Programme management

This page provides guidance to programme leaders when conducting any changes to their programmes.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MODIFICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. IF YOU HAVE AN URGENT MODIFICATION REQUEST PLEASE EMAIL a.j.grayston@gre.ac.uk

Programme Introduction

A programme of study is the structured set of core/optional modules and learning experiences designed to achieve specific educational outcomes that lead to an approved University award.

A programme should be continually reflected upon using student feedback, external examiner reporting, annual monitoring metrics, PSRB requirements and sector developments in order to meet benchmarking, industry standards and to ensure it maintains relevance for student experience and outcomes.

As a result of this reflection there may be a requirement to:

  • Propose a new programme for University approval and recruitment
  • Change a programme structure or recruitment options
  • Discontinue a programme
  • Reinstate a programme

Information on how to make the above requests can be found in the sections below for Propose, Develop, Modify programmes.

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

Annually, the university asks programme leaders for a short report about each programme and its performance.

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.


KEY INFORMATION FOR THE 2025/26 SESSION

The University Curriculum Shape Project will launch this session. This project will impact the approach to programme management and focusses on two component projects:

  • Curriculum Framework Revalidation – Initiation of re-validation and development for all programmes across the institution to align them to the new Curriculum Framework.
  • Curriculum Management Tool – Launch and integration of programmes and modules into the new tool as they embark on re-validation and for new programme proposal.

Please use the following link for information and updates on the project: Curriculum Shape page

PPMC agreed the approach to be taken in the transitional period, which is summarised below:

Welcome

Please select from the dropdown list below

Annual Programme Review (APR)

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. CIT will include on campus undergraduate, post-graduate and integrated masters programmes as well as distance-learning programmes. Currently the CIT is not available for off campus partner programmes. 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, Post-Graduate, Integrated Masters and Distance Learning Programmes

For on campus UG, PG, 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 /  PTES 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.

Please note that the CIT 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.

For more guidance about how to complete an APR using the CIT, please access the below links:

To access the CIT, please follow the below link: https://citool.gre.ac.uk/

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 to our Programme Documents Page


Timescales

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

  • Deadline for Programme Leaders to complete the APR: 31st October 2024;
  • Deadline for Heads of School to review submitted APRs: 15th November 2024;

If you are completing the APR via the CIT then the window to complete the APR will open on the 11th 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.

Document to complete for Annual Programme Review Report, for partnership programmes

Propose a New Programme

Prior to developing a new programme, it is necessary to submit a new programme proposal (NPP) to the university’s Programmes and Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) for consideration. The NPP acts as a business case for the proposed development and approval from PPMC provides the green light to develop the programme. Following approval of the NPP by PPMC, the Assistant Head of Quality Assurance (Validation and Review) will contact the programme development team to advise regarding the next steps. PPMC approval of the NPP should not be considered approval of the programme.

Templates

The NPP form that needs to be completed, and the process that should be followed, depends on the nature of the proposal.

Please note that during the 2025/26 academic year, we will switch to using the new curriculum management tool, CourseLoop, the business case steps will remain the same, but the tool will become the source of proposal and committee submission. Once the tool has been launched in October 2025, more guidance and information will be published. Up until October and for all submissions meeting the new deadline for UG proposals, the below is the primary proposal and submission process.

The Quality Assurance team have developed the following NPP templates to support the most common types of proposals:

The process for each proposal type has been designed to support the nature of the proposal and these steps are detailed in the forms, and below. If you wish to make one of the following recruitment changes to an existing programme, this does not require an NPP to be completed and can be requested via the programme modification process:

  • Change Programme title
  • Add/Remove Mode of study
  • Add/Remove Start Month
  • Add/Remove Endorsement
  • Add/Remove Site of Delivery
  • Discontinue/Reinstate a programme

Market Insights

If submitting a proposal for a new on campus programme, it will be necessary for this proposal to be supplemented by a market insight report. Marketing and External Relations (MER) are able to provide market insight reports, and you make a request via the below form:

Market Insight Research Request Form

Please note that you will need to allow sufficient time for MER to produce the market insight report and the time that this may take depends on the nature of your request. Indicative timings for market insight reports are as follows:

  • Horizon scanning (6 – 12 weeks depending on scale/discipline)
  • New course assessment :
    • Viability/market demand check (4 weeks)
    • Comparable program analysis (4 weeks)
  • Course assessment - existing programme (8 weeks)
  • Course titles/search trends (1-2 weeks depending on scale)
  • Student number projections (out with the annual planning exercise 1-2 weeks)
  • Tuition fee benchmarking (out with the annual planning exercise 1-2 weeks)
  • Tariff benchmarking (out with the annual planning exercise 1-2 weeks)

Requests will be assessed and prioritised by scale/impact and aligned to annual planning round.


New On Campus Programme Proposals

For new on campus programme proposals, the following steps should be followed:

Step 1: Completion of a high-level summary of the proposal to be approved by the Head of School and the Faculty Student Success Committee.

Step 2: Liaison with Marketing and External Relations to undertake a market analysis for the proposed programme. No approval of the market analysis is required to proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Completion of the Management Tool for Assessing Profitability based on student number projections from the market analysis. Approval is required from the relevant Faculty Operating Officer to proceed to step 4.

Step 4: Completion of the functional details, that will allow the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) to set the programme up on Banner. At this stage, approval is required from the relevant faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor and Faculty Student Success Committee.

Step 5: Consultation with relevant professional service stakeholders, depending on the nature of the proposal. The university’s Programme and Partnerships Management Committee is responsible for considering completed proposals at step 5.

Upon successful completion of the above steps, the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) will generate a programme code (P code) and the programme can be marketed with the caveat ‘subject to validation’. The Quality Assurance Team will then contact the development lead to advise regarding the validation process to be followed to seek full approval, including the relevant paperwork to be completed and timeframes to be followed.


New Apprenticeship Programme Proposals

For new apprenticeship programme proposals, the following steps should be followed:

Step 1: Completion of a high-level summary of the proposal to be approved by the Head of School, Associate Director of Employability and Apprenticeships and the Faculty Student Success Committee.

Step 2: To engage with the Apprenticeships Hub who will complete the market assessment and Management Tool for Assessing Profitability in conjunction with the development lead. Approval is required from the relevant Faculty Operating Officer to proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Completion of the functional details, that will allow the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) to set the programme up on Banner. At this stage, approval is required from the relevant faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor and Faculty Student Success Committee.

Step 4: Consultation with relevant professional service stakeholders, depending on the nature of the proposal. The university’s Programme and Partnerships Management Committee is responsible for considering completed proposals at step 4.

Upon successful completion of the above steps, the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) will generate a programme code (P code) and the programme can be marketed with the caveat ‘subject to validation’. The Quality Assurance Team will then contact the development lead to advise regarding the validation process to be followed to seek full approval, including the relevant paperwork to be completed and timeframes to be followed.


New Partnership Programme Proposals

For new partnership programme proposals, the following steps should be followed:

Step 1: Completion of a high-level summary of the proposal to be approved by the Head of School.

Step 2: To complete details of projected student numbers and financial arrangements for the proposal. Approval is required from the relevant Faculty Operating Officer to proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Completion of the functional details, that will allow the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) to set the programme up on Banner. At this stage, approval is required from the relevant faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor and Faculty Student Success Committee.

Step 4: Consultation with relevant professional service stakeholders, depending on the nature of the proposal. The university’s Programme and Partnerships Management Committee is responsible for considering completed proposals at step 4.

Upon successful completion of the above steps, the Curriculum Records Office (CRO) will generate a programme code (P code) and the Quality Assurance Team will then contact the development lead to advise regarding the validation process to be followed to seek full approval, including the relevant paperwork to be completed and timeframes to be followed.
and aligned to annual planning round.


Timescales and deadlines

From the 2025/26 session the following timelines have been set by the Programmes and Partnership Management Committee (PPMC), this is to allow all new programmes to be taken through the new Curriculum Framework validation process and to meet marketing and recruitment timelines.

New Programme Proposals (27/28 start) UG - Must be submitted to the 7th October 2025 PPMC committee. (This is the last committee these will be considered)

New Programme Proposals – (27/28 start) PG - Must be submitted to the 22nd January 2026 PPMC committee. (This is the last committee these will be considered)

Develop a Programme

Once you have submitted the New Programme Proposal as detailed in the above section, and it has received authorisation to proceed, you will need to progress with programme development and work towards a validation activity.

Please note for apprenticeships - If you are developing an apprenticeship you will need to contact the Apprenticeship Team before you continue with curriculum development: apprenticeships@gre.ac.uk

Following authorisation being granted, PPMC will also recommend the appropriate method for validation of the programme, from 2025/26 onwards this will follow the new Curriculum Framework validation route which will run alongside the Curriculum Shape project. Support and resources for this project and route can be found here: Curriculum Shape Page

The Curriculum Shape Design Team will contact the programme development team to arrange a planning meeting between relevant stakeholders and programme development staff to confirm validation requirements and timelines.

This Design Team will constitute a Quality Officer, from the University Quality Team and a Curriculum Designer, from the Academic Learning Enhancement Team. They will work collaboratively to facilitate programme development and validation activities forming the Curriculum Shape Validation route.


Timescales and deadlines

Validation of new programmes will be timetabled alongside the programme re-validation work that will be underway. In each academic session there will be two tranches of design implementation, one in the autumn and one in the spring, and you will be assigned to the tranche that best fits the timescale to which you are working on for recruitment to your programme.

PPMC deadlines must be adhered to in order to meet requirements for new programme development and for validation activity to be factored into the existing tranches.


Forms, templates and links

For preparation for a validation event, 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:

Apprenticeship

If you are producing documentation for an apprenticeship validation you will also need to provide the following documents:


Programme Validation Process

The below diagram illustrates the new approach being taken to validate programmes, and it follows the same validation approach as the curriculum shape re-validation.

The process is split into two design phases, the first sees a series of collaborative workshops and activities being undertaken to support programme teams in developing a programme that aligns with the Curriculum Framework, and that embeds the core University values and attributes.

The second design phase sees the completion of programme design and submission to a validation panel. These panels will be shorter meetings wherein the programme will be presented to the panel that consist of colleagues who have been part of the development: Curriculum Designer, Quality Officer, External Advisor and a Chair. Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for discussion and questions before the outcome is communicated.

Change a Programme

Programmes may require modification 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 they continue to meet programme aims, objectives and maintain relevance for student outcomes and the sector within which they reside.However, changes to programmes, not going through re-validation in the current academic session should be kept to a minimum, waiting for re-validation, unless there are exceptional circumstances requiring modification. This was agreed at Programmes and Partnership Management Committee as detailed in the paper below.

Changes to programmes are approved through the Faculty Student Success Committee process with specific deadlines as set by the university. If you are considering making significant 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.


Student consultation

As indicated by the CMA guidelines above, you may be required to consult with your students. This should be done in a timely manner to meet document deadlines.


Types of Change

Programme modifications are considered under two categories, those which impact recruitment and those that impact structure.

For those that impact recruitment, and especially where you want to change the title or add an endorsement. It is recommended that you discuss this with the Marketing and External Relations (MER) team, and Academic Learning and Enhancement (ALE) in order to ascertain suitability and viability for the proposal.

If you are discontinuing a programme, you will have two years within which the programme can be reinstated, thereafter a New Programme Proposal will be required.

The majority of these changes can be made using one programme change form, please see the below definitions for each:

Programme Recruitment Change

  • Change Programme title (considered at PPMC)
  • Add/Remove Mode of study
  • Add/Remove Start Month
  • Add/Remove Endorsement
  • Add/Remove Site of Delivery
  • Discontinue/Reinstate programme (considered at PPMC)
  • Discontinuation of an Articulation or Progression Agreement (considered at PPMC)

Programme Structure Change

  • Add/Remove/discontinue Modules (core or optional)
  • Modify option sets
  • Change Terms of Delivery
  • Change Module Title
  • Change Module Credit value
  • Change Module Level

You will be able to make both recruitment and structural changes at the same time, or either type as needed.


Timescales and deadlines

All programme modifications that impact recruitment or structure must be submitted to and considered by FSSC/PPMC by 31st October 2025 and no later.


Late changes

If you are requesting a change after October for the following September you must contact the Quality Team for guidance and to be give the appropriate approach. The request will need to be made by the Faculty Senior Leadership team with a full rationale.

Late programme changes will only be considered and implemented in exceptional circumstances.

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


Forms, templates and links

Please note that until your programme goes through the Curriculum Shape project you will continue to use the following process and forms. If you have gone through this process and need to make a modification, this will be done through CourseLoop and you will be given guidance and training in order to do this.

The following forms and templates need to be submitted for approval:

Useful documents

Programme Discontinuation

The Programmes & Partnerships Management Committee (PPMC) will consider and approve any proposed discontinuations.

If you are discontinuing a programme, you will have two years within which the programme can be reinstated, thereafter a New Programme Proposal will be required.

Arrangements must be put in place for existing students to complete the programme of study or to transfer to another programme to complete their award. For partnership programmes the proposal must be discussed with senior managers of the partner. Please refer to the teach out documents below for guidance on phasing a programme out.

Proposals to discontinue a programme of study need to be submitted in time for the 7th October PPMC meeting, this will need to have been endorsed by faculty prior to PPMC and this timeline is  in readiness for the discontinuation to become effective 18 months later in accordance with university protocol.


Late changes

If you are requesting a change after October 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.

LATE CHANGES WILL ONLY BE CONSIDERED AND APPROVED ON AN EXCEPTIONAL BASIS WITH A CLEAR RATIONALE BEING REQUIRED FROM FACULTY SENIOR LEADERSHIP


Forms, templates and links

The following form needs to be submitted for approval:

  • Programme Modification Form (Microsoft Forms): (Temporarily Removed)

Useful documents

Reinstate a Programme

To reinstate a programme that has been discontinued without the last two years, 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.

The following form needs to be submitted for approval:

  • Programme Modification Form (Microsoft Forms): (Temporarily Removed)

Timescales and deadlines

Proposals to reinstate a programme of study must be endorsed by faculty and submitted to PPMC by 7th October in readiness for the following academic year.


Late changes

If you are requesting a change after October 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).