SECTION THREE: POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM DETAILS

1. What does the program seek to achieve for itself and the discipline?
2. Rationale for the program:
   1. reasons for the program
   2. key principles of and for, and ideas behind the program
   3. expected benefits from the program
   4. what does the program seek to achieve for the Faculty and the university?
   5. what does the program seek to achieve for the wider community?
3. How the program aligns itself to the Faculty’s and University’s missions
4. Meeting students’ and stakeholders’ needs
5. Aims and purposes of the program, their comprehensiveness, realism/practicability, specificity, appropriacy for the curriculum
6. Aims and goals, and in relation to Faculty and university plans, and national and international trends
7. What are the aims that are geared towards quality assurance?
8. Program‘s role in advancing the state of the field or discipline
9. How does the Program Committee know that its aims, goals, purposes and objectives have been achieved?
10. What are the specific objectives of the program?
11. What is the alignment between the program aims, objectives and exit outcomes?
12. Intended learning outcomes of the program: intended exit competencies, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and how recently they have been reviewed or amended
13. Medium of instruction
14. Equity principles
15. Commentary on how issues of employability and career development are taken into account in the design and delivery of the program
16. Curriculum content of the program: course by course
    1. quality of the curriculum
    2. coherence of the curriculum within and across courses and Faculty
    3. depth, breadth and balance of the curriculum
    4. level and level of demand on the program
    5. achievability of the curriculum
    6. clarity and guidance for students
    7. suitability for achievement of aims, purposes and intended learning outcomes
    8. identification and communication of priorities
    9. curriculum structure and changes
    10. academic quality and integrity of the program
    11. how recently the program has been reviewed or amended
    12. how does the Program Committee assure itself of the continuing relevance of the program and its contents?
    13. how does the Program Committee assure itself that the highest academic quality is ensured in the program, to meet the needs of stakeholders?
    14. how is input from different stakeholders and partners gathered and used on the programs in the program?
    15. relevance of the program
    16. clarity of linkages to targets and how recently they have been reviewed or amended
17. Structure and sequence of the program and its contributing courses
18. Communication of organizing principles of the program
19. Progression on the program and its courses
20. Differentiation of the program to meet students’ different needs, rates of learning, and learning strategies and styles
21. Accelerated learning on the program
22. Learning on the program:
    1. provision for learning
    2. suitability of learning opportunities and strategies for alignment to, and achievement of curriculum content, aims, purposes, intended learning outcomes and assessment requirements
    3. quality of learning
    4. active student learning on the program and engagement in it
    5. students’ higher order thinking and application in the program
    6. opportunities for, and uptake of, internship
    7. student exchange arrangements
    8. e-learning and blended learning, and the support for these (e.g. hardware, software, access, speed, stability of system)
    9. incorporation of new technologies for student learning
    10. collaborative and cooperative learning
    11. fieldwork
    12. depth and breadth of student learning
    13. strategies for ensuring maximum student participation in classroom sessions
    14. implementation and evolution of the Faculty’s learning strategies and internal arrangements for reviewing these
    15. evaluation of the ways of judging, and the criteria for judging, how students progress through the program), and how this progression is supported, monitored and reviewed, from admission to graduation
    16. students’ submissions of work on time, late and penalties
    17. internal arrangements in the Faculty for reviewing its provision of learning opportunities
    18. improvements/enhancements to the learning on the Faculty’s programs over a specified period
    19. staff development provided for developing students’ learning on the program
    20. strategies for improving students’ learning, and the impact of these
    21. strategies for staff development on improving students’ learning, and the impact of these
23. Teaching on the program
    1. provision for teaching
    2. quality of teaching
    3. diversity and suitability of teaching strategies
    4. guidance provided on teaching strategies
    5. supervision of research students
    6. full-time and part-time/adjunct teachers on the program
    7. suitability of teaching strategies for curriculum content and achievement of aims, purposes, intended learning outcomes and assessment requirements
    8. relevance and suitability of instructional practices
    9. evaluation of the teaching strategies and how they support students in their achievement of intended learning outcomes
    10. internal arrangements in the Faculty for reviewing teaching strategies
    11. improvements/enhancements to the teaching on the Faculty’s programs over a specified period
    12. staff development provided for developing teaching on the program
    13. relationship between teaching and research
    14. strategies for improving teaching, and the impact of these
    15. strategies for staff development of teaching, and the impact of these
24. Time and timetabling for optimal learning
25. Research
    1. provision for, support for, and quality of, research and publication
    2. how the support for research is evaluated, and how effective that support is
    3. funded and non-funded research in the program
    4. research teams, individuals, their work and its impact
    5. evaluation of the research and publication in the program.  How does the Program Committee evaluate the quality of its research?
    6. range and coherence of research on the program
    7. internal arrangements on the program for reviewing research, publication and their development
    8. alignment of the research to the program’s and Faculty’s mission and goals
    9. improvements/enhancements to the research in the program over a specified period
    10. relationship between teaching and research
    11. strategies and methods for improving student research, research supervision and publication, and the impact of these; staff development provided for developing student research, research supervision and publication on the program and the impact of these
    12. provision and support for encouraging excellence in student research and publication
    13. how staff and students are inducted into research
    14. research training for staff and students, and knowledge transfer provided on the program, for whom, and the uptake, impact and effectiveness of these
    15. dissemination of student research to key communities
    16. research seminars and other related programs on the program
    17. research evaluation and productivity: how it is monitored, developed and its quality improved on the program
    18. how new research opportunities are identified and addressed
    19. resources for research on the program
    20. how students are encouraged to undertake, report and disseminate research
    21. how a research culture and climate is developed and sustained in the program, for staff and students
    22. what key services are provided on the program for research and its development, and how these are evaluated
26. Supervision
    1. how supervision of research is undertaken, how effective it is, and how this is evaluated and improved
    2. provision for, and quality of, supervision
    3. support for supervision of research and research students
    4. supervisor training and development
    5. evaluation and review of the supervision arrangements and practices, and their effectiveness, on he program
    6. improvements/enhancements to the supervision arrangements and practices on the program over a specified period
    7. strategies for improving supervision arrangements, practices and quality, and the impact of these; staff development provided for developing supervision on the program and the impact of these
27. Resources for the program
    1. Adequacy of resources for learning and student support on the program
    2. quality of resources
    3. quality of facilities
    4. physical space and requirements
    5. library, computing, media matters
    6. new technologies
    7. what materials student must/should/could purchase for the program, and how they are used
    8. administrative and technical support
    9. support personnel
    10. physical facilities: classrooms, laboratories, office space, tutorial rooms
    11. equipment and instruments, and equipment needs
    12. specialist/dedicated resources
    13. access by students to resources and equipment
    14. program costs
    15. planned increases in resources
28. Health and safety on the program
29. Ethical matters relating to the program
30. Student assessment and examination on the program
    1. assessment measures and activities used
    2. frequency of examinations
    3. persons responsible for assessment, examination and collation of marks
    4. moderation of marks
    5. Board of Examiners
    6. External Examiners
    7. e-assessment
    8. examination and invigilation procedures
    9. extenuating and mitigating circumstances
    10. degree classification
    11. assessment of intended learning outcomes and other program objectives
    12. clarity and suitability of purposes, contents, criteria, type, methods and uses of assessment for the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, curriculum, aims and purposes of the program
    13. what proficiency levels must the students reach and demonstrate in order to exit from the program successfully? What are the low, mid, and high proficiency levels?
    14. reliability, validity, consistency of application, transparency, moderation, reporting, efficiency and monitoring of assessments
    15. marking criteria and conventions
    16. commentary on marks/grades/awards given, and grade distributions
    17. consideration of mitigating and extenuating circumstances
    18. evidence of outcomes of assessment
    19. uses made of student assessment and examination
    20. evidence of impact of assessment on students, academic staff, program
    21. anticipated and planned changes to assessment
    22. appeals and disciplinary procedures
    23. strategies for improving student assessment, and the impact of these
    24. strategies for staff development on student assessment, and the impact of these
31. Marking, grading and confirmation
32. Student coursework
33. Communication of criteria  to students for judging their work
34. Actual student outcomes and standards
    1. student outcomes
    2. standards reached by the students: achievements and attainments
    3. competencies demonstrated by the students
    4. trends in examination results
    5. comparability of standards with other institutions
    6. comments of External Examiners
    7. action taken by the Faculty as a result of data on standards and achievements
    8. employment and career outcomes of the students
    9. feedback from former students and on their career destinations and post-graduation activities;
    10. summaries of studies indicating the degree of success of graduates in obtaining suitable employment in the fields relevant to their studies;
    11. surveys of employer satisfaction with the program’s graduates.
    12. success of graduates
    13. external measures of success
    14. excellence awards
    15. strategies for improving students’ achievement and standards, and the impact of these
    16. strategies for staff development to improve student outcomes, and the impact of these
35. Program evaluation
    1. annual program review
    2. periodic review (how frequently and regularly, and by whom)
    3. plans for ongoing program review
    4. fitness for purpose and fitness of purposes of the kinds, criteria, contents, methods, comprehensiveness, rigour of program evaluation, and the clarity and suitability of these for the program
    5. regularity and frequency of program evaluation
    6. outcomes and impact of program evaluation on program development
    7. use made of program evaluations
    8. comprehensiveness and appropriacy of programs
    9. reliability, validity, transparency, reporting, efficiency and monitoring of program and its evaluation
    10. external and internal review
    11. strategies for improving program evaluation, and the impact of these
    12. strategies for staff development to improve program evaluation, and the impact of these
36. External review and quality assurance
37. Current strengths and weaknesses
38. Future directions
39. Key challenges and prospects
40. Key opportunities

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