This document discusses the need for more flexible and responsive university curriculum systems to support innovative curriculum design. It notes that current administrative systems are typically isolated "islands" oriented around annual academic periods rather than curriculum development. A gap exists between these administrative systems and databases used for curriculum innovation, quality assurance, and marketing. The author outlines lessons learned from a project at Manchester Metropolitan University aimed at overcoming barriers to curriculum innovation by improving the links between curriculum design and dependent administrative systems like enrolment and timetabling. While challenges exist in terminology and managing interdependencies, the University of Southern Queensland provides an example of integrating previously separate systems to better support flexible curriculum change.

1. Systems enablers for flexible,
responsive curricula
Professor Mark Stubbs
Head of Learning & Research Technologies
Manchester Metropolitan University
m.stubbs@mmu.ac.uk | http://twitter.com/thestubbs
Thursday, June 17, 2010 2010-05-20 1

2. Some observations
• HE admin systems
– typically islands: enrolment, prospectus, quality...
– often oriented towards audit, not curriculum or
competence development
– typically oriented around a repeating academic period
– data entry costs mitigated by “roll over”
– occasionally annoying for “steady state”
but ....
– what if more flexible, responsive curricula is to become
mainstream?
Thursday, June 17, 2010 2
Source JISC XCRI + CDD

3. A prelude to change?
• Within the JISC’s £8M Curriculum Design and Delivery
Programme, institutions are responding to the
challenge of innovating curricula in a diminishing
resource environment by scrutinising their business
processes and the systems that support them, and
questioning whether traditions of re-keying curricula
data across systems can be sustained
Thursday, June 17, 2010 3

4. Understanding the gap
Student Records QA / QE
+ Enrolment + Definitive documents
+ Transcript (HEAR) + Annual monitoring
Curriculum
Database
Marketing Curriculum Innovation
+ Prospectus + Learning Outcome mapping
+ UCAS + Competence development
Thursday, June 17, 2010 4

5. Versioning
• Past for transcript (snake)
• Present for enrolment (jaguar)
• Future for prospectus (condor)
• Approved transitions
2010/11 Old Yr1 Old Yr2
2011/12 New Yr1 Old Yr2
2012/13 New Yr1 New Yr2
Thursday, June 17, 2010 5

6. Lessons from MMU’s EQAL?
• MMU Enhancing Quality of Assessment & Learning
– Inspired by JISC SRC + threshold standards for student experience
– 4 strands
• Curriculum Framework
• Admin Systems + Business Processes
• Seamless Student Access
• Quality Processes
• Overcoming barriers to curriculum innovation
– Scaffolding development of a new UG curriculum
– Scrutinising new UG curriculum + setting up dependent systems:
• enrolment, timetable, submission, VLE, library …
Thursday, June 17, 2010 MLE Workshop, Aytoun Library Seminar Room 6
2009-05-13 14:00

7. Insights so far
• Approach
– SSM scoping: system to ... by means of ... in order to ...
– Consensus building: scenarios + data + process modelling +
prototyping
• Challenges
– Agreeing terminology: Quality, Student Records, Marketing…
• Programme / named Award / Course / Stage / Unit ?
– Understanding difference between “Spec” + “Instance”
• Spec: Curriculum Design – Quality Approval scrutiny
• Instance: Curriculum Delivery – Monitoring & Enhancement scrutiny
– Coping with inter-linkages without becoming overwhelmed !!
Thursday, June 17, 2010 MLE Workshop, Aytoun Library Seminar Room 7
2009-05-13 14:00

8. Some hope …
• USQ proved it’s not impossible
– http://www.usq.edu.au/extrafiles/ltsu/CPMS_JISC/
Thursday, June 17, 2010 MLE Workshop, Aytoun Library Seminar Room 8
2009-05-13 14:00