Modularisation—an administrator's view

Summary

Modularising individual courses need not require a lot of extra work although theredoes need to be an initial outlay of time and effort to produce effective documentation and regulations.

The key components of modular courses are determined by structure and assessment. The size and shape of units are related to semesters and the assessment of a unit must allow for the calculation of a mark for each separate course unit.

The effects of modularisation are to create both challenges and opportunities. Modularisation of courses is generally popular with students and in a demand‐led higher education market allows for flexibility in meeting changing patterns of demand.

Modularisation can work educationally if the challenges of integration, course coherence and balanced assessment are tackled.

To summarise, and to help emphasise my belief in the importance of clear and concise documentation, I have designed a module with the title ‘How to Modularise‘ (Fig. 1). This module has a unit value of 1–0 and is a level 1 of first year module. It is a practical‐based course and half the notional study time being spent in conferences about modularisation and half being spent teaching units. The unit is designed: (i) to encourage good modular practice; (ii) to promote varied teaching methods and assessment techniques; (iii) to develop the ability to complete transcripts; and (iv) to think about resource constraints. The learning mode emphasises the good practice required in putting a unit together. It allows the possibility of team teaching and emphasises the importance of integration and coherence. As appropriate in a market‐led higher education sector, assessment will be carried out by the consumers‐those who take the course. The indicative content for the unit covers most of the categories outlined above.