This document summarizes a presentation about extreme course design at the University of Bedfordshire Business School. The presentation discusses the origins and objectives of redesigning courses to improve the student experience and employability. It describes how the courses were redesigned in a non-traditional way, without traditional units or modules, through a creative process involving faculty and input from employers. The new course structure integrates projects and specialty topics and includes elements like a "practice week" and "assessment centre." Stakeholders were also engaged during the redesign process.

1. Elizabeth Parkin
Head of Management and Business Systems
University of Bedfordshire Business
School
Extreme Course Design:
Making step changes in the learner experience

2. Today
• Why do you want to innovate? To do extreme
coursedesign?
• How do you doit? How do you stimulate ideas?
• How do you manageyour stakeholders?

3. Origins of the Practice-Based
Vision
• Improve employability of our
students
• Define and improve the
student experience
• Strategic differentiation of the
Business School

4. So why are you doing it?
What are your objectives / ambitions for your course?
• Existingprogramme?
• New course?
• Group of 2-4 and share your ambitions
• How do you want to make a difference?

5. How we did it?

6. Conventional Course Structure –
and Thinking

7. How we did it (sort of)
• Creative, free-thinking group of people
interested in teaching and learning
• Everything is possible
• No units or modules - no rectangles!
– Spend weeks to design the course and
assessment
– Then divide into units
• Checking the direction and soundness with
Director of T&L as ideas develop
• Engaging with wider Faculty staff team and
employers as we go

8. Students can select a combination
of integrated and specialised projects
‘Undergraduate Third Year
Sweet Shop’ Approach
Subject specific
individual
Project.

9. Subject area
Core component
Core
component
P
R
A
C
T
I
C
E
W
E
E
K
Exit to work
“Outduction”
A
S
S
E
S
S
M
E
N
T
C
E
N
T
R
E
P
R
E
P
A
R
A
T
O
R
Y
P
R
O
J
E
C
T Practice unit
Mix of mini units and large integrated
Practice and subject specialist project

10. Business Studies Integrated Management 30 credits
HRM Practice 30 credits
Project Management Practice 30 credits
Business Practice Portfolio
30 credits
Dissertationin Business
30 credits
Business Analytics 30 credits
PW
Assessment Centre
Myers Briggs
Year 3 BA (Hons) Business Studies
Decision Modelling 30 credits
Marketing 30 credits
P
A
T
P
A
T
P
A
T
EasterNew YearTerm Start
International Management 30 credits
Financial Management 30 credits
Practice
Week
The
Future
You
15 credits
Strategy & Creativity
15 credits

11. How we did it 2
Inspiration:
Kaos Pilots
http://www.kaospilot.dk/

14. Stakeholder Management
What are stakeholders?
Who are they?

15. Stakeholder Management
Johnson and
Scholes, Exploring
Corporate Strategy

16. Enjoy it!