As you may know, the Programme Approval and Curriculum Design project (formerly part of the Simplifying Kent programme of projects) has been running for the last two years, reviewing current practice and a range of proposals and options relating to the ways in which programmes and modules are approved and reviewed, the structure within which the University’s taught programmes operate, and other areas related to curriculum design.

The project is reaching the end of its current phase, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all colleagues who have had input into the project, either as members of the Stakeholder Group, or through the meetings, consultation sessions, and focus groups we have held throughout the last two years. We have greatly valued everyone’s contributions and have made many changes in response to people’s feedback and ideas. The University has lots to be proud of, but we also face some problematic issues and it has been good to see so many people engaged in trying to solve them.

We have prepared a final recommendations report, detailing the work we have done, options we have considered, and the recommendations the project team is making to Senate. We would welcome your thoughts and comments on this report before we present it in November.

All members of staff are invited to access the executive summary of our report, and the full report itself, via the project’s Sharepoint site.

All thoughts and comments will be gratefully received via email at skone@kent.ac.uk and/or at one of the consultation sessions we have planned to be held in the latter half of this month. If you would find it useful for Jon to come out to meet with you and/or your team to discuss any of the recommendations in more detail, please get in touch via skone@kent.ac.uk

We will be holding consultation sessions open to any and all interested colleagues at the Canterbury and Medway campuses on the following dates and times:

Canterbury

• 11.00-13.00, Friday 19 October – Cornwallis East Seminar Room 1
• 14.00-16.00, Friday 19 October – Cornwallis East Seminar Room 1
• 12.00-14.00, Monday 22 October – Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 7

Medway

• 11.00-13.00, Thursday 25 October – PK127, Pilkington Building

Jon Beer – Project Manager and Simon Kirchin – Project Lead