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