The development of the curriculum for a program is a task that is really never finished. In fact it is a process that is ongoing in order to keep the curriculum relevant and fresh. It is also essential that program teams work together to ensure that their courses mesh with each other and address all the program outcomes. Curriculum is a conversation that needs to include all members of the team.

In recognition of the fact that many program teams meet on a regular basis to deal with a variety of issues, including curriculum renewal, we have developed an Annual Curriculum Renewal (ACR) process. This process just formalizes what many program teams are already doing. The difference is that their curriculum modifications are documented and communicated to their dean. This ensures that year over year the program team builds a record of their curriculum improvement efforts and they have a documented history of what and why they made certain changes.

Each spring the program team will provide a report of their intended curriculum actions in the year to come and then this is included in their agenda as they meet throughout the year. ACR helps foster a team approach to program curriculum and keeps the conversation going. When a program comes up for program review the mapping process will be streamlined since much of the curriculum work will have been done on a ongoing basis through ACR.

We’ve developed a guide for ACR. This guide is only meant to be a tool box for a program team. Many teams already have their own process but for those who are less familiar with curriculum renewal the guide is an excellent starting point. It suggests various sources of data, ways to conduct meetings, and provides a report template for the dean.

ACR Guidebook

In the Guide there is a suggested student survey that could be used to obtain student feedback. We can electronically create this for you as a web page - contact the Centre for this, or you can use this paper version of the student survey . Remember that this is a suggestion. You may want to modify or add questions.

The most important aspect of the ACR process is that it is documented and will leave evidence of decision making and efforts to improve a program. This is beneficial for our quality assurance process and for future program groups so that they don't have to struggle with issues that may have been dealt with in the past. The expectation of the ACR process is that a short report is produced for the dean and this report defines the curriculum actions of the program team over the next year. The template is included in the Guide or you can download it here .