I got this request from a colleague who is implementing a curriculum for the first time and they have noticed some challenges whilst these students are in year 3. Do we change the curriculum for those in second year or we can only do that for those coming into first year?
It is the duty of the university to change the curriculum continually to keep up with new practices and new times and new teaching ways. As a result, the students who have passed a class or left the university will not benefit from the changes that they missed. They need to follow lifelong education. The problem is worse in the Science, Engineering and Technology fields.
Be careful when changing curricula that depend on other departments to provide the course. You may be undoing their changes or working against them. Have inter-curricular meetings. Also be careful in moving something e.g., from year 3 to year 1. When will the existing year 2 students learn it? Also, when moving material between years, you have to check carefully that all prerequisites are satisfied.
If the plan was already in operation it would be bad for the students, to the point of reaching educational failure.
Regards!
Interesting answers we have different system for updating a curiculum that start with the quality assurance unit in the faculty then the centre of quality assurance in the university.
Generally lecturers will notice a problem in the curriculum, and then fix it if it is a minor problem. In addition, in the SET fields, there is expected to be a turn-over, with old material being dropped and new material introduced. My guideline was 5% out, 5% in each year.
For major changes the approval has to percolate up "the food chain". The minister of Education would only be involved in a major case e.g., the dropping of departments.
Hello,
Generally, this is not acceptable; however, the change is possible if the problems caused on the curriculum are severe.
I share the same with Mohammed. Also, I wish I knew the nature of the problem, first. Because, it was a bit unusual that you picked a problem before the curriculum has been implemented for the first time.
I think Ian provided a good insight and mentioned " the food chain" which means the appropriate procedures followed in the place of implementation [as guided by other colleagues here]. Sure there are rules for changes, however, special interest should be in case of Core courses [usually common across the majors in the same Faculty or College and which needs a notice to the Ministry of Education if settled within the University Executive council at the end of the chain]. If changes are in the Major courses [sometimes the problem is in the subject description, so changes are smoother]. All in all it also depends on the local government rules to either apply formally for a curriculum change or simply writing a simple notice about the change.
Best to all.
Ii also think that is not a proper practice, however, where demand for a particular skill suddenly rise due to an epidemic or an urgent emergency, then t call for such a change to help meet the need
@Akwasi: I hear you. The bureaucracy makes for red tape and slow responsiveness.
One trick I know about is to open a (postgraduate) subject like "Advanced topics in Software Engineering" Then each year you populate it with current topic headings from research. The students have to build the content themselves.
As many have answered, changes occur in the curriculum from time to time as new material is added and old material dropped. Changing the requirements for the degree occurs usually as a result of a change in knowledge, industry standards, or evaluation by an accrediting body. It has to be approved by administration as well as the faculty. However, in order to accommodate the needs of the students already in the academic program, most universities in the United States allow the students to graduate meeting the academic requirements of the catalog that they entered under. In addition, many also allow the student a choice of doing that or accepting the requirements of any newer catalog (Whichever is to their advantage).
It is appropriate to update to ensure material is current, but program stability, as you indicated, to ensure student can graduate during a reasonable period of time is essential.
Changes in curriculum are inevitable because of the dynamic nature of the society and environment. There is the need to add or drop certain aspects of the course or introduce new courses in response to the prevailing dynamics in the industry and the society at large. However, when major changes are involved, a "bottom up" approach should be adopted where the students, Faculties, University Senate, and the regulatory bodies are involved in that order. Again, the revised curriculum should be applicable to new students only, if the modifications are extensive.
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