Programme Monitoring

Programme monitoring is an important component of the University's quality enhancement and monitoring activities. All taught programmes at Glasgow Caledonian University are required to undertake annual programme monitoring.

The process is described in detail in Section 4 of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Handbook.

As part of the monitoring process Programme Boards must consider a range of key performance indicators, including:

• trends in admission statistics
• trends in progression and awards statistics, including honours classification
• trends in graduate employment, including the most recently available graduate employment statistics
• the minutes of the Student Staff Consultative Group (see Section 7 of QAEH)
• the External Assessor report(s) and the Programme Board’s response to the Assessor(s)
• an analysis of evidence of interaction with the academic units contributing modules to the programme
• equality and diversity
• a review of the learning, teaching and asssessment strategy (LTAS) of the programme (see guidelines below)
• collaborative and professional/statutory/regulatory body activity
• reference to the requirements or recommendations of approval/re-approval events or visits from professional/statutory bodies
• evaluation of the previous year’s improvement plan

Note: the statistical information for the first two items listed above will be provided by the Policy and Planning Unit

The outcome of the monitoring process, which must be approved by the School Board, will be:

• the production/updating of an improvement plan for the programme which sets out how the Programme Board will improve both the quality and standards of the programme. This plan will be based on improvement of the key performance indicators and will include ‘SMART’ targets
• where the monitoring process identifies problems within a programme, including where:

1. students have shown dissatisfaction with a programme
2. progression rates after the second diet are lower than agreed School benchmarks
3. an External Assessor has expressed concern in relation to the quality and/or standards of a programme

the improvement plan must address these problems directly

• review of the Programme Specification and updating where requiredprogression rates after the second diet are lower than agreed School benchmarks
• the identification of wider issues for consideration by the School and/ord University

The monitoring process should be complete by the end of February in each year.

University consideration of the Programme Monitoring Process

Since 2002 the QAEH has required the submission of a Biennial Report on the programme monitoring process with an overview report provided by the Quality Office to LTSC for consideration.  In any one year only half of the Schools were required to submit reports (in March). 

Under the new process agreed in November 2009 all Schools are now required to submit an Annual Report on Monitoring, Quality Assurance and Enhancement of Programmes which will also include commentary on progression and retention (previously this was reported separately).  The report inter alia comments on the success of the programme monitoring process, identifies areas of weakness and strength, external assessors’ reports and progression within the School.

The content of the report will be as follows:

• introduction including a description of the scrutiny process by the School
• a brief overview of the health of the School portfolio of programmes including collaborative provision
• progression and retention
• the success of the programme improvement plans, measured using improvments in the key performance indicators
• External Assessors’ reports
• learner support and guidance
• the success in implementing the objectives of the LTAS
• summary of School's Enhancement Planning
• areas for University consideration

A template for the annual report by the School is provided as Appendic 4(c)

The Quality Office will produce an overview report and submit it, together with the reports from Schools, for consideration by the University's Learning and Teaching Sub-Committee no later than the end of Trimester B of each academic session.

The Quality Office will pass any issues relating to learning resources or information services to the relevant member of the University Executive for attention and where necessary action

Last updated: 11-January-2011

Programme and Module Monitoring Pro-forma

The following documents are available to download:

Annual Programme Analysis

Module Monitoring Report

Annual Report on Monitoring, Quality Assurance and Enhancement of Programmes