Faculty and curriculum coaches engaged in the new course outline professional development
The course outline template instituted in the spring of 2007 was outlined in our PQAPA Preparedness Progress Report and is an important element in the audit process. The PQAPA audit will look at the quality assurance policies and processes that ensure appropriate learning outcomes, activities and assessment.
The new course outline template will continue to influence curriculum quality at Durham College. We would like to thank the college faculty for responding to our survey regarding the outline template. The response rate was very good and we heard a number of messages including; don't change the template, make it more user friendly, keep the momentum going.
The introduction of the new course outline template is only the beginning of a campaign to ensure consistent quality curriculum across the college and will help ensure our ability to grow with the needs of the community and our students.
Phase one of this campaign was to introduce the template and the procedures to ensure its effective implementation. Phase two will continue this spring and will reflect the feedback that we have received through focus groups, the survey, and various ad hoc conversations. The template will not be changing, except where we can make it easier for faculty to use. We are trying to address the user-friendliness of the document.
The continued focus this spring will be on our learning outcomes. We will be looking for ways to facilitate program groups working together to further develop their course outlines and course outcomes. Not all of the supports have been decided upon or developed yet, but we will be able to be more specific toward the end of this winter semester.
Our course outline template is closely linked to the other aspects of curriculum development at Durham and this is a continuous and collaborative process. By working within program teams to discuss and develop curriculum we ensure that we offer consistent high quality learning.
We are well prepared for the PQAPA audit but also know there is more work to do to ensure our course outlines are of the highest quality and consistent across the college.
Success Matters.
Don Lovisa
Vice President, Academic