Guidance on the academic design of programmes can be found in the Framework for Taught Programmes.
The University of Southampton has degree awarding powers and is responsible for ensuring the delivery of appropriate and high quality programmes. It, therefore, has its own set of regulations, policies and procedures set out in the Calendar and Quality Handbook that all programmes and members of the University are expected to follow.
Within the national context of Higher Education, quality across the sector is regulated through the Quality Assurance Agency and in particular, the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. The Competition and Markets Authority requirements for all undergraduate programmes for example have significant impacts for the timescales for planning programme and module validation and changes.
The Programme Validation Policy and Procedure and the Revalidation Policy and Procedure can be found below.
Banner is the University Student Record System. Once approved, programmes need to be translated into the Banner system so that it can inform wider University systems e.g. Timetabling, Blackboard etc. The templates below require completion in partnership with your CQA Team to ensure that the programme is set up correctly.
The Programme Validation Form (last used 2015/16) has been replaced by the Programme Proposal Form, Market Intelligence and Analysis Template and the Intake and Resources Template. If your Faculty has not yet selected to use the Curriculum Management System workflow for Programme (re)Validation, then you should use the Programme Validation Form OR the three templates. Please contact your Faculty CQA Team for more information about your Faculty position and plans.
It is no longer necessary to use the Module Profile and Programme Specification Template listed below. Once entered into the Curriculum Management System, module and programme information can be extracted automatically onto the University approved templates.
From 2017/18 all module information has been located in the Curriculum Management System. The modification of these is also managed in the Curriculum Management System. The Curriculum Management System is also the sole source of module information for the web.
From 2017/18 all programme information has been located in the Curriculum Management System. The modification of these is also managed in the Curriculum Management System. The Curriculum Management System WILL BE, but IS NOT YET the sole source of programme information for the web.
The amount of work that takes place outside of the system will vary from programme to programme and will be impacted by the requirements of the discipline/Faculty and/or Professional, Regulatory or Statutory Body requirements. In addition, the following templates have not yet been incorporated into the system.
Employability Template
Information Technology Template
The Evaluative Report Template, required as part of the programme revalidation process is located below.
The (re)validation of programmes is now managed via the Curriculum Management System. Please contact your Faculty CQA team for more information about your Faculty position and plans.
Access to the system can be obtained via the Faculty CQA team. Once you access the system, the workflow will ensure that you complete the required fields at the appropriate time.
The end of the process will culminate in academic approval which considers the information entered within the Curriculum Management System and the content of addition templates.
User guides have been developed for the creation of programmes and modules.
The academic guide is here (opens new window that requires login)
The administrator guide is here (opens new window that requires login)
The useful downloads below provide guidance that will be helpful throughout the (re)Validation process.