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► Curriculum Review

Student Consultation on the Curriculum Review

Introduction

The University is undertaking a review of all Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught curricula. It has decided to do this for a number of reasons:

The university wants to include its new 5 year strategic plan in everything that it does, including learning and teaching. The strategic priorities are:

• Internationalisation
• Student Experience
• Widening Participation
• Research-Led Teaching
• Knowledge Exchange.

The National Student Survey (NSS) and other student surveys suggest that students are not very satisfied with their student experience.

The University needs to improve the quality of the courses that students take in order to attract the best students and keep up with competitor universities (e.g. the Russell Group). This includes looking at staff/student ratios, career prospects, good honours degrees, entry standards and completion rates.

This webpage is a synopsis of the University’s consultation paper, sent to all departments and the Guild on the 7th of December. This is your opportunity to feed into the consultation on the curriculum review. Please click on the links in each bullet-point below to find out the University’s full proposals, and the opinion of the Guild officers on each of these proposals. There you will also find a form where you can feedback on each of the proposals.

You can also Danielle Grufferty, Guild President, in conversation with Professor Mike Hoey, the Director of the Curriculum Review, here.

Curriculum Review Roadshows

The University is running a series of "roadshows" to each new School in order to discuss the review with a wider audience. Make sure you attend - ask your Head of Dept where it is if it's not here yet, and if you can't go make sure your representaitves go. The dates of the confirmed sessions are below, with, more to come as and when they are set!

School of Environmental Sciences: 26/01/09 11am-12.30pm - location to be confirmed

Medical School: 27/01/09 9am-10.30am - Faculty Board Room, Duncan Building

School of Physical Sciences: 27/01/09 1pm-2.30pm - Room 138, School of Chemistry

School of Electrical Engineering & Electronics and Computer Sciences: 29/01.09 9am-10.30am, location to be confirmed

School of Veterinary Sciences: 02/02/09 9.30am-11am, location to be confirmed 

School of Psychology: 03/02/09 2pm-3.30pm, location to be confirmed

School of Health & Life Sciences: 22/02/09 11am-12.30pm, Thompson Yates Building

School of Biological Sciences:  01/03/09 11am-12.30pm, location to be confirmed

School of Physiology: 04/03/09 1.30pm-3pm, location to be confirmed

School of Dental Sciences: 05/03/09 1.30pm-3pm, Seminar Room 1, School of Dental Sciences Building

Factors influencing the Curriculum Review

There are a number of factors that are influencing this review:

• The desire to have Research-Led teaching, which means either teaching inspired by research, teaching that leads the student towards research, or teaching that helps set an agenda for research.
• The concept of the “Liverpool Graduate”- what differentiates a graduate from Liverpool University? Students will have an “ethical understanding of global citizenship”, “entrepreneurial awareness of global markets”, and will be “familiar with matters relating to environmental sustainability, high tech communication and intellectual property”
• Internationalisation. The curricula should be “relevant to international students and applicable to their experience and background”. UK students should “understand and appreciate their learning experience in a global context”.
• The desire to accommodate a range of learning styles and assessment preferences.
• How the curriculum flows from A levels, diplomas, access courses etc. to the Undergraduate level
• How the curriculum at Undergraduate level flows into the Postgraduate level.

What the Review may mean for students

Due to these factors, a number of fundamental changes will be made to the curricula at this University:

• The credit framework will change: 15 credit modules will become 20 credit modules- this means that programmes will become EU compliant, making it easier for students to spend semesters/ years at European Universities. For Undergraduates, one credit = ten hours of work (the same as the previous system) so 20 credits will mean 200 hours of work.
• Programmes will be streamlined, meaning that there will be less module options available to students. Research led teaching will mean that programmes will become more focused/specific while still incorporating the basics of the discipline.
• Assessments will test a wider range of skills, and will be tailored to a wider range of learning styles, both at modular and programme level. This compliments the proposal to reduce the number of module choices, as departments will therefore have greater understanding and control over what assessments/ learning experiences students are subject to during their time at the University of Liverpool.
• Research and learning skills- to increase critical enquiry and promote independence in learning- there will be a study skills module for all courses in first year Undergraduate.
• Employability. Embedded into the curriculum in first year Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught.
• Work and overseas placements- all students should have the opportunity to take a year out.
• English language support for all international students, integrated into the curriculum.
• Postgraduate Taught courses that are not self-financing (i.e. do not have enough students to pay the costs of putting on the course) or do not result in student progression to Postgraduate Research (PhD) level will be cut.
• As a consequence of the review, teaching workloads will be organised “to maximise the time academics can devote to research.”

  Please comment on these proposals using the email address below. However, if you would prefer to comment on these proposals through your student representative or Staff Student Liaison Committee, please do so. You can find out the name of your student representative here.

  If you have anything to add to this consultation on the Curriculum Review, please use this form to get in touch with the Guild Student Representative Officers.

  E-Mail: Edward.Moloney@liv.ac.uk

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