Procedures for Approval of Amendments to Programmes and Modules

General Principles

Changes to programmes and modules may only be made in ways consistent with the University's approved procedures:

• Handbook for Approval and Revision of Taught Modules and Programmes (HARTMAP)

The HARTMAP includes details procedures for:

• Approval of new modules and non-award programmes
• Business approval for new and significantly amended programmes
• Academic approval for new and significantly amended programmes
• Amendments to Existing Programmes and Modules
• Management of Programme and Module Information

Amendments to Existing Physics and Astronomy Programmes and Modules

1. The Director of Education chairs the Physics and Astronomy Education Committee and has responsibility for taught programmes and modules within the discipline and will, as part of the Annual Programme Monitoring process confirm that all programme descriptors are current and valid.
2. Submissions for the approval of programme/module amendments may take place as necessary throughout the year subject to their being approved by the Physics and Education Committee before the start of the next academic year.
3. All requests for new module codes must be made by the DoE via the College Programme Approval Coordinator.
4. Student opinion for major amendments to programmes and modules will be sought via student representatives on the Education Committee (EC) and/or the Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC).
5. Where a programme amendment affects students currently studying a module, full agreement from the cohort is required.
6. Approval of / changes to module coordinators and lecturers is a matter for the workload allocation process and is not Education Committee).

Creation of New Modules and Withdrawal Modules

The Director of Education will only approve changes after confirming that that they will not invalidate the accreditation status of any programmes.

Major Modifications to Modules

New modules and major modifications to existing modules require approval by both the Director of Education and Education Committee:

• Amendments to module descriptors which involve the following sections:
• Module title (this will require a new module code)
• Credit value (this will require a new module code)
• Duration of module (term)
• Study time
• Aims where changes affect any aspect of a Programme Specification
• Intended learning outcomes where changes affect any aspect of a Programme Specification
• Assignments/assessment

Minor Modifications to Modules

Minor modifications, i.e. any change that is not defined as 'major' above require approval by the Director of Education and Education

Procedures For Amendments

1. Any proposed amendments should be submitted to the DoE in good time for the Education Committee meeting at which they are to be considered.
2. The DoE will be responsible for maintaining Programme and Module Amendments (PMA) document: , which is a chronological record of all significant changes and their rationale e.g.:
   • <http://newton.ex.ac.uk/handbook/16-17/misc/ModProgAmendments.html>,
   and the approval authorities and dates.
3. The approval process is completed by publication of the final approved version(s) of the:
   • programme specifications, and/or
   • module descriptors
   in their permanent locations within the Physics and Astronomy Handbook, and record of the approval in the minutes of the Physics and Astronomy Education Committee.
4. The following information should be included in the PMA document: URL for document (or memo to be included with minutes of the meeting) outlining the rationale for change, URL for relevant programme specification and module descriptor with changes indicated clearly, e.g. by using <del>delete</del> and <ins>insert</ins> markup and/or CSS and, if required, confirmation of approval from the current external examiner. If the assessment pattern does not conform to the current
   • Assessment Norms
   for the discipline, a rationale for the proposed methods and weights should be provided.
5. Each submission will be considered at the EC meeting. The Committee will decide which of the following decisions to make:
1. Approve
2. Approve subject to amendments
3. Not approve
6. The decision(s) will be minuted and communicated to the proposer of the amendment.
7. If the Committee approves the proposal subject to amendments the documents should be revised and then reconsidered by the responsible Director of Education for final approval. Confirmation of final approval will be provided via the ACME and will be recorded as Chair's Action in the minutes of the Education Committee.
8. Where changes are made to the assessment requirements of a module that affect the formal University examination of the module (e.g. a change in duration or removal of a written examination), these changes will be notified to the University's Examinations Office via the College Programme Approval Coordinator and Education Support Service.
9. The CEMPS Programme and Module Approval Group (PMAG) monitors the operation of the above process and receives copies of the PMA document for College approval.