It depends on what you are designing the program ( rather than curriculum) for. If you are in a University or Institute then you have to abide by the regulations set for postgraduate studies when designing the program. Best start is by forming a commitee of experts on the field. You then agree on an introduction a rationale, objectives including graduates' qualities, duration of the study, courses with credit hours assigned for both theory and practical, self- learning and reading assignments are very imortant. Then you plan for methods of evaluation allocating percentage to each. Most important is the name and duration of the program stated in credit hours.

I speak for existing courses at postgraduate level. I assume that in the field 20% of the material becomes obsolete, dangerous, or questionable and has to be replaced every year. I assume also that you know about the continuity of your post beforehand and so you squirrel away useful bits and pieces during the year as part of normal admin, hence the 0%.

I count 7 phases:

Analysis 5%

Design 1%

Collection 0%

Selection 10%

Creation of new material 80%

Formation 2%

Review 2%

The most time is spent on writing, videoing, photographing, drawing, editing, preparing exercises and texts for, and debugging the said 20 % of new material that must be included to update the curriculum every year. The good news is that you can legally and practically set this as assignments for your postgraduate students and force them to do it for marks. (Marking time excluded above)

Brand new courses will require a higher percentage of time to be spent on the first four phases. Besides for research with a little 'r', you may have to do Research with a capital "R".

Michael,

If you are viewing curriculum development just as a creating the curriculum, you might want to consider separate ‘selection’ in two tasks. Being aware of the importance of online education, I will consider the task of creating/selecting ‘materials’ as independent one.

The curriculum development of a specific degree could be considered as a set of tasks of an ongoing process. In this case, my experience as a responsible of an undergraduate curriculum, tells me that the volume of work involved in each of task you mentioned depends on the value of other variables. The weight of factors like ‘type of discipline’, ‘professors involvement and motivation’, ‘pedagogical model’, among others, differ substantially from one experience to another.

Curriculum development for Latin 101 will have different percentages to Teletraffic 501.

There is a lot of documentation if you search (especially in European Union) related to LifeLong Learning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelong_learning) and Bologna process (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_process).

Related to the effort (and costs), I fully agree Ian's comment.

But, Education, like or not, must be a continuous process and this process must be considered a PERMANENT ADAPTATION to REAL NEEDS for SOCIETY and NATURE.

It depends on what you are designing the program ( rather than curriculum) for. If you are in a University or Institute then you have to abide by the regulations set for postgraduate studies when designing the program. Best start is by forming a commitee of experts on the field. You then agree on an introduction a rationale, objectives including graduates' qualities, duration of the study, courses with credit hours assigned for both theory and practical, self- learning and reading assignments are very imortant. Then you plan for methods of evaluation allocating percentage to each. Most important is the name and duration of the program stated in credit hours.

An excellent resource utilized in K-12 curriculum development in US schools that I have found can be very fruitfully applied to undergraduate and graduate courses in higher ed is Understanding by Design by Grant P. Wiggins, Jay McTighe.

There is in fact a curriculum development model called Situational Analysis which could be helpful. One of the shortest definitions of curriculum is a "selection from culture". To decide on this selection however takes time, genuine consultation with all stakeholders, and full awareness of the requirements of any validating or accrediting authorities. My experience is in developing nursing curricula at both undergraduate and post graduate levels. The average time needed is 1.5- 2 years though shorter clinical courses could be developed in shorter periods. Where there are known consumers/potential consumers, developed is much enhanced by involving them from the outset. Best wishes. Mohammad Abuel-Ealeh

Interesting question.... and of course the answer is "it depends." That said, I've looked around for similar information for curriculum development models in higher education and haven't found much. I consistently return to the instructional design field.

For examples of some of the models they use, check out: http://bit.ly/1dnqrJQ

I have tried several of these models and find them useful. You may want to explore one to see if it fits your needs. Regarding project timeline for curriculum development, I don't think you can underestimate the time lag inherent in the curriculum review and approval process. We did a curriculum review at my old institution and submitted it to the curriculum committee for review and approval - all told this took us just over a year. That was considered "lightning speed" by a set of external accreditation reviewers. And this was only for the curriculum; we did not get to the course design level at that point.

And to figure out effort esitmation, try the following ASTD site: http://bit.ly/1rvagy3 or this independent site: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html. I've never had anywhere near the amount of time suggested to develop my courses, but I suppose if you were to do it right, it might be ideal to have that amount of time. Good luck.

Paul and colleagues, thank you all for sharing your views and providing valuable answers here.

It might well be worth doing some research into which factors influence the planning of curriculum development in the fields of study for different audiences.

Michael, I very much encourage getting your stakeholders involved early and often - as this dictated the boundaries and issues to be considered in our programme development and design (e.g. the need for blended learning, the concerns regarding recognition of prior learning, the need for pedagogies to suit the student-group, the time and reource constraints of the student-group). The impact of stakeholders on the design of the programme cannot be understated, and perhaps our model will provide some pointers -

- see Figure 1: A Model for Programme Development in

Hussey, J., Holden, M.T., Foley, A., & Lynch, P. (2011). Enhancing Professionalism through the Continuing Education of Micro and Small Tourism Enterprises: A Model for Programme Development. Irish Journal of Management, 31(1), 77-100.

Holden, M.T., Foley, A., Lynch, P., & Hussey, J. (2010). In Building Entrepreneurship and Innovation through the Continuing Education of Micro and Small Tourism Enterprises: A Contemporary Framework for Program Delivery. Paper presented at the Conference on Tourism Entrepreneurship, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada.

Holden, M.T., Foley, A., Lynch, P., & Hussey, J. (2011). Satisfying the Appetite of Micro/Small Tourism Practitioners 29th EuroCHRIE 2011 Conference. Dubrovnik, Croatia.

John Biggs has written some really good material on curriculum development that focuses on deep learning approaches at university level. His approach ensures curriculum alignment across all areas of development. I have just used it to design a degree qualification.

Additional resources that you may find useful Michael:

McKernan, J. (1987). Action Research and Curriculum Development. Peabody Journal of Education, 64(2), 6-19.

Stinson, J.E., & Milter, R.G. (1996). Problem-Based Learning in Business Education. Curriculum Design and Implementation Issues. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 68(Winter), 33-42.

Kolb, D., & Kolb, A.Y. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(2), 193-212.

Bovill, C., Morss, K., & Bulley, C. (2008). Quality Enhancement Themes: the First Year Experience. Curriculum Design for the First Year. Glasgow: QAA (Scotland).

I agree with the previous submissions that it depends on the program, its importance in meeting specific needs in the society, and how much stakeholders are willing to commit to its success. A solid foundation based on evidence and clearly defined expectations (need assessment, objectives, functions / competencies of graduates) are fundamental to the other steps.

Now Michael if you can kindly name what is/are the grauate program(s) you are contemplating so that we can give more specific contributions/suggestion. Best wishes.

The challenge is which subject fiueld the curriculum covers - social science / management curriculum design is rather easy since it's mainly involving classroom hours and only a minor practical / laboratory activity. If you have to involve lab activities it becomes more complex because you have to take into account the availability of laboratory space and equipment very early. The worst thing which could happen is that there is lab activites in the curriculum but it can not be conducted due to limitations of lab availability. Enjoy preparation of curriculum ...

I find UK QAA quality codes helpful in the process. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-A3.aspx

Developing curriculum is the core practice for any program in higher education. As you mentioned, it goes from needs' assessment, objectives definition, teaching and assessment strategies design, implementation, to review and modification. The time elapsed for each step of this process is dependent on 1- working groups and their leader; their experience, motivation, harmony, and believe in the task and as well as their level of comitment. 2- The support provided from the higher administrative and authorizing bodies. 3- The by laws and policies of the university in which the curriculum is offered. 4- The allocated financial support. 5- Accessability to stakeholders and their cooperation. 6- Provision of consultation service to the working groups. 7- The nature of the curriculum; already running one or totally new.

I suggest that more time should be spent on deliberation of the course learning outcomes (CLOs). They are the building blocks of the curriculum you are designing.

They represent the crux for each of the courses that make up the curriculum of your programme. They show the strength and concentration of a course. They show attainment of abilities. They are able to discriminate student ability based on the test specifications that are aligned to the CLOs.

Hence, constructing the CLOs for each course plays a pivotal role in curriculum design.

Thank you all for your insightful responses regarding content building of curricula. I am now even more aware of the diverse requirements in different for setting up a qualified and effective curriculum.

Regarding the original question, which is about the project planning of building a curriculum and not about creating the curriculum itself: how could you help find out how much time you and your team have spent to finalize your curricula? Do you have any numbers to share (with a hint which field of study it covered)?

Do you agree with the project management approach stated in the original question?

"Curriculum development commonly comprises

- analysis (i.e. need analysis, task analysis),

- design (i.e. objective design),

- selection (i.e choice of appropriate learning/teaching methods and materials, choice of appropriate assessment method),

- formation ( i.e. formation of the curriculum implementation committee, curriculum evaluation committee), and

- review ( i.e. curriculum review committee)."

Dear Michael,

At first glance it might seem that you are right: the systematic, "corporate", approach is the best way do design a new curriculum. However, somehow, it doesn't work. We recently went through such a process, it took two years on a whole. The result is the same old curriculum, with bureaucracy and paperwork quadrupled. So be warned.

Michael

Not sure if this is helpful but we started with our conceptual framework to ensure we were clear about our philosophy that underpinned the programme. Then we designed the structure of the programme, including learning outcomes, key themes, courses, credits. Our learning outcomes shaped our assessments , followed by our course material. Along side this we had a steering committee to ensure decisions took everything into account. Time frames depends on time dedicated to it and how many people. We did it along business as usual - a degree programme in our case. This took 2 years to do. Let me know if I can help further as I designed it and led the content development of it.

Can you tell us more about the context, Michael?

In my experience, the time, tasks and resources for curriculum development are influenced by some additional factors. For example:

* Have you established need and 'market' for your curriculum, and that it is viable to implement it?

* Is the curriculum intended for teaching something new (eg a new field or approach?), or is the subject area well-defined and taught in other settings? (You will need more time if a lot of foundational work needs to be done.)

* What level / degree of complexity is the curriculum to address? (e.g. Is it intended for training routine skills, or for less well-defined and/or more complex goals, such as educating future professionals?) If it is complex and will take place over an extended time period, you will need to spend more time defining goals and outcomes, and constructing a map of how these will be advanced across the curriculum. This will entail more time consulting and obtaining consensus with your subject matter experts and instructors.  

* Is your curriculum preparing learners for something with high stakes (eg a licensing exam, or performance in time- or safety-critical conditions)?  If so, you may need to spend more time planning assessment, and designing-in practice with, and assessment of, tasks used in the high stakes situation.

* Is the target audience already identified, and what do you know about your intended participants background / skills etc? You may need to clarify expectations and any prerequisite characteristics / experience of entrants into the program you are designing, and/or adapt the anticipated curriculum / instructional methods to fit.

* Are there already good instructional materials / resources for the curriculum, or will these need to be developed? Is there good infrastructure and support for the students and methods you will be using? (eg academic and technical support services, equipment etc.)  If these do not exist, you might want to think about whether or not to go forward with the curriculum unless you can get watertight guarantees that they will be provided on a timely and adequate basis. (In my experience, even when senior administrators sign off on proposals with these elements, the necessary funding doesn't always follow.) 

* Does the curriculum require coordination with external organizations? (eg placements, internships, service learning....) Ideally, potential supervisors from these organizations should be part of the curriculum development team. External partnerships are also likely to require extra time - and possibly personnel - to scope out possibilities, build relationships, (ideally, include external supervisors in designing the curriculum), and eventually, to manage the placements and logistics on an ongoing basis.

* Are the instructors familiar with the instructional and assessment methods? If not, you will need to build in time for instructional development.

FWIW, for estimating time frame: I consulted on the review, redesign and implementation of a 2 year professional Masters Degree. Review and redesign were extensive and took about one year each, and it was implemented in year 3. 

Last but not least, some useful references based in the higher ed. context:

Diamond, R.G. Designing and assessing courses and curricula: A practical guide. Jossey-Bass, Dan Francisco.  Look for the third (or more recent) editions.

Bates, A.W. (Tony) has written extensively about planning for online teaching in higher ed. For example, see

Technology, elearning and distance education. (2005, second edition) and

Bates, A.W. and Sangra, A. (2011). Managing technology in higher education: Strategies for transforming teaching and learning. Jossey Bass, San Fransisco.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project!