QAA-funded project develops effective practice in curriculum reform

A new QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project has brought together seven institutions to develop, identify and promote effective practices in the processes of institution-wide curriculum redesign and reform.

The project brought together colleagues from the University of Exeter, the University of Bristol, the University of Leeds, Newcastle University, the University of Reading, the University of Salford and SOAS University of London to explore effective practice in wide-scale programme change and curriculum reform, by examining the common drivers, enablers and challenges underpinning curriculum transformation at an institutional level.

The final report from the project on Curriculum reform: a whole community approach emphasises the crucial importance of co-creation and collaboration in such processes.

The report's authors argue that successful curriculum transformation depends not only on structural or procedural change, but on building trust and engagement across a whole academic community.

"To address the current and future challenges and volatility within higher education it is essential that we promote collaboration over competition. Taking a whole-community approach to curriculum reform has enabled partners to build resilience through creating spaces for these crucial conversations – to promote a new mindset for higher education, building distinctiveness and togetherness through co‑creation, transparency and a defined shared purpose," they say.

The project's Professor Jess Power and Professor Beverley Hawkins discuss the findings and recommendations of their report on the QAA Blog.