Programme Planning and Curriculum Challenges in … · Programme Planning and Curriculum Challenges...
Transcript of Programme Planning and Curriculum Challenges in … · Programme Planning and Curriculum Challenges...
Programme Planning and Curriculum Challenges in
Developing a New Academic Programme Structure at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University HEQC Merger Project Workshop: 10-11 October 2006
Presenter: Martin Oosthuizen Senior Director: Planning and Institutional Development Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Port Elizabeth South Africa
2
OUTLINE
• The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in context
• General programme planning/ curriculum challenges in merging institutions
• Specific challenges for NMMU as a comprehensive university Qualification structure Access, articulation and curriculum design
• Role of HEQC merger project in addressing curriculum challenges
3
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Context
• Incorporation of former Merger of former Port Elizabeth Campus of Vista University Campus by University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) at start of 2004
• Merger of UPE and Port Elizabeth Technikon at start of 2005 to form a comprehensive university
• 23,700 students 3820 distance education students 20450 in undergrad programmes (86%) Contact students: 53% African; 14% Coloured; 30,5% White;
2,5% Indian • 1425 permanent staff 557 permanent teaching staff Ratio of 1:24 FTE instructional staff to FTE students (including
contract staff)
5
General Programme Planning Challenges: National Policy Context
• “Responsiveness” A central tenet of HE policy documents is that programmes
should promote increased responsiveness to the national goals of economic and social development
National priorities – Science, Engineering, Technology, Business & Management and postgraduate enrolments (Role of the Humanities and Social Sciences?)
Increasing and often conflicting policy demands: increase access but preferably only in certain fields and ensure adequate throughput and success rates – all in a context of declining state funding of HE
• Restructured HE Sector: Role of various institutional types (traditional university;
comprehensive university; university of technology) Regional collaboration in provision of certain academic
programmes • Lack of clarity on final Higher Education Qualifications
Framework
6
General Challenges: Institutional Context – Programme Prioritisation
• Challenge of programme prioritisation Most institutions are unrealistically striving to be all things to all people rather than focusing resources on the mission and programs that they can accomplish with distinction The most likely source for needed resources is reallocation of existing resources (Dickeson 1999)
• Strategic Planning & Alignment External demand – regional and national contexts Impact and justification of programmes: Contribution to Mission and Vision Contribution to institutional differentiation Congruence with academic focus areas Allocation of academic programmes within multi-campus
environment Relevance to and feedback from world of work
7
General Challenges: Institutional Context – Programme Prioritisation
•Programme Quality: Inputs, Processes and Outputs
•Capacity: Academic Staff Scope of Programmes (range of qualification
levels; breadth and depth of coverage) Financial Infrastructure Information resources
8
General Challenges: Institutional Context – Programme Prioritisation
• Existing Programmes could be candidates for: Enhancement Maintenance Maintenance but monitored Consolidation or restructuring Reduction in resources Suspension or Closure
• Also: Opportunities for new programme development
9
Programme Prioritisation in relation to external and internal forces
Decisions on consolidated
NMMU Programme and Qualification Mix
DoE Steering: Academic Policy Funding Framework
NMMU Multi-Campus Management Model
HEQC Audit and Programme Accreditation
Systems
Regional and National Context
NMMU Financial Allocation Model
NMMU Vision, Mission
and Values
Programme Quality: Input- Process- Output- Impact
NMMU Strategic Priorities and Academic Focus Areas
10
• The promise of comprehensives is that they offer enhanced opportunities for access and articulation across a spectrum of qualifications from Certificate to Doctoral level. Challenges are to define: Balance between various qualification types – Vocational &
Technological; Professional & Career-Focused; General Formative Slide 11
Balance of enrolments: • Undergrad/ Postgrad; • Diploma & Degree – Undergrad slide 12 • Different main fields (Science Engineering and Technology
(SET) / Business & Management/ Humanities) Slide 13 Appropriate strategies for access and placement Slide 15 Articulation pathways between different qualification levels and
types Slide 18 Appropriate programme/ curriculum models
Specific Challenges for the NMMU as Comprehensive University – New Qualification Structure
11
GENERAL FORMATIVE
TECHNOLOGICAL / VOCATIONAL
PROFESSIONAL
TECHNIKON PROGRAMMES
UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES
TECHNIKON AND UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES
CAREER-ORIENTED
EDUCATIONAL FOCUS (Gibbon)
12
2006 NMMU Headcount Enrolments in Contact Programmes According to Qualification Type
2006 Headcounts Percentage (of UG / PG Totals)
Percentage (of Total Enrolment)
Undergraduate Diplomas / Certificates
7574 47.0%
Undergraduate Degrees
8555 53.0%
Total Undergraduate 16129 100.0% 87.5%
Postgraduate to Masters Level
665 28.9%
Masters 1355 58.8%
Doctors 284 12.3%
Total Postgraduate 2304 100.0% 12.5%
TOTAL ENROLMENT 18433 100.0%
Slide 10
13
Contact FTE Enrolments by Field of Study
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CONTACT FTE ENROLMENTS BY MAJOR FIELDS OF STUDY: NMMU 2006
MAJOR FIELDS OF STUDY
Total FTE 2006
Percentage 2006 (%)
Preferred Scenario 2010 (%)
SET 5137 34.8 36.3
Business 3631 24.6 29.0
Education 723 4.9 7.5
Humanities 5258 35.7 27.2
14
Contact FTE Enrolments by Qualification Type
UG Cert / Dip
3 yr B degrees
4 yr B degrees (Incl. B Tech)
PG Cert / Dip
Hons M degrees
D degrees
Total
SET 1860 2463 378 19 191 160 66 5137 (34.8%)
Business and Commerce
1625 1529 258 58 130 23 8 3631 (24.6%)
Education
110 488 14 23 55 21 12 723 (4.9%)
Other Humanities
1227 3238 220 29 271 231 42 5258 (35.6%)
Total 4822 (32.7%)
7718 (52.3%)
870 (5.9%)
129 (0.9%)
647 (4.4%)
435 (2.9%)
128 (0.9%)
14749 (100.0%)
Slide 10
15
• Create appropriate access strategies in cooperation with the FETC sector
• Standardisation of admissions requirements (School Performance Score): A challenge for “comprehensives” is that admissions requirements
across degree, diploma and certificate programmes were developed in isolation of each other and need to be aligned with each other;
Appropriate placement of applicants in their programme of choice or an alternative is facilitated if the approach to the matric score and the setting of standards is standardised;
Over the course of two intakes, the NMMU has tackled the standardisation of computing the SPS (matric score) and is still in the process of removing some anomalies regarding the required scores for direct placement, for placement testing and subject requirements.
Access and Placement
16
Inter-Sectoral Access Initiative: NMMU and PE FET
WHAT?
NQF Level 5 HET Band NQF Level 4 FET Band
NMMU • Degrees • Diplomas • Certificates • Short courses PE FET College • Career-oriented programmes
WHO? HOW? • Agreement between management at various institutions • Developmentally-focused Admissions & Placement System achieved through: * programme/career advice, * criterion-referenced testing of core competencies, * prog. placement based on developmental readiness & interests and ID dev. needs (need central unit) • Multi-level Programme Pathways with inbuilt Articulation possibilities (need prog. articulation unit)
Facilitating life-long learning and access to learning opportunities
Adult learners
of all ages
Schools & Teachers
17
Example of standardisation in Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
ND: HR Management (SPS = 26; NSC 3 for Maths literacy, or 2 for Maths)
NHC Accounting (SPS = 31, NSC 6 for Maths literacy, or 3 for Maths)
B Com HR Management (SPS = 35, NSC 6 for Maths literacy, or 3 for Maths)
B Com Accounting (SPS = 35, NSC 6 for Maths literacy, or 3 for Maths
• Have also centralised admissions decision-making to channel applicants between programme types. • Result - 6% increase in enrolment in diploma programmes in 2006. Slide 10
18
Access and Articulation: Staircasing
Learning/Career Pathways
1st Entry Qual
Highest Exit Qual
Pathway = linking of qualifications across, upwards and downwards allowing for vertical, diagonal and horizontal movement between qualifications and levels of qualifications and across institutions.
Staircasing = a subset of a pathway where emphasis is placed on progression from lower level certificate qualifications to higher level postgraduate qualifications or the upward linking of qualifications within & across institutions with the aim of enhancing access, retention & lifelong learning.
19
120 Higher
Certificate (5)
NEW HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK
120 Advanced
Certificate (6)
120 Advanced Diploma
(7)
120 Post Graduate Diploma (8)
120 Bachelor Honours Degree (8)
Post Graduate
FETC NSC with appropriate subject combinations and level of achievement
180 Master’s Degree (9) Note: Arrows denote the
minimum entry requirements for the
qualification 360 Doctoral Degree (10)
Under Graduate
360 Diploma
(6)
360 Credits
480 Credits or more
(Professional)
Bachelor’s Degree (7)
20
Faculty of Business & Economic Sciences
Technikon Type Programmes University Type Programmes
NATIONAL HIGHER CERTIFICATE ACCOUNTING NATIONAL DIPLOMAS •Financial Information Systems •Accounting •Human Resources Management •Marketing •Logistics •Tourism
DEGREES •B Com (Accounting) •B Com (Human Resources Management) •B Com (Marketing Management) •B Com (Economics/Business Management) B Com (SMME)
B TECH •Business Administration •Management •Cost and Management Accounting •Human Resources Management
HONOURS •B Com Hons (Business Management) •B Com Hons (HR Management) •B Com Hons (Accounting) •B Com Hons (Labour Relations and Human Resources
21
Access and Articulation : HR Management
NQF 10 D Com (HR Management)/ (Labour Relations) (NQF 10)
NQF 9 M Com (HR Management)/ (Labour Relations) (NQF 9) (Various programme foci)
NQF 8 New B Com / B A Hons (more general scope)
B Com Hons (HR) (Focus on Industrial Psychology)
B Com Hons (Labour Relations)
NQF 7 Advanced Diploma (HRM) (?) / B Tech (?)
B Com HRM (1 year of study with credit transfer from National Diploma?)
B A HRM (1 year of study with credit transfer from National Diploma?)
NQF 5 & 6 National Diploma in HR Management plus academic skills dev. (NQF 6)
NQF 4 National Senior Certificate Vocational (Management) plus foundational HE
National Senior Certificate
22
Appropriate Curriculum and Programme Models
• What makes a Diploma in HRM different from a Degree in HRM More directly applicable skills (specific
contexts) v Broader Conceptual understanding (various contexts)? Different mix of curricular components –
knowledge areas Broader range of disciplinary inputs at degree
level? Different approaches to teaching?
23
Different knowledge fields – Prof J Muller
Knowledge through Action Knowledge through Reasoning
Knowledge field •Particular procedures •Specific contexts
Particular procedures – specific contexts
General procedures – Different contexts
General principles – context free
Occupational fields
Particular occupation
General occupations
Professional work
Knowledge work
Curricular form Practice – modules of practical knowledge
Practice and theory – Modules of practical knowledge and theoretical modules
Theory applied in specific cases – Modules of theory applied and practical experience
Theoretical progression of the discipline
FET Certificate or diploma. No route to B Degree
Diploma and entry to B degree
B Degree and professional qualification. Some Masters
B degree progressively specialising to M and PhDs
24
Appropriate Programme Models: A possible model for Programmes in Human Resources?
DEGREE
EXITLEVELS
LOWER ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
HIGHER ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
THE INVERTED ‘Y’ MODEL
Shared Stem
25
Role of HEQC Merger Project
• NMMU conducting institution-wide programme review during 2006-2007: Programme review is part of a larger process to develop
consolidated Programme and Qualification mix, with coherent models for access, articulation and curriculum design
Consistent process for assessing current programme strengths – as basis for refining academic focus areas
Basis for informed choices re prioritisation of academic programmes within budget constraints and to ensure sustainability in terms of staff capacity and expertise, as well as infrastructural, information and financial resources.
Provides a framework for the introduction of a principled discussion on access, articulation and curriculum design – which will lead to re-curriculation, and the implementation of consistent mechanisms for access and placement, and articulation.
26
Programme Review and Academic Planning
Phase 1: Quality Review
Academic Departments: Review against 29 Criteria
•SE Portfolio •Quality Report
Phase 2: Academic Planning
Faculty Management: Quality Review
integrated into Faculty Academic Planning Process
Academic Planning
Committee Senate
Executive Management
Academic Design
Operational Issues: Budget, Staffing, Facilities
Programme Review
Committee
SE Manual •Criteria
•Guidelines •Templates
Consolidated PQM