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Guidelines for Programme Directors

Revised and approved by Education Committee 5 December 2003

Also available as a Word document

University of Bristol

GUIDELINES FOR PROGRAMME DIRECTORS

These Guidelines outline the principal responsibilities of Programme Directors in respect of the programme(s) with which they are associated. Programme directors manage the day-to-day running of the programmes and are responsible to the Head of Department for the maintenance of academic standards, the quality of education and educational support and the review and development of all programmes for which they are Director. It is intended that programme directors should have responsibility for monitoring adequate delivery of programmes as indicated under the headings below. Where the programme director deems the delivery of the programme to be less than satisfactory it is his/her responsibility to bring this to the attention of the appropriate Head or Heads of Department. While these guidelines should be viewed as a model for best practice, it is understood that the organisation of particular activities such as admissions or examinations is often devolved in the department(s) concerned to other designated members of staff, or to committees. In the case of the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry, and Medical and Veterinary Sciences, the programme director might be Chairman of the appropriate Education Committee. These practices are acceptable as they do not contravene the aim of the Guidelines in so far as effective monitoring of curricula still take place. In a number of faculties, these Guidelines are supplemented by additional faculty guidelines for programme directors.

1. Recruitment and admission of students
In consultation with other academic and administrative staff, as appropriate, programme directors will have responsibility for monitoring, for their programme or programmes:
1.1 Validation of prospectus entry(ies)
1.2 Adherence to intake targets
1.3 Selection of candidates

2. Overall organisation of syllabus
In relation to each programme for which he or she is responsible, the programme director will chair a suitably constituted syllabus committee, membership of which will include representatives of all departments involved in the delivery of the programme. The committee may be responsible for the syllabus of more than one programme. This committee will monitor all matters relating to the syllabus, including:
2.1 overall organisation and coherence of the programme, including monitoring and attendance of all students on the programme
2.2 production and updating of the relevant Programme Specification/s
2.3 content and delivery of individual units
2.4 written materials handed out to students relating to the programme, such as programme handbooks [or the relevant section(s) of departmental handbook(s)].
2.5 student placements, including academic validity and health and safety issues.

3. Delivery of the programme(s)
Programme directors will be accountable for the day-to-day running of their programme(s). This will include monitoring practical aspects, including:
3.1 the availability of staff and teaching accommodation
3.2 the provision of cover when a member of staff is ill, on study leave or other approved absence
3.3 agreeing timetable slots and requirements for delivery of the programme and avoidance of clashes

4. Feedback to and from students
Liaison with staff and students regarding feedback on the programme, including unit /programme questionnaires and any other mechanisms, and with students and personal tutors in the event of problems or grievances is also within the programme directors remit. Each programme director will be responsible for monitoring:
4.1 analysis of student feedback on relevant programme(s)
4.2 the processing of such feedback, for example, through a staff/student liaison committee
4.3 follow-up action, using appropriate mechanism(s)
4.4 the assessment and return of coursework to students within the timescale set by the department(s) concemed, or by the syllabus committee for the programme(s)
4.5 the personal tutor system.
4.6 the inclusion of such feedback and actions taken into the Annual Programme Review process.

5. Assessment
Programme directors have wide-ranging responsibilities in relation to assessment matters, including the overseeing of assessment processes and working with the Departmental Examinations Officer, who is likely to have a clearly delegated responsibility in this area. In particular, programme directors are responsible for:
5.1 advising Heads of Department in the nomination of external examiner(s)
5.2 monitoring the preparation of examination papers and ensuring that the external examiner(s) has/have been asked to comment on them
5.3 monitoring the appropriateness of marking arrangements, including checking that procedures for assessing students are fair and well-publicised
5.4 convening final examiners' meetings. A separate meeting may be necessary for each joint honours programme
5.5 preparation of pass lists
5.6 ensuring adherence to the University's Code of Practice for the ultimate disclosure of examination results agreed by Board of Examiners

6. General Notes
6.1 It will normally be appropriate to appoint only one programme director for each programme, although a programme director may have responsibility for a number of programmes.
6.2 In the case of joint degrees, rotation of the post of programme director between the two departments responsible for the programme is advisable.
6.3 The Programme director should ensure that the relevant department (s) and services take account of and try to meet the special needs of individual students in collaboration with the relevant Faculty Disability Officer and other officers of the University, as appropriate.
6.4 It will normally be the responsibility of the programme director to ensure the preparation of documentation for Annual Programme Review and periodic reviews.

_{Revised by the Working Group of Undergraduate Deans and approved by Education Committee 18 February 2000
Revised and approved by Education Committee 5 December 2003}