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 (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 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.
The Evaluative report template is required at revalidation.
The Employability template is required at validation and revalidation.
Banner is the University Student Record System. Once approved, the programme needs 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The Programme Validation Form (last used 2015/16) has been replaced by the Programme Proposal Form, Market Intelligence and Analysis Template and the Intake and Resources Template.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.
The useful downloads below describe the roles and responsibilities of the main users of the Programme (re)Validation policy and procedure.
The useful downloads below provide guidance that will be helpful throughout the (re)Validation process.