CPI provides both course- and program-level support for curriculum, including learning outcomes, course and assessment design, program development and delivery, and curriculum mapping and analysis. Programs and faculty members may seek support from the CPI at any time throughout the year, as part of curriculum development, review, renewal, or reimagination. Send us your questions or requests, and we would be happy to connect with you.
For information on the Quality Assurance Framework and formal curriculum processes (including request forms, document templates, and timelines), visit the Quality Assurance website from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic.
Questions about career curriculum should be directed to Co-op, Career and Experiential Education, and those about non-credit offerings (including microcredentials) should be directed to Professional & Continuing Studies.
CPI Support for the IQAP Cyclical Program Review
CPI can help at two of the main phases of the Cyclical Review Protocol: Self-Study Development (detailed below), and Follow-up Processes (see Section 5 and Flow Chart 4 in the IQAP document). Follow-up processes may include curriculum-related changes as recommended in your Final Assessment Report (FAR), as well as relevant preparation for annual implementation reports and/or the four-year summary report.
The self-study (due in October of review year) is a large document containing three volumes:
- Narrative
- Curriculum Maps
- Evidence
The narrative is the responsibility of the lead author or team, which is informed by the curriculum maps and evidence in the other two volumes.
To help you with this preparation, we can offer the following:
- Consultations with author/team throughout the process
- Resources to help facilitate your efforts
- Feedback on various curriculum-related components within the documents
- Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) review/rejuvenation session (~2 hours)
- Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) resources, consultations and workshops
- Curriculum mapping session (~3 hours)
- Curriculum analysis
- SOAR Analysis (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) session (~2 hours)
This is an ideal timeline for the completion of all necessary components of the self-study. However, our support is not limited to these timelines, so please reach out when you are ready.
| Timeline | Major Task | CPI Support |
| October | Cyclical Review Orientation Identify Lead/Team | Orientation led by Office of the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic |
| November | Establish a plan (who will do what, when, and how?) | Consult on game plan |
| November through December | Revisit PLOs and mapping to DLEs (Table 3.1 in Volume 2) | PLO Session with CPI (~2 hours) |
| November through January | Document and collect CLOs from faculty and instructors (Table 3.0) | CLO consultations or resources for faculty |
| January | Solidify categories for assessments and modes of delivery (Table 3.2) | Feedback and consultation meetings |
| February through March | Create curriculum maps (Table 3.3) | Curriculum mapping session (~3 hours) |
| March | Educational Technologies Report | Provided by CPI |
| April through May | Analyze curriculum maps and program ecosystems | SOAR analysis session (~2 hours) |
| May through August | Solidify narrative for Volume 1 | Feedback and consultation meetings |
Pointers for Getting Started
- Find your Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
- Locating these and mapping them to the Degree-Level Expectations (DLEs) will be a first key step in your process (Table 3.1 in Volume 2).
- Check if your faculty has faculty-specific DLEs, which are also included in Table 3.1.
- Start collecting Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
- Table 3.0 (Appendix A in Volume 3) needs to be completed for each course offered by your department for the program(s) under review. This table demonstrates the alignment between CLOs, learning activities, assessments, and potential strategies for improvement/evidence for effectiveness.
- The CPI webpage for Course Learning Outcomes may be helpful for this process.
- All course syllabi are required to be included in Volume 3, so having instructors submit syllabi are the same time as completing Table 3.0 may streamline this process.
- Once you have PLOs and CLOs, we (at the CPI) can help with:
- Mapping PLOs to DLEs (Table 3.1) and Modes of Delivery (Table 3.2)
- Completing Table 3.3, by mapping DLEs, PLOs, CLOs, Assessments, and Degrees of Implementation (introduction, reinforcement, mastery)
- Analyzing the curriculum map
- SOAR analysis sessions (identifying strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results)
You can also check out the CPI Guide to Curriculum Mapping at Brock, which outlines the overall process of curriculum mapping and assembling core appendices for your self-study.
CPI Support for New Programs
After approval of the Statement of Intent (SOI) by the Academic Review Committee (ARC), CPI can provide curricular support for the Program Proposal Brief (PPB). This may include consultation on objectives, alignment with Academic Plan, and program structure; program and course learning outcomes; educational technologies; and preparation of the curriculum map. CPI will provide a confirmation of consultation letter to include in Appendix H of your PPB.
For process details, see Section 2 and Flow Chart 1 in the IQAP document as referenced on the Quality Assurance webpage for New Program Proposals.
Other Curriculum Support
Learning outcomes provide direction for both instructors and students, communicating what is expected to be learned or achieved by the end of a given lesson, unit, course, or program. Program- and course-level outcomes are also expected to be mapped to Degree Level Expectations (DLEs) for all quality assurance processes.
Explore the Creating Course Learning Outcomes resource, and contact CPI to request a consult for your course- or program-level outcomes.
CPI offers a Course (re)Design Institute in August, through which instructors engage in sessions about various relevant topics, and have the opportunity to work on course elements such as the syllabus, Brightspace course site, and assessment plans.
Topics covered may include:
- learning outcomes
- constructive alignment
- assessment and activity design
- accessibility pedagogy
- educational technologies
- using Brightspace
Reach out to request a course design consultation, and explore our relevant resources on the Teaching Resources page.
Curriculum mapping provides the key to fully understanding a program and how all requirements work together toward student progression and achievement of learning outcomes. It is how we determine and document where, when, and how outcomes are taught and assessed throughout a program. Whether part of a cyclical review, annual faculty retreat, curriculum committee, or something else, the CPI can help develop, update, or analyze your curriculum map, and work with you to imagine or pursue meaningful changes.
Key components of a curriculum map:
- Degree Level Expectations (DLEs)
- Program Level Outcomes (PLOs)
- Course Level Outcomes (CLOs)
- Level of assessment (introduction, reinforcement, mastery)
- Assessment plans for each course
This Guide to Curriculum Mapping was prepared for those engaging in cyclical reviews, but is helpful for anyone seeking more information on the process and benefits of such.
Contact us to consult on:
- Educational mission, vision, and values
- Curricular alignment with the Strategic Plan and Academic Plan
- Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Priorities/Results curriculum analysis
- Development of minors, certificates, and micro-certificate programs
- Program-level accessibility and inclusion
- Program streaming
- Course design
- Assessment development and review
- Modes of program and course delivery
- Program- and course-level learning outcomes
- Mapping of curriculum, assessments, and skills development (see below)
For details about major modifications including program discontinuations, see Section 4 (and Flow Chart 3) in the IQAP document.