules.
28 The aims of CAP are to consider the following: d the rationale for the amendment
e the effect on teaching, learning and assessment strategy of the module aims and learning outcomes
f the overall coherence of the course g implications for resources
h the impact if any on other courses
i impact on collaborative partners offering the same courses j the impact if any on external benchmarks
a ensure that the course team have followed the University procedures for course updating
b ensure that there is evidence of consultation with external examiners and students c report or make recommendations accordingly to the Academic Planning Committee d offer advice and information to the course amendment teams
e ensure that the course continues to align with the FHEQ, relevant subject benchmarks and PSRB requirements.
30 Once the above have been addressed the CAP panel should reach a decision to the amendment proposal. This could be to either approve or reject the proposal.
31 Where amendments have been rejected, appropriate feedback must be provided to the School. If the course amendment panel requires the course team to modify
documentation before approving or recommending the approval of amendment, a date for resubmission will be set by the panel.
32 The Chair will identify the appropriate person from the panel to report final decisions back to the Schools.
33 Reasons for rejecting the amendment can include incomplete or inaccurate forms or definitive documents, no evidence or consultation with all parties, and learning outcomes or assessment strategies not being clear or fully articulated.
34 The level of scrutiny of the change needs to be proportionate to the scale of the amendment.
Membership of CAP
35 Membership of the Course Amendment Panel will be drawn from the following:
Role Person Specification
Chair Academic Enhancement Manager, Learning &
Teaching Directorate
Secretary AQD Approval & Review
Academic Panel Members Minimum of six academics from each Faculty
AQD A representative from Approval & Review Marketing & Student
Recruitment
A representative from the Marketing & Student Recruitment team
School Registrar One from each Faculty
SU representative A representative from the student body
36 The academic panel will consist of twelve employees nominated by the faculties representing different academic disciplines and methodologies to serve for a term of two years beginning on 1 September and expiring on 31 August unless otherwise determined, renewable for a further two years. Panel members are expected to attend a minimum of 3 meetings each year.
37 The School Registry teams will nominate a representative, one from each Faculty who can be altered to suit the nature of the amendments presented.
38 Each panel can include up to two observers; however this would have to be with the approval and at the discretion of the Chair.
39 For quoracy, there must be representation from the Chair, Secretary, AQD and one academic from each Faculty.
Roles and Responsibilities
40 The lead academic sponsor will have consultations with students, externals,
professional service employees, course teams and AQD. They will also liaise with the Head of School to agree their proposal. It is the responsibility of the lead academic to amend the curriculum details on the definitive documents.
41 The Head of School will sign each proposal document, confirming that they have discussed the proposal with the lead academic and are aware of how the change(s) impact other programmes and academic partners (if applicable), that the impact on students has been duly considered and that they are satisfied for the changes to be reviewed by the course amendment panel.
42 Each School will nominate a Registrar who will be responsible for ensuring the appropriate paperwork is completed by the lead academics for each curriculum change and that the Head of School has signed and endorsed the document. The Registrar is also responsible for ensuring that a full set of completed documents is available to the Secretary of the Course Amendment Panel.
43 The AQD Approval & Review team can provide advice and guidance on all aspects of the amendment process. The type of advice can be related to whether the changes proposed are in accordance with the University’s regulations, or whether the changes constitute a revalidation or amendment.
44 The Marketing and Student Recruitment panel member will advise on matters relating to how the proposed changes impact the way in which the course is marketed and how the change will affect the applicants on the programme. As a result of discussions the representative may need to communicate the changes to the applicants, as advised by the Chair.
45 The Chair should have knowledge of the validation process as well as the course amendment process. They should remain impartial and objective and be able to guide the panel members as well as ensuring that all panel members are allowed an equal opportunity to participate in the discussions. Together with the panel the Chair will make decisions on the outcome of each amendment proposal and agree timelines for the re-submission of rejected proposals.
46 The Students Union member will represent the students’ interest and will ensure that the students on the courses/modules affected have been consulted. They will also ensure that the changes proposed do not disadvantage the student in any way or impact severely on the student experience.
47 Panel members will be expected to identify any issues or questions based on the changes provided. Further guidance is available from AQD upon request.
48 The Secretary will agree the meeting dates with the Chair and will administer the whole process including, collating and distributing of all the documents to the panel. 49 The Secretary will keep track of each amendment and where it is in the course
amendment process. The Secretary will also aid in the process of approving Chair’s Actions and creating course set up documents where required.
50 The Secretary will also be responsible for checking, updating and managing the final documents. Functions can include:
changes implemented or updated onto the Student Record System changes tracked onto the Statement of Approval definitive document changes tracked onto the amendments tracker
definitive documents are saved onto the Bucks folder
word documents to be saved for future amendments/reference
reporting or presenting to the appropriate body of the University (for example: marketing, admissions, student centre and online presence)
Documentation
51 All documents submitted should be prepared and supported with the appropriate templates. Detailed guidance on the completion of the templates has been built into the forms.
52 The exact documentation required depends on the nature of the proposal to be presented, but in summary is as listed below:
Proposal Course and Module Amendment Form Programme Specification Module De
scriptor
Course Set
Up
Document Statement of Approval Course Amendment
Module Amendment
53 AQD will hold all copies of definitive documents, including working Word documents and PDF versions. Copies of all approved awards i.e. Programme Specification, Module Descriptor and Course Set Up documents can be found with AQD or on the Bucks folder on the S drive. Course teams are asked to not save their own versions locally and to request versions from AQD in all instances.
54 It is best practice to highlight changes in the definitive documents so it is clear to the panel where changes have been made. Track changes must not be used.
55 The Course and Module Amendment Form can include any additional appendices which support the proposed amendment, for example relevant student data (progression and achievements) which will help the panel reach any decisions.
56 All amendments will be recorded on a central tracking spreadsheet which will be held by AQD. The spreadsheet will keep track of where in the process each amendment is and will give AQD an opportunity to analyse the type and volume of amendments being put through CAP. The spreadsheet will also record all chairs actions.
57 CAP will only quality assure and approve credit bearing short courses once it has been through the Faculty Management Team (FMT). Non-credit bearing short courses are approved by FMT only. The documentation for short course approval can be found in the Short and Professional Course Approval Process.
58 Course closures, including suspensions or withdrawals should follow the Course Closure or Suspension Policy.
Chair’s Actions
59 Where the CAP has rejected a proposal, the team may be asked to develop their plan further or amend their definitive documents. In a case where the team has completed the changes and the revised documents are of a suitable standard, the Chair can agree the proposal if a CAP is not scheduled to be held in good time. This would be approved via a Chair’s Action. These Chair’s Actions will then need to be reported back in the next CAP meeting.
60 It is advisable that Chair’s Actions are not taken for amendment proposals which have not been through a course amendment panel or where the proposal is for new
curriculum development (short courses and new modules). In the case where a change is required urgently, the Secretary and Chair will liaise with the panel via a virtual meeting if the proposal is agreed, and then a Chair’s Action can be taken. 61 The Chair’s Action will be recorded on the central tracker. The tracker will not detail the
nature of the Chair’s Action, but merely be a brief outline of the action taken. The detail will be on the accompanying Course and Module Amendment Form.
Timelines
62 Amendments will normally be considered between September and June for the amendments to be changed for the following September. Exceptions to these timings will be at the discretion of the Chair.
63 Amendments cannot be back dated; therefore it is important that timescales are adhered to.
64 Course amendment panel meeting dates are set by the Secretary in advance and agreed with the Chair. There will be two meetings per term.
65 Documents such as the amendment proposals are sent to the panel members two weeks prior to the meeting; this is also the final deadline by which the amendment proposals should be with the Secretary.
66 Students will need sufficient notice of the forthcoming changes and this will need to be built into the whole process. Where the change affects a partner institution, it is the responsibility of the partnership tutor to inform the staff and students at the partner.
67 Changes to courses may not be advertised or implemented until the amendment process is successfully completed.
68 The date from which the amendment is effective is vital to the approval of any amendment as AQD needs to be able to ascertain to which cohorts the amendment should be applied. Therefore this needs to be stated on the amendment proposal forms.
69 Changes to assessment weightings and regimes can also impact on the data submitted for the Key Information Set; any changes made to assessment strategies will need careful consideration and implementation by all.
Amendment Matrix
Please refer to Appendix 2: Amendment Matrix
70 The amendment matrix details the routing for consultation, approval and notification of any proposed amendments.
71 It is recognised that these matrices may not cover all eventualities and Schools are encouraged to discuss proposed amendments with AQD to ascertain and clarify the nature of the amendments and the documentation required.
Appendix 1: Course Amendment Process Diagram
Appendix 1 - Course Amendment
Faculty CAP Academic Quality
Amendment identified at course team level & assigned a lead
Student Consultations Proposal submitted to HoS Secretary to collate all amendments for next meeting CAP meeting Reject proposal Approve Proposal External Consultations Academic lead to prepare documents All IT systems updated Updating of all Definitive Documents Definitive documents saved or replaced on the Bucks drive Communicating with appropriate bodies of the University Consultation with AQD Documents submitted to School Registrar to upload on the shared drive
Consultations Documentation Approval Notification AQD
Nature of Amendment Course Level Cours e Tea m Head o f Sch ool Faculty Regi stra r Othe r Faculty/School/De p t Studen ts
Externals Partners (if applicable) Accr
editor s (If applicable ) New Mo dule Des c ripto r Revis e d Mo dule Des c rip to r New Prog ra mme Specifi cation Revis e d Pro g ramme Spe c ification New Cour se set up do cu men t Revis e d Co u rse se t up d o cu men t Head o f Sch ool
CAP FMT Senate Validation Subgroup Cours
e Tea m Head o f Sch ool Faculty Regi stra r Othe r Faculty/School/De p t Studen ts
Externals Partners (If applicable) Accr
editor s (If applicable ) Upda te QL Upda te Buck s Drive Upda te KIS workbo ok Upda te State m en t of App roval Email Distrib u tion List
Addition of a new partner X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Addition of a top-up route to an
existing programme X X X X X X X X X X X X
Addition of a mode of study X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Addition of new module to
programme X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Change of Title X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Change of responsible
Faculty/School/Department X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Changes to programme structure
(optional & core) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Change to the mode of study X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Extend validation date X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Length of course X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
New credit bearing short course X X X X X X X X X X X
New non-credit bearing short
course X X X X X X X X X X
New programme pathway or
bracketed award X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Removal of existing module from
Consultations Documentation Approval Notification AQD Nature of Amendment Module Level Cours e Tea m Head o f Sch ool Faculty Regi stra r Othe r Faculty/School/De p t Studen ts
Externals Partners (if applicable) Accr
editor s (If applicable ) New Mo dule Des c ripto r Revis e d Mo dule Des c rip to r New Prog ra mme Specifi cation Revis e d Pro g ramme Spe c ification New Cour se set up do cu men t Revis e d Co u rse se t up d o cu men t Head o f Sch ool
CAP FMT Senate Validation Subgroup Cours
e Tea m Head o f Sch ool Faculty Regi stra r Othe r Faculty/School/De p t Studen ts Externals Partners (If a pp licable ) Accr editor s (If applicable ) Upda te QL Upda te Buck s Drive Upda te KIS workbo ok Upda te State m en t of App roval Email Distrib u tion List Academic Level X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Assessment hand in week X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Assessment Regime X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Assessment Strategy X X X X X X X X X X X Brief Description X X X Change of Titles X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Credit Points X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Employability Statement X X X Indicative Content X X X Key Skills Matrix X X X Learning & Teaching Strategy X X X Learning Outcomes X X X Length of module X X X X X X X X X X X X X X New standalone module X X X X X X X Notional Hours X X X Responsible
School/Department X X X X X X X X X Semester taught X X X X X X X X X X X Validation extension for a
