What is a programme specification?
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)* expects that a definitive record of each programme and qualification is maintained by the University. This record acts as a reference point for the delivery, assessment, monitoring and review of the programme and is designed to be shared with academic and support staff, students, internal and external examiners, professional and statutory bodies, and academic reviewers. The record should be updated as and when amendments to the programme or learning outcomes are approved.
Programme specifications are used for this purpose and they should make explicit the intended outcomes in terms of knowledge, understanding, skills and other attributes.
They should help students to understand the teaching and learning methods that enable the outcomes to be achieved; the assessment methods that enable the outcomes to be demonstrated; and the relationship of the programme and its study elements to the qualifications framework and to any subsequent professional qualification and career path."
Programme specifications should then be written with current students as the target audience. They should help the student to understand:
- the aims and structure of the programme;
- how different units contribute to the overall aims;
- and what makes the programme as offered at the University of Manchester distinctive.
They should also provide information on:
- how a student will progress through the programme;
- how they can expect to develop from year to year;
- and what knowledge, understanding and skills they can expect to have acquired by the time they graduate.
The expectation is that programme specifications are drafted by groups of staff including a number of colleagues involved in the delivery of the programme. The process should also involve student input.
A programme specification is required for all programmes and programme teams are required to check them annually and to keep them up to date.
* QAA Quality Code for Higher Education