Have you always wanted to know more about the ins and outs of a study programme? Is Programme Committee membership something that appeals to you? And do you want to know more about Ghent University’s study programme quality assurance? Are you a newly invested Programme Committee Chair and have you lost sight of the bigger picture? The Education Tip below goes through all the basics. Happy reading!

The Basics at a Glance 

The figure below offers an overview of all the crucial elements for designing a study programme:  

At Ghent University, designing a study programme is teamwork and requires the involvement of all Programme Committee members.  A Programme Committee minimally consists of      

• one chair (always a member of the professorial staff);
• one secretary (not necessarily a member of the Programme Committee);
• members of the professorial staff (accounting for at least half of the members);
• members of the academic assistant staff, other academic staff and administrative and technical staff (together these staff sections have at least one representative in the Programme Committee);
• and a student delegation (accounting for at least one-third of the members).

Each faculty has several Programme Committees, usually one for each study programme. They are permanent advisory bodies and take on policy-making, education organization and quality assurance duties.

A study programme is expected to: 

• formulate a vision and mission statement in which they explain their unicity and profile (i.e. their DNA);
• pursue a policy vis-à-vis Ghent University’s six education objectives. It goes without saying that this policy is suited to the specific context of the study programme. For example, internationalization policy in a two-year English-taught Master's programme will differ from that of a one-year fully Dutch-taught programme. Based on their own policy choices, study programmes integrate specific education-related policy themes;
• monitor the quality of programme competencies/learning outcomes; 
• design a coherent curriculum with active and motivating teaching and assessment methods;
• focus on well-considered assessments based on a shared assessment vision. Programme competencies/learning outcomes, curriculum and assessment are constructively aligned; 
• engage in permanent quality assurance. The Programme Committee embarks on regular self-reflection and charts the study programme's strengths and weaknesses. In so doing, it regularly collects feedback from internal (course feedback, study programme feedback) as well as external stakeholders (alumni, professional field, international peers). Based on this self-reflection, study programmes draw up a quality improvement plan.

Study programmes can avail themselves of a specific support tool, i.e. the Education Monitor.  The Education Monitor consists of 39 objectives and three chapters.  Study programmes are asked to align their policy to these objectives. Click here for a closer look at the different chapters of the Education Monitor.

The Basics Explained... 

1. Pursue a strong vision and mission with a focus on the strategic education objectives and education-related policy themes

A study programme’s vision clearly explains what the programme stands for, which (future) objectives it strives for, and how it aims to achieve these objectives. A study programme’s mission statement defines its raison d’être and explains the programme’s unicity vis-à-vis other similar programmes (at home and/or abroad). A study programme’s vision and mission are aligned with one or more university-wide visions (e.g. our university’s mission of ‘multiperspectivism’, our credo ‘Dare to Think’, our vision on education translated into six strategic objectives, and (possibly) the faculty’s vision on education).  

By explaining its DNA, the programme also thinks about how it integrates and implements our university’s DNA. Ghent University’s six strategic objectives are an inherent part of our education, and thus naturally also an inherent part of each of our study programmes. That is the reason why they are largely at the basis of the Education Monitor’s structure. Study programmes translates these objectives into education practice based on programme-specific choices.  Our six strategic objectives are: 

• Dare to Think and Multiperspectivism
• Stakeholder Participation
• Internationalization of Students and Lecturers in the Study Programme
• Education Based on Excellent Research
• Staff Talent Development
• Student Talent Development

Based on their own policy choices, study programmes integrate specific education-related policy themes. Programme Committees reflect on one or more education-related policy themes, what they entail in their specific context, and how they can work on them. The education-related policy themes may be part of the study programmes’ vision, and thus be implemented in the operational objectives in the Education Monitor. Ghent University’s education-related policy themes are: 

• Diversity
• Sustainability
• Internationalization
• Social Engagement
• Entrepreneurial Action 
• Language Policy 

Find out here how to write a vision and a mission statement 

2. Challenging programme competencies/learning outcomes are the bedrock of a coherent curriculum.  

At Ghent University, we use the terms ‘programme competencies’ and 'programme-specific learning outcomes’ as synonyms. Each study programme’s set of programme competencies contains what students have to know, be able to do, and what attitudes they have to achieve.  They are an operationalization of European and Flemish policy frameworks on the finality of Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, and a translation of the vision and mission, strategic choices, unicity and profile of the study programme. At Ghent University, we define competencies as an ‘integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes mainly in complex and/of specific situations.’

It is the responsibility of the Programme Committee to guarantee that their programme competencies/learning outcomes form a clear, logical and and topical whole, and that they are endorsed by and known to all the stakeholders. Programme competencies/learning outcomes have to be implemented into the curriculum (cf. How to Create a Coherent Curriculum) and into the assessment practice (cf. A Shared Assessment Vision). The Programme Committee guarantees that programme competencies, curriculum and assessment are aligned.  This is the principle of constructive alignment.

Competencies/learning outcomes are also formulated at the level of individual course units.  At Ghent University, we call those ‘final competencies’.  The sum of all those final competencies makes for a student’s acquisition of the programme competencies/learning outcomes. This means, in other words, that across the different course units all programme competencies have to be sufficiently covered in the final competencies. 

Find out more about how to formulate programme competencies here. 

3. Design a coherent curriculum with a focus on activation of students.

An important tool in this respect is the competency matrix. The matrix shows which course units contribute to which programme competencies/learning outcomes, and how (i.e. which teaching and assessment methods are used). 

The matrix requires:

• solid programme competencies/learning outcomes;
• correctly filled in teaching and assessment methods across the different course units (in line with the glossaries of teaching and assessment methods found in the Education and Examination Code);
• clear-cut final competencies for each course unit (for tips, see Course Sheet Guidelines).

In addition, the Programme Committee chair monitors whether the competencies are still topical, whether certain programme competencies are underexposed, whether all programme competencies are covered by multiple course units throughout the curriculum and assessed at least in two course units, etc... The Programme Committee chair and/or a member of the faculty quality assurance staff makes sure that course sheet updates and the competency matrix as a whole are discussed at a Programme Committee meeting annually.

It is of utmost importance for the curriculum that the different course units form a coherent whole and that lecturers regularly discuss horizontal (within a standard learning track year) as well as vertical (across the different study years) coherence. Most study programmes use learning pathways for that purpose. 

Find out more about designing new learning pathways or optimizing existing ones.

Usually, as a student progresses through the study programme, the focus shifts from pure knowledge transfer to skills, attitudes and application. This way, students achieve competencies at a higher and more integrated level.  A Programme Committee, however, must also monitor that the (Bachelor's) curriculum contains sufficient active and motivating teaching methods such as practicals, seminars, group work, guided self-study, etc... .  

In their choice of online vs. on-campus teaching activities and the use of education technology, the Programme Committees monitor the feasibility of timetables and workload across course units and at the level of the entire curriculum.

 

4. Focus on a well-considered assessment practice based on a shared assessment vision.

In addition to a programme-specific vision, each study programme needs an endorsed and up-to-date vision on assessment, which is attuned to Ghent University’s assessment concept, assessment model, and seventeen assessment principles, and the faculty’s vision on assessment.  Study programmes can tailor those frameworks to their own specific context. 

The Programme Committee monitors that assessment methods throughout the curriculum are varied and line with the teaching methods and the students’ learning process. The Programme Committee ensures sufficient interim feedback and/or integrates other active assessment methods. Throughout the curriculum the programme competencies/learning outcomes are covered in multiple course units. In this respect, the competency matrix is a handy tool. The matrix offers an overview of all the course units and how they contribute to and assess the programme competencies/learning outcomes. It specifies this link by means of the final competencies, teaching methods and assessment methods per course unit in the curriculum. 

Finally, the Programme Committee also monitors assessment quality at the level of individual course units. The Programme Committee (or Assessment Committee on behalf of the Programme Committee) ensures that lecturers use clear-cut criteria in order to provide feedback on, and assess the various teaching methods. Furthermore, the Programme Committee makes sure that lecturers use the four-eyes-principle when drawing up exams and assignments. Find out more on how to draw up an assessment vision and to monitor the quality of assessment.

5. Pursue permanent quality assurance and an efficient improvement policy.

At Ghent University, we pursue a quality culture for education: in our permanent quality assurance system, each study programme monitors the quality of its education continuously. For this purpose, the study programme avails itself of the PDCA methodology: it carries out a self-reflection on an annual basis to identify strengths and weaknesses.  This self-reflection is data-driven: the Programme Committee uses data that is available in Ghent University’s Business Intelligence System (UGI). Based on this self-reflection, they draw up a quality improvement plan. The Programme Committee monitors the implementation of the improvement plan and adjusts it when necessary.  In other words, the Programme Committee ensures an efficient improvement policy and communicates this in a transparent manner to all parties concerned.

The Programme Committee is also responsible for integrating an external perspective in their policy and quality assurance. It regularly surveys alumni and professional field representatives on the programme competencies/learning outcomes, the curriculum, the assessment and the exit level. It also regularly consults international peers to review these components (every four years or in the context of a major curricular revision).  

Find out more on how to draw up a quality improvement plan here

Find out more on how to communicate about the study programme in a transparent manner here 

Want to Know More?

Consult the Education Tip The Basics of Designing a Course Unit.