Course Management Policy
| AC–CLIS-POL-009 Course Management Policy | |
|---|---|
| Department | Academic/Centre for Learning Innovation & Simulation |
| Approval Date | July 25, 2023 |
| Effective Date | September 5, 2023 |
Organizational Scope
The policy applies to all staff, faculty, and students in all programs offered at The Michener Institute of Education at UHN (“Michener”).
Purpose
The purpose of the Course Management Policy is to provide students and faculty a framework for common understanding regarding the structures, processes, objectives, and requirements that pertain to Michener courses.
Policy
The course outline acts as a contract between Michener and its students and contains critical course information. It is the responsibility of the faculty to ensure that the commitments made in the course outline are met and it is the responsibility of the learner to satisfy the competencies identified in the outline. The course outline is also a historical record of the curriculum undertaken by any one cohort of students.
Policy Elements
1.0 Course Outlines
All course outlines will include, at a minimum, the information attached in the sample course outline (Appendix A). Course outlines may be supplemented by more detailed information provided periodically throughout a course.
Student Information
Students enrolled in a course will be provided electronic access to the approved course outline on Michener’s intranet 30 days prior to the start of class.
Faculty Information
Faculty members are responsible for creating course outlines for Michener curricula. All course outlines are to be prepared electronically in an editable format. The Course Outline Procedure details the distribution of course outlines by faculty such that:
- All course outlines required of a program are available in PDF format available on Michener’s intranet 30 days prior to the start of the semester in which the course is to be delivered, signed by the Academic Chair.
- The location of course outlines including learning plans, teaching notes, and learner resources will be established and maintained by Program Administrative Assistants in a Program folder on a shared institutional digital archive.
- Both editable (e.g., Word) and publishable (e.g., PDF) versions of course outlines shall be made available on the institutional digital archive.
If changes are made to sections of a course during the course’s delivery (as per item 5.0 below), those changes will be recorded in the electronic file for archival and/or distribution purposes.
2.0 Courses with Multiple Sections
In cases where there are multiple sections (i.e., multiple lecture, lab, tutorial, or clinical groups) within a course there are standard expectations that are common to all sections of the course. These include:
- Competencies will be the same for all student groups, and
- Assessment weighting will be the same for all student groups.
3.0 Student Assessment
- Final grades for each course are expressed as a pass/fail grade or a numerical (percentage) value which is translated to a letter grade as per the Grading Policy.
- The standard numerical course pass mark is a minimum grade of 60% (C-).
- Any courses that employ a pass mark that differs from the above standard (e.g., students must get a minimum 60% grade and pass a specific Performance Assessment Task (PAT) to pass a course) must be supported by the Academic Chair and clearly articulated in the course outline.
- Assessment methods shall be aligned with the course competencies.
- A minimum of two (2) assessment strategies per course are generally recommended.
- Normally, no one PAT that is graded numerically shall be worth more than 40% of the total course grade.
- The number of PATs within a course should be consistent with the nature of the competencies assessed within the course (i.e., two (2) or more).
- Students normally receive the results of at least one (1) assessment (may include formative assessment) no later than the period between the 20th day of classes, but before the end of the 7th week of scheduled classes (please refer to Michener’s Academic Dates as posted on the Michener website or Intranet for course withdrawal deadlines);
- Turnaround time for marking of all in-course assessments is a maximum of 10 business days.
- Turnaround time for marking of final assessments should be considered in the assessment scheme and method chosen for the course.
- Students may request, via Michener e-mail, to review their assessments (with the exception of final exams) within ten (10) business days of receiving the results; and
- Students may request, via Michener e-mail, a breakdown of performance on a final exam within ten (10) business days of receiving the results.
4.0 Posting of Assessment Results
- Assessment results (excluding final exams) shall be communicated to students within ten (10) business days.
- Official grades will be posted to Michener Self-Service portal once approved by the Promotion Review Committee (PRC) as per the Grading Policy.
5.0 Changes to Published Course Outline
5.1 Changes to Assessments
After the course outline is posted changes to assessment timing, weighting, or modality may only be made under extenuating circumstances and with the approval of the Academic Chair. Changes shall be arranged as early as possible in the course and confirmed in writing by Michener email. Within five (5) business days, any student who feels negatively impacted by the change may express, in writing, their concern to the faculty. The faculty member and Academic Chair will work with the students (s) impacted.
5.2 Changes to Class Schedules / Environment
Changes to class schedule and / or learning environment may be required. Any changes must be approved by the respective Academic Chair. Changes shall be arranged as early as possible in the course and confirmed in writing (by Michener email and posted on course Learning Management System (LMS) site). Within five (5) business days, any student who feels negatively impacted by the change may express, in writing, his/her concern to the faculty. The faculty member and Academic Chair will work with the student(s) impacted.
When changes are necessary to the course outline after it is posted, as described above, faculty shall update the electronic course outline file and submit it to the Program Administrative Assistant to update the published documents.
6.0 Course Revisions and Quality Assurance
Course changes can be categorized as New, Major, and Minor as per the criteria outlined below. New courses and Major revisions must be approved by the Academic Chair and are required to be approved at the Academic Approval Council (AAC). Minor revisions must be approved by the Academic Chair and should be reviewed by the Centre for Learning Innovation & Simulation (CLIS).
- New courses are those where the content is new to the organization.
- Major course revisions refer to changes that affect 50% or more of the learning outcomes or 50% or more of the content or change in the method of delivery as direct by Michener.
- Minor course revisions refer to changes that affect 20%-49% of the learning outcomes or content or change in the method of delivery as direct by Michener.
The procedure, timeline, and approval process for course revisions can be found in the Academic Approval Council (AAC) Terms of Reference.
If competencies or external standards are changed within a course, the course must be re-mapped to the profession’s competency profile at the same time to ensure there is no competency overlap or gap within the program. Course competencies must not be changed during the delivery of the course.
Associated Documentation
Academic Approval Council (AAC) Terms of Reference
