Pre-delivery checklist for Curriculum Transformation courses

What is the pre-delivery checklist?

Education Board has approved a pre-delivery checklist to support departments as they plan and prepare for delivery. The checklist contains key activity considered essential to the successful launch of CT courses as well as recommended items that represent opportunities to further align delivery with the University’s Curriculum Principles. This checklist is also highly relevant to the rollout of subsequent course years.

Education Board considers departments to be best placed to consider the checklist items in the context of their transformed courses and to oversee relevant activity. Heads of Departments are accountable for progress and can delegate responsibility to relevant groups or individuals. Activity will not require approval as part of the CT process.

Key considerations

  • Plan detail of upcoming year(s) of delivery, including embedding of skills and other components
  • Agree teaching responsibilities
  • Prepare all staff involved in teaching/supporting delivery for new teaching and learning activities and resources

Skills support: Departments are requested to liaise with the Skills Centre where provision of face-to-face or digital skills support in a course is anticipated. The Skills Centre is keen to understand how it can support academic tutors directly to fully embed skills development either themselves in seminar work or via us in lectures/workshops/digital tools. Please contact the Skills Centre for support with this item.

Technology Enhanced Learning: If you anticipate using existing learning technologies in new ways please talk to the TEL team for advice and training, with sufficient lead time to allow them to help you plan and prepare fully for course delivery.  You may also want to take a course team approach to reviewing your Moodle course design, structure or scaffolding opportunities. The TEL team are always very busy from June through August, preparing and delivering upgrades to software, and the subsequent guidance updates, so please engage at the earliest opportunity to avoid clashes with pre-planned work. Please contact Technology Enhanced Learning (CLT) for support with this item.

Library and Information skills support: Allow time at the start of the course for a library induction if your students are not already provided with a department-wide library induction. New students are generally not aware of the resources and services offered by the university library and may lack the techniques and understanding needed to successfully navigate them independently.  

Talk to your Subject Librarian about embedding information literacy training at the most appropriate point(s) in the course: information literacy “is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use.” Subject Librarians can help and support staff and students with the following: 

  • Effectively using specialist library resources for literature, data, statistics and software.
  • Critically evaluating sources and retrieved information. For example, its relevance, authority or balance /bias.
  • Correctly referencing sources selected for coursework.
  • Avoiding plagiarism.
  • Understanding copyright in the context of UK higher education.
  • Plan detail of Y1 assessment strategy (including formative assessment)
  • Plan detail of Y1 feedback strategy
  • Plan other Y1 assessment-related details

This item refers to the detail of assessment (including formative assessment) not previously approved as part of the requirements of Phase 2 and 3. Changes to course assessment strategies signed off as part of Phase 2 and 3 must be approved at Faculty level. Please speak to your Faculty Assistant Registrar in the first instance.

Activity in this item may include preparing assessment briefs, marking criteria, exam papers, and agreeing marking and moderators.

Support and guidance on planning the detail of your assessment strategy is available from the Curriculum and Academic Development Team (CLT). Guidance is also available from the CLT Hub.

For guidance on using technology for assessment, please talk to Technology Enhanced Learning (CLT).

  • Liaise with Timetabling team about delivery plans and requirements, including teaching patterns/space requirements
  • Prepare teaching and learning resources, including course and unit pages in Moodle, and reading lists and reading materials

Timetabling: it is essential for departments to initiate engagement at an early stage if timetable or space needs will be very different to previous patterns. Beyond this, Timetabling will request information from depts as part of planning. Please contact Academic Registry for support with this item.

Academic Year Planning: if a department wishes to schedule teaching or learning activities other than exams during assessment periods these need to be identified early to feed into the academic year plan and identify additional exam scheduling requirements. Please contact Academic Registry for support with this item.

Library space: new approaches to teaching are likely to create different demands on study space, whether in quantity or type of use. These changes need to be planned early to be adopted successfully. Consider the study space and equipment requirements for the independent learning your students will be expected to undertake. For example, are either group work or shared IT facilities required, and is there suitable and sufficient provision? This will require decisions in Semester 1 so that any requirements can be included in the Spring planning round and any infrastructure adaptations made over the following Summer. Ensure the availability of appropriate teaching facilities for the Library’s information literacy training, which may benefit from taking place in a GTA computer room. Please contact the Library for support with this. 

Library resources: Consult your Subject Librarian about library resource requirements for courses and units as soon as possible: they can advise on current collection strengths as well as the availability and costs. For example, if new modes of assessment include open book exams, your Subject Librarian may suggest alternatives to exam textbooks, such as lecture notes, or digitised extracts provided by the Library. 

Ensure there is a reading list for each unit and supply the Library with this information by the end of March 2023. The Library recommends the adoption of the Library Lists reading list software to introduce real-time information about readings, provide a consistent student experience and guarantee the resilience of links to readings, whether the student is on or off campus.  You can either create a Library List yourself by referring to our guide, or you can ask us to create the Library List by emailing your reading list to library@bath.ac.uk 

The Library Scanning Service can provide you with electronic copies of recommended book and journal extracts to ensure copyright compliance, accessibility for students with disabilities, and the payment of author royalties (via the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society). Please contact the Library for support with the above.

Technology Enhanced Learning:  If you anticipate using existing learning technologies in new ways please talk to Technology Enhanced Learning (CLT) for advice and training, with sufficient lead time to allow them to help you plan and prepare fully for course delivery. You may also want to take a course team approach to reviewing your Moodle course design, structure or scaffolding opportunities. The TEL team are always very busy from June through August, preparing and delivering upgrades to software, and the subsequent guidance updates, so please engage at the earliest opportunity to avoid clashes with pre-planned work. Please contact tel@bath.ac.uk for support with this item.

Skills Centre support: for face-to-face materials (delivered either by Skills Centre or academic tutors) turnaround can be quite swift. For digital resources the Skills Centre will need more time to develop. Please contact the Skills Centre for support and to discuss your course needs. 

  • Prepare for Y1 transition and induction
  • Update accrediting bodies/industrial liaison panels/external examiners as needed

Departments are recommended to talk with their Faculty Assistant Registrar in the first instance.

  • Plan ongoing formal and informal evaluation and monitoring of CT course/units

For questions regarding Online Unit Evaluations please contact the Student Engagement Team (CLT): studentengagement@bath.ac.uk

  • Update student handbook and information for students

Departments are recommended to talk with their Faculty Assistant Registrar in the first instance.

Recommended considerations

Climate Fresk staff session:

  • 3 hour session: in groups of 5-8, participants link the cause and effects of anthropogenic climate change. Based on the most recent IPCC Report, they are able to take a step back and understand the systemic nature of the challenges. Systems thinking cause and effect.
  • Contact the Climate Action Team for further information.

Citizenship and Sustainability sessions:

  • Offered as part of the CLT’s professional development programme for staff who teach, but open to all staff, this session considers how we can interpret the theme of citizenship and sustainability and how embedding this theme in our curricula links to University goals and those of the wider education context, including Climate Action.
  • See the CLT events calendar for upcoming sessions.

Find out more about Climate Action Education opportunities.

The key principles which underpin Curriculum Transformation support the embedding of good practice in mental health and wellbeing in teaching and learning. You can find out more about how CT aligns with the themes of the University Mental Health Charter and how undertaking the items listed in the checklist above can contribute to this.

For information on the University’s wellbeing support for students see the Student Support webpages.

The Students’ Union PAL team will need to confirm new schemes in February the year before a new scheme is introduced (i.e. February 2023 for CT courses launching in 2023/24), so initial conversations in Semester 1 are advised. Recruitment for new PAL Leaders starts in March.

Key sources of support:

Find out more at subath.com/peer-support/pal/

Contact the Peer Support Team in the SU: peersupport@bath.ac.uk

We encourage you to share innovative practice that you may be adopting as part of your Curriculum Transformation plans. Departments and Faculties/the School have a variety of fora, including Communities of Practice, that offer opportunities to share ideas.

The CLT organises a range of different sessions throughout the year to promote and share good practice and innovation, including lunchtime ‘masterclasses’, lightning talk events (multiple speakers presenting for no more than five minutes each), and our annual EduFest in May. Please email the CLT if you would be interested in contributing to one of these events.

Additionally, you may be interested in the Teaching Development Fund. Different pots of funding are available for staff to ‘seed’, ‘shape’, or ‘share’ innovative teaching and learning practice. Please contact Steph Kamffer in the CLT to find out more.

Top tips and advice on planning for launch

John Chew (Chemical Engineering) shares his advice on planning the launch of a CT course. This video, part of the CT Community of Practice series of sharing events, includes ideas for tools you can use to ensure the whole course teaching team has a clear understanding of their role.

Sources of support

There are many sources of support across the University to help you plan and prepare for launch. Departments are strongly encouraged to engage with Professional Service support at an early point. Sources of support and key timeline considerations are detailed to enable timely and effective support for departments.

If you have queries about the project or would like support in launching and implementing a CT course, please contact your Faculty/School liaison in the first instance:

Faculty of Engineering and Design: Grace Cappy (Education Manager)
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science: Ed Mason (Education Manager)
Faculty of Science: Sarah Paine (Education Manager)
School of Management: Beth Williams (Project Manager – Quality of Learning)

Your Faculty Assistant Registrar will also be able to provide guidance.

For support with designing and developing your curriculum and assessment please speak with your Faculty/School liaison:

Faculty of Engineering and Design: Robert Eaton
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science: Jo Charles
Faculty of Science: Liz Haynes
School of Management: Liz Haynes

For support with technology related to learning and teaching contact the TEL team at: tel@bath.ac.uk

For support with Library space and resources contact your relevant Subject Librarian

For support with embedding skills into your course contact the Skills Centre

For support with timetabling and academic year planning contact Academic Registry