Quality Assurance

University of Greenwich staff

This page covers all aspects of module and programme management.

Please ensure that when making changes to any module or programme you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Document Repository - Curriculum Records Office (CRO)

The Curriculum Records Office (CRO) have created a Document Repository on SharePoint for programme and module specifications.  This repository will store the most up-to-date versions of the programme and modules specifications held by CRO.  These can be viewed by following the link.  For additional information regarding how to view this information, guidance notes are available.

Whilst CRO have added as many documents as possible, there will be some gaps, which we expect to fill over time as new documents are added.  Meanwhile, Banner should hold up-to-date programme structures and module information, which can be viewed on BannerWeb via the Authorised List of Programmes or the Authorised Course List as applicable.  Please note new documents received will be uploaded as time allows to keep the repository up to date for future reference.

Welcome

You can navigate the menu options below by clicking on the headings.

Managing Academic Standards

In order to assure standards of marking, and the consistency of student progression and degree classification, the university operates a two-tier examination board system managed by its faculties: Subject Assessment Panels (SAPs), and Progression and Award Boards (PABs). This two-tier system is overseen by appointed External Examiners who provide the university with an annual, independent view of the standard of university assessments, student work and the resulting awards conferred on individuals.

Subject Assessment Panels (SAPs) are convened to review and address cohort standards, assessment practice and marking standards for all modules under its remit.

Progression and Award Boards (PABs) meet in order to make decisions on student progression and degree classification, according to the academic regulations of the university.

Module introduction

Modules are the key building blocks of a student's academic experience. The majority of modules are created through the programme approval and review process but they can be developed separately. Modules can be updated and amended in response to changing needs, or removed and replaced altogether. Every year the university asks staff to write a short report about their module.

Please ensure that when making changes to any module or programme you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Propose a new module

Most new modules are introduced as part of programme approvals and periodic programme reviews, but others may be added to the academic portfolio during intervening periods to update or enhance existing provision or to respond to changing market demand.  Advice about developing a new module can be sought from Quality Assurance, from professional bodies, or from an appropriate external advisor such as a professional in the field, a discipline specialist or an External Examiner.

The Faculty Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (FPPMC) is responsible for the approval of all individual new modules, module changes and discontinuations that occur outside programme approval and review processes.

Approved New Module Specifications will also need to be accompanied by a completed Programme Change Form and Programme Specification Template so the university can adapt the programme structure to accommodate the new module appropriately.

Timescales and deadlines

Submissions may be made at any time for all modules, to be approved by faculty, however changes in readiness for the following academic year need to have been approved and forwarded to the University Quality Team by the end of November to meet the university's deadline of the first week of December.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Forms

Useful documents

Change a module

Once you have reviewed your module, you may feel that it needs to be updated to take account of changes in the subject, or that it should be revised in response to comment by the External Examiner or to student feedback.

If the changes you are proposing are very substantial, so that in effect it virtually amounts to a new course, you should use the New Module Specification instead (see 'Propose a new module' above). Advice on what constitutes very substantial change can be sought from Quality Assurance, but changes that automatically qualify for requiring a New Module Specification include:

  • Change of title
  • Change of level
  • Change of credit

Students affected by the changes should be notified in writing by the faculty in advance of the changes being implemented.

If the changes do not require a new module then you may complete a Module Change Form which then must be signed and approved by your faculty approving committee.

Timescales and deadlines

A module change may be submitted anytime prior to the 1st of December. Following committee approval, the relevant Quality Officer will ensure that all agreed module developments and module changes or discontinuations are distributed to the appropriate university directorates and offices for the purposes of updating the university's records. These include the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) for Banner records and The Planning and Statistics (PAS) Directorate which will add the relevant data from Banner to the University Key Information Sets (KIS).

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Programme changes cannot be made in-session and put into place in the same session.

Forms

Useful documents

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) is responsible for the approval of all individual module changes that occur outside programme approval and review processes and a workflow can be found below:

Discontinue or suspend a module

As part of programme updating it may be necessary to discontinue old module options and cores, replacing them with new additions to the portfolio. This is done by using a Module Discontinuation Form.

This will affect the programme structure and you need to make sure that programme documents are also updated. Proposals to discontinue will need to be accompanied by a completed Programme Change Form. You should consider the wider impact of discontinuing a module before completing the form. For example, it may affect a number of different programmes within or beyond the faculty (e.g., in a partner organisation).

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) is responsible for the approval of module discontinuations.

Replacing a discontinued module

If you need to replace a discontinued module with a new module please ensure that a new module proposal and revised programme structure(s) are also completed and endorsed by faculty using the 'Propose a new module' section above.

You may also us a Module Discontinuation Form to 'suspend' a module from a programme of study for a given period of time. In this case the module remains 'live' but not open to selection by students.

Timescales and deadlines

A module discontinuation may be submitted anytime prior to the 1st of December to be approved by faculty in readiness for the following academic year.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Programme changes cannot be made in-session and put into place in the same session.

Forms

Useful documents

Module Monitoring / Submit an Annual Module Report

After each occurrence of a module, a short Module Monitoring Report must be written to ensure that staff, student and External Examiner feedback is addressed.

Module Monitoring Reports are used to inform Annual Programme Review reports, as well as forming part of the Subject Assessment Panel (SAP) process. Student module evaluations take place through the online EvaSys system, with actions reported back to students.

The Module Monitoring Report uses the online 'greweb' system and is available on the 'Staff Portal' in the Learning Support tab under 'Academic Resources' where you select the 'Annual Monitoring Reports' link. It should be completed and submitted to the Head of Department and departmental committee.

Timescales and deadlines

A Module Monitoring Report should be completed shortly after the end of the module, and in time to be presented at the relevant SAP.

The Module Monitoring Report system will go live every academic year from the 01st November, this will allow colleagues that have cross-sessional end modules that they complete early in Term 1 to complete their report.

University Module Handbook template

A university standard Module Handbook should be provided to all students each year.

Programme introduction

The programme is the essential structure in which all students study their core and option modules which leads to a recommended university award. Proposing and securing the approval of a new programme requires a considerable investment of planning and time. Proposing changes to existing programmes is a straightforward process which requires faculty and central university agreement.

You may wish to:

  • Propose a new programme for university approval and recruitment
  • Change a programme structure or other details in response to student and External Examiner comment or the requirements of a professional body
  • Suspend a programme
  • Reinstate a programme
  • Discontinue a programme

A Programme Handbook should be provided to students each year. The templates can be accessed below.

Every year the university also asks for a short report about each programme.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Propose a new programme

Prior to obtaining university authorisation to schedule approval of a new programme of study there are key stages that must be undertaken when putting forward a proposal.

Key stages that must be undertaken when putting forward a proposal:

  • Discuss the programme development with your school and agree in principle to take it forward as part of your faculty portfolio planning.
  • Commission a Market Research Report from the Communications and Recruitment Directorate (please contact Claire Matthews, Associate Director of UK Recruitment on c.chalmers@greenwich.ac.uk to arrange)
  • Secure faculty and university endorsement/signatures of the proposal.

Process and deadlines

1. IDEATION AND MARKET ANALYSIS

The faculty should consider the initial idea for a new programme proposal and discuss with other faculties where appropriate. Market Research into the initial idea will be conducted with support from the Communications and Recruitment Directorate and the faculty will consider this.

2. PROPOSAL FORM AND FACULTY APPROVAL

The owner of the proposal should complete the Programme Proposal Form found below. The faculty should consider the full proposal and add signatures as stipulated in the form.

3. DIRECTORATE SIGN-OFF

The faculty should then pass the Programme Proposal Form in word format to the university’s Professional Services Directorates as indicated in the form, along with the completed Business Plan in excel format (see the Programme Proposal Form for more information).

4. PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMMES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (PPMC) SUBMISSION

The faculty should then pass the completed Programme Proposal Form with all relevant signatures (in word format) to the secretary of the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC). The form should be accompanied by the Business Plan in excel format.

5. PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMMES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (PPMC) CONSIDERATION AND AUTHORISATION

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will consider the proposal put forward by the faculty. The faculty may be asked by the committee to revise the proposal or provide more detail. Should the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) support the proposal, it will be authorised for an approval event. Please refer to the "Develop a new programme" section below for what happens next.

Timescales and deadlines

The recommended lead in time for a new programme is 18 months to allow for a full recruitment period, however the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will approve new programmes up to 9 months prior to launch. Please check their webpage for submissions deadlines.

Proposals for launch less than 18 months ahead should provide conservative indicative new student numbers.

Forms

The following forms need to be submitted to the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC):

  • New Programme Proposal Template
  • If you are proposing an off-campus programme to be delivered by a partner, you must also complete a New Programme Visit Report
  • And one of the following:
  • Business Plan for Off-Campus Programmes - currently being updated, please contact finance directly
  • Business Plan for On-Campus Programmes - - currently being updated, please contact finance directly
  • Business Plan for Degree Apprenticeship Programmes - currently being updated, please contact finance directly

Please note the business plans must first be approved by your Faculty Operating Officer (FOO) and then forwarded onto your Finance Business Partner. Finance Business Partners will require at least three days’ notice before the PAC papers deadline due to the volume of submissions and time to review/engage with their respective FOO/Programme Lead and then by the Deputy Director of Finance.

Fast Track Approvals

Proposals that are put forward to the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) that are outside the approved deadlines will be considered on a case-by-case basis. These cases would be exceptional and must provide a strong business case for doing so. Reasons may include:

  • PSRB Requirements
  • New programme based largely on pre-exiting modules
  • Programme being created to support possible Teach Out requirements

For advice on whether your situation meets the exception rules and qualifies for fast track approval, please email the University Quality Team at quality@gre.ac.uk

PLEASE NOTE: If the deadlines above are missed, then programmes will be authorised with a start date of the next academic session.

Develop a new programme

Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) authorisation of new programme proposals shall commend that proposals are approved by one of the three following options:

  • Approval by Standing Panel Route A
  • Approval by Standing Panel Route B

Following authorisation of a new programme proposal by the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC), a Quality Officer who facilitates the approval process is allocated to the programme and the Academic Learning Enhancement Team (from ILS) and will provide support to the Programme Leader designated with a programme development workshop to support programme design.

The Quality Officer will contact the Development Team to arrange a planning meeting.

Timescales and deadlines

Time frame approval by Standing Panel should occur no later than 9 months after PPMC approval - up to 12 months in exceptional mitigating circumstances (but all events will aim for earlier timeframes), otherwise consideration of the proposal will be postponed to the following academic year.

Forms

The following forms need to be submitted for approval of a new programme:

When designing the structure of a programme it is recommended that the Development Team refers to the:

Useful documents

The following links provide clarification, and specify the requirements of the various stages in the process.

Change a programme

Programmes may require structural change and updating in response to curriculum review and development, and in response to feedback from students or external examiners, or other external factors such as professional body requirements.

Academic staff are encouraged to modify and refresh programmes so that they remain up-to-date and fit for purpose.

Changes to programmes may be approved through a faculty committee process with specific deadlines set by the university. Some changes will also require the endorsement of the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC). If you are considering making multiple changes, please contact the University Quality team for advice.

In order to comply with the requirements of the Competition and Markets Authority Guidelines to HE providers, your students should always be offered a formal opportunity to provide feedback on change proposals before you seek faculty level approval. Please use the relevant forms below to consult your students and consider their views.

Forms - Student consultation

Forms - Programme MAJOR change

If you wish to:

  • Change a programme title
  • Add or change start months and/or study modes
  • Add endorsements
  • Change the length
  • Change of site

Then the following form needs to be submitted for approval to the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Forms - Programme MINOR change

If you wish to change the structure of the programme:

  • Replacing, removing, adding a module
  • Changing the terms of delivery for modules

Then you still need to complete the

  • Minor programme change form (Please note the old version "D4a Minor Programme Change Form June 2020" is being used temporarily, this will be updated soon)

But your faculty level committee can approve this, and it will be noted at the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC). A workflow can be found below:

Timescales and deadlines

Proposals for changing a programme of study may be submitted anytime up to and including the first week in December (on-campus programmes) to be endorsed by faculty in readiness the following academic year.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Programme changes cannot be made in-session and put into place in the same session.

Suspend a programme

A programme suspension request should be submitted to the your faculty committee first.

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will then need to consider and approve any proposed suspensions endorsed by the faculty. If the programme is not reinstated after two years, it will be automatically discontinued.

Forms

The following form needs to be submitted for approval:

Timescales and deadlines

Proposals to suspend recruitment to a programme of study may be submitted anytime up to and including the first week of December to be endorsed by faculty in readiness for the following academic year.

Suspension of recruitment does not extend the period of approval for a programme and all periodic reviews will take place as per normal timeframes should the programme be reinstated.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Programme changes cannot be made in-session and put into place in the same session.

Discontinue a programme

A programme discontinuation request should be submitted to the your faculty committee first.

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will then need to consider and approve any proposed discontinuation endorsed by the faculty. Please check their webpage for submissions deadlines.

Normally, any programmes that have had no students registered for two years, with no pending applications from candidates, i.e., programmes which are no longer operational, will be considered for discontinuation.

Equally, programmes that have been authorised but have not moved forward to approval within 12 months and programmes that have gone forward for approval but whose conditions of approval have not been met by the deadline should be considered for discontinuation.

Satisfactory arrangements must be put in place for existing students to complete the programme of study or to transfer to another programme. For partnership programmes the proposal must be discussed with senior managers of the partner. Please see the teach out documents below.

Forms

The following form needs to be submitted for approval:

Timescales and deadlines

Proposals to discontinue a programme of study may be submitted anytime up to and including the first week of December to be endorsed by faculty in readiness for the discontinuation to become effective 18 months later in accordance with university protocol.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

Useful documents

Reinstate a programme

To reinstate a programme that has previously been suspended, a reinstatement proposal should be submitted to your faculty committee first.

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will then need to consider and approve any proposed reinstatements endorsed by the faculty.

Forms

The following form needs to be submitted for approval:

Timescales and deadlines

Proposals to reinstate a programme of study may be submitted anytime up to and including the first week of December to be endorsed by faculty in readiness for the following academic year.

Please ensure you consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and timescales to understand the requirements for student and staff consultation. You can find the documents here.

Late changes

If you are requesting a change after December for the following September, you must have this authorised by your faculty's Associate Dean for Student Success and it will require a chair's action from the Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC).

University Programme Handbook template

A university handbook should be provided to all students each year.

University Partner Programme Handbook template

A university handbook should be provided to all students each year.

Periodic programme review

The University Quality Team are currently reviewing the periodic programme review process and it is intended that further details will be made available during the 2022/23 academic year. In the meantime, the periodic review process is on hold until further notice.

Annual programme review

All university programmes leaders must undertake a review of the performance of the programme at the end of each academic session, known as the annual programme review (APR). The APR gives a programme team the opportunity to reflect and discuss how the past year has gone; to acknowledge and celebrate success; and to plan changes where the team can improve on current practice.

In July 2023, the Continuous Improvement Tool (CIT) was introduced as a means for programme leaders to access data related to their programme, make reflections and set actions for enhancement. Initially, CIT will include on campus undergraduate and integrated masters programmes as well as distance-learning programmes. Currently the CIT is not available for postgraduate programmes or off campus partner programmes. APRs for postgraduate programmes should be completed using GreWeb while partners should complete their APR using the Word template for off campus APRs. Please see below for further guidance regarding each of these types of APR.

On Campus Undergraduate, Integrated Masters and Distance Learning Programmes

For on campus UG, integrated masters and distance learning programmes the APR should be completed using the Continuous Improvement Tool (CIT).  The CIT will provide programme leaders with various sets of data which are updated throughout the year, as per the following dates:

  • December – market attractiveness, tariff and non-continuation data
  • June – Graduate outcomes data & module evaluation metrics
  • August/September – NSS metrics
  • Mid-September – progression, good honours, module pass rates and awarding gap data

The CIT is intended to add value to the process of reviewing programmes by bringing all the data related to a programme into one place and allowing data to be viewed as it is updated across the academic year. Programme leaders can use the CIT to access these data sets and are encouraged to use this data to continually reflect upon the performance of the programme on an ongoing basis and set actions for enhancements.

From the 1st of September, the APR facility within the CIT will be opened and programme leaders will have until Monday the 16th October to submit their completed APR. The APR section of the CIT builds upon the reflections that the programme leader has been making throughout the year and provides a summary of the overall performance of the programme.

For more guidance about how to complete an APR using the CIT, please access the Continuous Improvement Tool – User Guide.

To access the CIT, please follow the below link:

https://citool.gre.ac.uk/

Postgraduate Programmes

For postgraduate programmes, colleagues should complete the Annual Programme Review forms online at GreWeb by following the link below:

Annual Programme Review

The APR should provide an update on progress on the previous year’s action plan;  reflections on the performance of the programme regarding the teaching quality and learning environment, student outcomes and learning gain, external benchmarks and PSRB issues; to consider any changes that you wish to make to your programme; to highlight effective practices you might have identified over the course of the academic year; and to create an action plan for how you wish to enhance your programme. Through GreWeb you can access data regarding student numbers on the programme, progression results and an overview of issues identified via the Module Monitoring Report (MMR) process for modules on your programme.

Off Campus Partnership Programmes

For programmes which are delivered off campus under a partnership arrangement, it is the responsibility of the programme leader at the partners institution to complete the APR reflecting on the performance of the programme over the course of the last year. It is not currently possible for staff at partner institutions to access either the CIT or GreWeb, and a Word version APR template has been developed for the completion of off campus APRs. If you are a link tutor, then it is possible to assist your partner by accessing data for the relevant programme from GreWeb and copying this into a Word document so that the programme leader at the partner institution can use this data to assist them in their reflections. The off campus partnership APR template can be accessed by following the link below:

Programme documents | Documents | University of Greenwich

Timescales

There are three key milestones in the APR process, irrespective of whether the APR has been completed via the CIT, GreWeb or submitted as a Word document. These milestones are as follows:

  • Deadline for Programme Leaders to complete the APR: Monday 16th October 2023;
  • Deadline for Heads of School to review submitted APRs: Monday 30th October 2023;
  • Completion of the Faculty APR Scrutiny exercise: [date TBC - January 2024]

If you are completing the APR via the CIT then the window to complete the APR will open on the 1st September, after which time you should be able to edit comments under the ‘Annual programme review’ heading. You will be able to edit the ‘Reflections and actions’ section of the CIT throughout the year.

Useful documents

Document to complete for Annual Programme Review for partnership programmes:

External Examiners

The following sections are for the University Quality Team's External Examiner internal processes.

Appointing an External Examiner

Once a new programme is approved you should seek appointment of a suitable new External Examiner, or one from the current appointments, who will oversee the programme.

A Quality Officer from the University Quality Team will remind your School when there is an External Examiner vacancy via the Faculty Student Success Committee (FSSC).

A nomination form for new External Examiners, extensions to tenure or changes of duty need to be sent to Quality Officers for review before they are taken to FSSC for approval, followed by the University Learning Quality & Regulations Committee (LQRC) for endorsement. Once approved at FSSC, the nomination form should then be sent to the University Quality Team (quality@gre.ac.uk) to start the onboarding process. 

As part of the onboarding process, the Quality Administration Team will invite the External Examiner Nominee to a Right to Work check which must be completed prior to the commencement of any work. As long as the Right to Work is completed, and compliant with Home Office requirements, the Quality Administration Team will then send the External Examiner Nominee a welcome email, contract of engagement and payroll information.

Once the contract of engagement has been signed and returned, the Quality Administration Team will complete the Nomination form with the relevant dates and share with the faculty/school ARMS Approver, the External Examiner Liaison (where relevant), Quality Officer, Head of School, and Payroll. Once this email has been sent, the External Examiner can be considered employed by the University and can be contacted about work by the Faculty.

Timescales and deadlines

To be updated soon

Forms

Useful documents

Extending or modifying an External Examiner

To extend or modify External Examiner's duties you must submit a 'change of status' request to the Head of School and relevant Quality Officer.

The normal duration of an appointment is just over four years, commencing notionally on 1 September and finishing on 31 December of the fourth year. Exceptionally, a contract may be extended for one year.

To extend the appointment or change the External Examiner's duties you must - having first obtained the External Examiner's agreement - submit a request for approval to the Head of School and the relevant Quality Officer. The extension or change requires endorsement by your Faculty Student Success Committee (FSSC). Extensions are also reported to the university's LQRC. The Quality Administration Team will notify the External Examiner of the change or extension to their contract.

Forms

Discontinuing an External Examiner

In accordance with the External Examiner's contract of employment, both the External Examiner and the University have the right to terminate this contract at any time by giving the other party at least one academic term's notice.

Notice may be given by the External Examiner if a serious conflict of interest arises or if they are unable to undertake their duties because of illness or for any other reason. Equally, notice may be given by the university if the programme for which the external is responsible ceases to run.

During their term of office, if an External Examiner fails to carry out their duties (including submission of an annual report) without good reason, the Head of School or their nominee should contact the External Examiner to ascertain whether they still wish to continue in the role.

If the examiner does not wish to continue, the Head of School should ensure that a procedure is put in place so that the duties involved are completed satisfactorily, or to ensure they can be discharged successfully in the future. If this proves not to be possible, the Head of School should ask the Quality Assurance team to terminate the appointment.

Any resignations should be sent to the Quality Administration Team (quality@gre.ac.uk) and the Quality Officer as soon as possible so that Recognition of Resignation Letter can be issued, ending the employment contract, and the replacement process can begin.

Useful documents

Responding to an External Examiner report

Schools must respond formally in writing to issues raised in the External Examiner's annual report each academic session. This response must be endorsed by the faculty and copied  to the relevant Quality Officer.

Points and comments raised by an External Examiner can be addressed informally at any time during the academic session but the School must also respond formally in writing.

Forms

Useful documents

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