Curriculum transformation is a hot topic for everyone at Macquarie right now.
With a new curriculum architecture now in place for 2020, Faculties have been working hard to renew their course offerings ready for submission to the Universities Admission Centre (UAC) by end November.
The timelines are ambitious, and the work is complex, yet we have made good progress, despite the enormity of the task at hand. This is absolutely attributed to the commitment and efforts of our people.
Course design and renewal is a job for the experts here at Macquarie. Not only do Faculties need to understand and work within a new, more flexible curriculum architecture, they must also focus on maintaining high quality learning outcomes for students, and ensure the course is 100 per cent fit for purpose in a changing world. There’s much to consider in ‘getting it right’.
“Faculties have really done a remarkable job to deliver the volume and quality of courses that they have within these challenging timeframes. What many of us don’t realise is that BAU still happens within these Faculties while these enormous pieces of work are being delivered … and it’s a busy time for BAU! They are to be commended for their diligence and commitment to getting the job done.” – Mariella Herberstein, Chair of Academic Senate
Course renewal is not a job for the faint-hearted. Together with the necessary student-centred thinking and outcome-focused approach, there are multiple, yet all-essential, approval gates that the courses must pass through before they can be submitted to UAC.
Several rounds of approval are required: once Course Directors have finalised their course proposal, the curriculum architecture checkpoint does a rapid assessment for compliance, it then moves to the FSQC (Faculty Standards and Quality Committee) for approval, then to an ASQC (Academic Standards and Quality Committee) working party before progressing to ASQC.
Academic Senate is the final approval stage. And at any stage within the approval rounds, the course may be quickly returned – with detailed feedback – to the Faculty for further work if it hasn’t met the new curriculum standards.
“Great progress is being made, however there’s still a way to go to ensure we make our deadlines. So we are mindful of the work still ahead for Faculties and the project team, particularly with exams coming up, Session 3 commencement and summer break just around the corner. Our unwavering support remains as Faculties work through this final piece.” – Professor Kevin Jameson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic
A shout out goes to our Deans, Associate Deans, Course Directors, team members of the Faculty Implementation Groups and Curriculum Transformation team – the MQ community is behind you as you race towards the finish line. We thank you for your hard work and commitment towards giving our students a curriculum and range of courses that will set them up to thrive in the future.
More updates coming soon.
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