Content written by Rodney Alsup and published by the MBA News Digest.
Dreaded, but never forgotten is the way many graduate program managers approach the periodic curriculum review. These periodic reviews are a major challenge for most program managers, because they have to engage faculty from multiple disciplines, having them come together to design and deliver a program that meets the needs of future students. Typically, this involves updating courses and modules, eliminating overlap, ensuring the content is consistent with the program’s goals, and not infrequently, mediating between faculty and department chairs about what to change. For me, curriculum management was the most challenging part of my job as MBA program director. Perhaps the challenge was because I did not have a clue what curriculum management entailed and how to do what needed doing. This was true even though I was both a faculty member and program director.
What is the Secret of Mastering Curriculum Management?
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Deans, department chairs, and program managers often view curriculum management as a set of loosely connected episodes that occur in irregular intervals. Sometimes a new dean’s arrival creates the episode, sometimes in preparation for an accreditation visit, and sometimes it results from an enrollment crisis. While episodic curriculum management is common, an alternative approach is ongoing or continuous curriculum management. With this in mind, the secret is to create a system of ongoing data collection and reporting that provides information for making changes when the data supports the need for a change.
What Information Do You Need for Continuous Curriculum Management?
The following list of reports and documents provides a starting point for information management. While the list may seem overwhelming, most program managers already receive or have access to the information contained in each report.
- Program Learning Goals and Course Learning Objectives
- Assurance of Learning Program Assessments/Reports
- Program Student Entry & Exit Survey Reports
- End of Course Feedback Reports
- Individual Faculty Program Feedback Reports
- Alumni Survey & Feedback Reports
- Market Area Competitor Analysis Reports
- Graduate Business Sector Analysis & Trends Report
- Nature of Work & Workforce Studies & Reports
- Higher Education Technology Trend Studies & Reports
- Industry Association Survey Reports
- Program Applicant & Enrolled Student Profiles
- Program Student Intake Profiles
- Program Budget Reports
- Placement Reports
- Program Admission Reports
What are the Benefits of Continuous Curriculum Management?
There are two major benefits to following a continuous curriculum management model. The first is the program’s curriculum is almost never out-of-date, or when out-of-date, it’s only for a very brief period. The second major benefit is workload and workflow management. Proactively managing the data collection and reporting by using the above list of reports as a starting point, helps the busy program manager see what information is being collected, when it will be available and how to use it for decision-making.
Join the Conversation!
Question: What suggestions do you have for managing curriculum? Click here to share your response or email me at RGAlsup@MBANewsDigest.com if you prefer to respond without sharing.
Rodney
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