Project Curriculum Information System

Duration
2024 until 2029
Project type
ICT
Organisation
Academic Affairs, Innovation & Projects

Reason

When setting up a new program and (re)developing a curriculum, a lot of information is collected and exchanged. This includes learning outcomes, learning objectives and learning activities that must be recorded in Education and Examination Regulations, Osiris and study guides. Currently, this information is often stored in a fragmented or incomplete manner, which prevents a complete picture of a curriculum. Radboud University is starting to prepare a tender for a Curriculum Information System (CIS), in which educational developers, teachers and timetablers work together on the (re)development of curricula.

With a CIS, we gain insight into curricula, information for study guides/accreditation, finances and timetabling. This contributes to a better balance and quality of education and educational organisation. Furthermore, by recording curriculum information in a central system, fewer errors arise due to less manual work. This allows us to improve the quality of information management. Finally, through better insight into the curriculum, we can enable students to take control of their own learning path.

Benefits of a Curriculum Information System

When we facilitate the curriculum preparation process in a better way, we gain a better overview of education programmes. This also makes it easier for us to gain insight into the content, seek cooperation between programmes and faculties, and get better control on the costs of our education. The latter is essential, especially in times of financial cutbacks.

Within FNWI, we are developing a hybrid approach to formative and summative assessment. In order to make programmes more studyable and reduce study pressure, it is important to take a critical look at assessment policy. A curriculum information system gives us insight into all assessment moments and forms within a programme. This allows lecturers and programmes to tailor the assessment programme as a whole to studyability, learning objectives and final attainment levels. Laura van Niftrik (Vice-dean of Education, FNWI)

A curriculum information system as a building block for future proof education

Recently, Radboud University, like many other educational institutions, has been faced with budget cuts in education. Radboud University is also struggling with the consequences of these cutbacks: expiring contracts and higher workloads are immediately noticeable for staff. Can Radboud University handle the task of preparing and implementing a new system? The answer is yes. It is certainly not easy, but it is the only way out to get our educational organisation in order.

Information manager Pien Walraven explains in a short video the advantages of a CIS and how it can help in creating a foundation in curriculum development.

Support for curriculum teams

With the introduction of a curriculum information system, curriculum teams will gain easier insight into the coherence and structure of their subjects within the curriculum, receive support in educational development, and be able to carry out quality assurance processes more efficiently. Relevant information about the curricula will be made available to them in the system in a more complete and clearer manner. This offers opportunities to make education more manageable and easier to structure and organise. 

When it comes to reaccreditations and curriculum revisions, our programme directors and coordinators spend a considerable amount of time mapping out the curriculum. What exactly are the learning objectives for each course, how do courses relate to each other, where is there overlap in our education, and what does the assessment programme look like?

It is no longer appropriate to create such overviews using post-it notes and Excel spreadsheets. We need to be able to improve the quality of education more quickly. A curriculum information system will ensure that we have a continuously updated overview of our curricula. This will greatly reduce the workload for lecturers and contribute to monitoring and improving the quality of education. drs. L.G. Gulpers (Director of Education, FdM)

Student experiences

In a video, students explain their current experiences with curriculum information. All student findings have been compiled in a report. The positive influence of the CIS on curriculum development will make it easier for students to gain more insight into the expected study load within their curriculum. This will give them more control over their own learning pathway and enable them to create a better balance between their studies and other activities (such as work, social life, etc.). As a result, we can reduce the study pressure on students and at the same time limit the length of their studies. 

Approach and planning 

Preliminary research (2024)

In the first half of 2024, a preliminary survey of the needs of lecturers, students and staff from the educational organisation within the university took place. This showed that within education, from both the education practice and the supporting process, there is a great need for support for the process of curriculum preparation and clearer recording of the curriculum using a curriculum information system. These needs were also previously identified in the Optimal Educational Planning Programme (2022-2023) and again explicitly identified among all faculties and departments, students and staff in 2024 by the Smarter Academic Year / Curriculum Information System project.

Planning preparations for faculties and divisions (2025)

In 2025, based on inventories at faculties and divisions, concrete descriptions of three different variants of curriculum preparation were delivered: 

  1. Developing a completely new curriculum.
  2. Revising a curriculum.
  3. Optimising a curriculum at course level.

In addition, a Lexicon has been developed that details the terms needed to properly support these processes and how those terms relate to each other. Through fit-gap analyses and Lexicon analyses at all faculties and departments, these descriptions and the Lexicon have been further refined as a basis for the continuation of the project.  

Continuation (2026 and beyond)

Preparations are currently underway for the tender process, which will initially involve gathering information through a market consultation on the options offered by various CIS suppliers. At the same time, the tender documentation is being drawn up in collaboration with representatives from the faculties and divisions, in which requirements and wishes are being inventoried, assessment criteria are being included and additional documentation is being recorded. These elaborations are all based on the process and role descriptions and the Lexicon that was delivered in 2025.  

In addition, preparatory analyses are currently being carried out with stakeholders from Academic Affairs and faculties to identify what is needed to enable integration with Osiris and Termtime.

Following the tender process, Phase 3 (Implementation & Integration) will commence in September 2026. In this phase, a number of pioneering faculties will start using the CIS with support and guidance from both the supplier and the project team, followed by the other faculties in the 2027-2028 academic year. From this point onwards, integration with other information systems will also commence (starting with Osiris and Termtime). 

This will be followed by phase 4 (January 2028), during which the CIS will be fully implemented and integrated with the necessary support and aftercare. 

Results

Reports with a summary of the results and background information are available in Dutch. Visit de Dutch webpage for more information.

Contact information

If you would like to learn more about the Curriculum Information System (CIS)? project or contribute ideas, contact Dianne Akkerhuis (project leader) dianne.akkerhuis@ru.nl.