Pilot Project: Reflection and practice with curriculum conversion 

Reason for this pilot project

At the moment, study programmes draw up their curricula in Microsoft Excel. This does not always turn out to be practical, for example because no notification appears in the event of a change. However, a so-called curriculum information system can be set up in such a way that you not only have an overview of a curriculum, but also of any changes. In addition, you can use the tool to provide insight into whether and how it is possible to spread out education, so that both the workload for lecturers and the study pressure for students can be distributed. That is why the pilot is experimenting with a curriculum information system. We will find out what benefits can be reaped with such a tool in the curriculum development process and how this could possibly help the Radboud University further. 

What is a Curriculum Information System?

A curriculum information system is a tool that helps universities develop, manage, and organize their educational programs. This tool provides an overview of education, such as programmes of study programmes, courses and practical/organisational information, so that lecturers can work and collaborate more efficiently, gain better insight into their curricula, improve the quality of education and exchange education with each other. 

The ambition

The ambition is to create innovative and tailored programs with the help of software. The two participating faculties strive for a better understanding and overview of the curriculum and for balance within the curriculum. The aim is to create a balanced and tailored curriculum with insight into the learning pathways in order to regulate the study pressure of students. This can be done, among other things, by minimizing overlap between the courses and spreading the study load for students based on credits.

The approach

First of all, the curriculum is mapped out by gathering the necessary information. Think of the name of the programme with associated learning and course objectives, attainment targets, teaching and assessment methods. Based on this information, the supplier sets up the software. Once the curriculum has been set up in the tool, the teachers test working with the tool. They will play with the data by shifting courses in their current curriculum or redesigning learning pathways in order to distribute the workload over the academic year. Based on the insights, the curriculum is actually better designed in practice. 

Working with the tool is also evaluated: how it works, whether there are any challenges, and whether the tool is of added value. The outcome of this will form input for the university-wide project, the tender for a university-wide Curriculum Information System.