Course and Programme Approval
Non-Standard Portfolio Change (NSPC)
The Programme Information Process (PIP) system includes a secondary mechanism to create courses and programmes called a Non-Standard Portfolio Change (previously referred to as ‘Quick PIP’). Use of NSPC must be limited to non-compulsory, non-credit bearing or externally awarded credit. Courses and programmes must not be proposed as an NSPC unless they fall under one of the approved acceptable use cases below. A typical programme or credit bearing course must be scrutinised and approved in line with the standard course and programme approval process.
All NSPC activity for courses (new/amendment/withdrawal) must be approved by the owning School’s Learning & Teaching Committee or equivalent body as an ordinary item of business, with approvals recorded in the committee minutes.
All NSPC activity for programmes (new/amendment/withdrawal) must be approved by both the owning School’s Learning & Teaching Committee or equivalent body as an ordinary item of business, and the owning College’s Board of Studies, with approvals recorded in the committee minutes.
Approved NSPC courses and programmes are included in the annual audit of course and programme approval activity, reported to the Academic Standards Committee.
Acceptable Uses for NSPC courses:
- The course is used to enrol students onto non-credit bearing special projects or awards (These special projects may not be extracurricular, and it is therefore more appropriate that they be processes as non-credit bearing courses rather than extracurricular HEAR transcript items).
- The course is used to enrol students onto non-credit bearing short courses (with ADED course codes). Credit bearing short courses must be approved using the standard process.
- The course is used to enrol students in Summer School, Widening Participation, or Pre-Sessional Course events, with the following exceptions:
- Credit bearing Summer School, Widening Participation or Pre-Sessional Course events must be approved using PIP rather than NSPC.
- If a non-credit bearing Summer School, Widening Participation, or Pre-Sessional Course event is a compulsory element of a programme, the event must be approved using PIP rather than NSPC.
- The course is taught and credit awarded by an external partner or affiliated collaborator and is only added to the portfolio to facilitate management of HEAR transcripts. These courses should have EXT in their course code. The programmes that these courses are associated with are approved by the University at the programme level, and approval at the course level is not required. These courses may be credit bearing; however, the number of assigned credits must match those specified in the approved course or programme specification.
- The course is a non-credit bearing series of teaching activities facilitated by Student Learning Development (SLD; for UG and PGT students, course codes beginning EDUC), Academic & Digital Development (ADD; for staff, course codes beginning EDUC), or the Research Services Directorate (RSD; for PGR students, course codes beginning RSD).
- The course is used to assist timetabling with rooming regular seminar series that are open to a wider audience than just enrolled students.
- The course is used to assist timetabling with rooming induction or academic advising events.
Acceptable Uses for NSPC programmes:
- The programme is managed by an external organisation but an entry in PIP is required for the University of Glasgow to confer and endorse the associated award.
- The programme is a non-taught PGR programme or PGR exit award with prior approval from APG.
- The programme is used to allow visiting researchers access to University systems.
- The programme is used to allow enrolment of students on visiting summer schools or lifelong learning schemes.