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Programme design & approval

The University's procedures for the design and approval of new courses and programmes exist to ensure academic standards are maintained. The University's excellent reputation relies on this and, therefore, it is essential that these procedures are both robust and efficient. They ensure that consideration is given to the availability of resources, the coherence and academic standard of constituent courses, and the standard and appropriateness of awards offered on completion of the proposed programme. Our procedures are intended to ensure that there is careful consideration of the relevance and appeal of programmes for potential students, compatibility with other programmes offered and the strategic objectives of the leading School as well as the University as a whole.

These procedures are subject to audit internally and externally, and Section 7 of the Quality Assurance Agency Code of Practice provides reference points for these audits.

In the University's standard terminology a course is "a self-contained unit of study on a particular topic with defined level, credit value, aims, intended learning outcomes, mode(s) of delivery, scheme of assessment, and possibly also pre- and co-requisites" while a programme is "a set of compulsory and elective courses leading to a defined award, with defined aims, intended learning outcomes, mode(s) of delivery, and scheme of assessment".