Developing and managing courses

Developing and managing courses Courses fall into three main categories; Established courses that run regularly as part of the portfolio you will work with Education Programmes Assistants, Education Programme Administrator and Education Centre Coordinator on these courses Regionalised courses you will work with the Regional Coordinators New courses you will work with the Innovation and Development Advisor assigned to your portfolio and the I&D Programmes Assistant Portfolio Management and Identifying Gaps Portfolio aims: To offer a variety of courses that will meet the needs of surgeons at each stage of their training and career In some cases to offer surgical courses to other medical professions (e.g. GPs, Sports Exercise Medicine Trainees, Nurses, Physios etc) Portfolio Development Tutors and I&D Advisors will need to have a working knowledge of the ISCP as agreed by the Joint Committee on Surgical Training. The ISCP website (see https://www.iscp.ac.uk/) has the syllabi for all specialities at all levels from Core through to Completion and courses aimed at surgical trainees will need to focus on areas within these in order to be relevant, useful and appealing. Gaps within current portfolios could be identified using these syllabi. Within the Development and QA team, course learning outcomes are currently being mapped to the ISCP syllabi to ascertain which modules are covered by existing RCS Education courses. This is an ongoing process and may indicate gaps within each portfolio. In order to develop a strategic approach to portfolio management, you may want to work through some strategy tools with your Advisor or in preparation for your quarterly meetings with the Director of Education. You may want to consider using such tools as SWOT or PEST analyses or your Advisor can support you by suggesting and working through various other tools with you. It may also be useful to consider the following: Do current courses cover the various requirements for different levels (ISCP, Revalidation, CPD)? What is happening at specialty associations, other Colleges, local trusts or deaneries or within Leadership Education and Training Boards? What are the current trends/new developments in your specialty (technological advancement, new procedures)? What is happening in the wider world: 19

o Have there been recent changes in the political environment, legislation or training structure? o Are there important events coming up (e.g. Olympics caused a rise in Sports Surgery interest/necessity) Working with the I&D Advisors The Advisors key responsibilities include developing and piloting educationally sound new courses and other educational activities and redeveloping existing courses, in partnership and collaboration with the tutors. This can include establishing aims and expected learning outcomes; compiling and submitting course approval documentation including budgets; overseeing the marketing, organisation and piloting of courses including working with all relevant parties such as the I&D Assistant, Information and Marketing Team, Data Team, Technical Resources Team, Development Office and Quality Assurance Team; gathering feedback on the day; evaluating courses and managing effective handovers. Each Advisor is responsible for managing a number of surgical portfolios. The Advisors work closely with Tutors, collaboratively designing courses and activities that are relevant, innovative and educationally sound. Developing new courses or educational activities The College Council approved a definition of what constitutes a College course in 2010, so all new courses will need to meet this definition in order to become part of RCS Education s established portfolio. A College course is defined as one that has: been designed and developed under the auspices of the College, through the Education Directorate; a clearly defined programme, structure and educationally sound learning outcomes; been through the course approval process; faculty who are familiar with the course and materials, and have received training; materials (paper or electronic) to support the course for both faculty and participants in a format that can be reproduced; materials that are owned by and copyright of the College; intellectual Property assigned to the College formal evaluation of participants and faculty with the results fed through to the Education Directorate; and has been quality assured by the College. Stage One Approval in Concept The first step to setting up any new course or activity is to establish the educational value and likely demand with your I&D Advisor. At this stage it is important to consider the overarching aim and rationale, benefits, justification for the 20

course/activity as well as considering the market including target audience and demand. You will be able to draw on the expertise of the Information and Marketing Team who will produce a marketing report that will add to and substantiate justification for the course/activity or if the marketing report reveals there is little market for this course/activity and you may have to revise your aims or audience accordingly. There is a form to help you with this; Stage 1 Approval in Concept form which you and your Advisor will work through. Once complete it will be reviewed firstly by the I&D Lead and then by the Director and Deputy Director of Education who will approve the course/activity in concept or not. Stage Two Course or Educational Activity Proposal Once Approval in Concept has been given this means that you can start to develop the course or activity in more detail. This involves working closely with your designated Advisor to define the educational framework of the course which includes; Expected Learning Outcomes (ELOs), Teaching methods, Course Programme, Course materials and Assessment. These are detailed more extensively in the Course Development Guidance. You will be able to draw on internal expertise across the Directorate and College from: The Technical Resources Team on optimum rooms, equipment, tissue (animal/cadaveric or simulated) Professor Vishy Mahadevan for advice on cadaveric tissue. He must be consulted at an early stage The Information and Marketing Team who can establish a marketing strategy and potential links to Speciality Associations (it is helpful if Tutors can also suggest/establish these). I&M will also advise on appropriate pricing scales The Development Office who will work with you to identify sponsors to provide funding and/or equipment The College s Audio visual team Your advisor will work with you to coordinate the necessary meetings. The New Course Proposal form provides a checklist of all the aspects that you need to consider and this is completed along with an accurate budget and a draft course programme, including mapped learning outcomes. As with Approval in Concept the form is reviewed firstly by the I&D Lead and then by the Director and Deputy Director of Education. Examples of all these forms and suggestions for how to fill them out are included in the appendix and on the Tutors page of the website. You can also find blank versions on the Tutors page. 21

Quality Assurance (QA) The College QA Department is responsible for assuring the quality of all RCS Education courses. Before a course is handed over to the Education Programmes Team, it requires formal College course approval. This is designed not to be a heavily bureaucratic procedure and requires completion of a simple form to be reviewed by the QA Committee. Risk Assessment A risk assessment will need to be undertaken at least 3 months prior to any new course that is being piloted. Your Advisor will complete the paperwork associated with the risk assessment but will need your contribution to ensure it is comprehensive and accurate. Risk assessments are also necessary for new non practical courses, but in that instance the documentation is relatively simple to complete. Scheduling The space in the RCS Education and Simulation Centre is in high demand and, there is a scheduling process that happens annually, which means that courses can be scheduled 6 to18 months in advance. Any new courses that have been approved before this annual cycle will be scheduled if at all possible. Courses that are approved after this may find it harder to obtain a suitable slot but staff will do all they can to accommodate the piloting of new courses. Sponsorship Courses or educational activities may require sponsorship, both in terms of funding and in terms of specialised equipment that is not held at the College. RCS Education work closely with the Development Office to ensure all courses are appropriately provided for and viable for the future. It is very important to start the process of looking for sponsors early when developing new courses, so that commercial organisations can include costs within their yearly budgets. All equipment requirements need to be clearly defined at least three months before a course takes place to enable the Development Office or Technical Resource Team to source and negotiate. Your Advisor will complete an equipment form with you and it is helpful if you can suggest appropriate companies and contacts from which to source the different requirements. Information and Marketing The I&M team provide a marketing report for each new and redeveloped course. This report includes a breakdown of the market, any possible competition, an advertising strategy and any further recommendations. In order to support them in this process, it is really valuable for Tutors and Course Directors to provide any numbers or sources of data in order to establish demand. For all courses it is very useful for Tutors and Course Directors to suggest relevant advertising sources such as association websites, journals and details of competitors. Additionally, Tutors should regularly check their portfolio pages on the RCS website for accuracy and changes and advise the I&M web updates team (educationwebupdates@rcseng.ac.uk) of any amendments/changes. 22

The Role of the Course Director The Course Director is the lynchpin of the course, carrying the overall responsibility for its successful completion. It is likely that you will act as Course Director during the development and piloting of a new course. Tutors may act as Directors for established courses within their portfolios however it is preferable that they recommend or nominate another colleague who has acted as faculty on the course for the role. The Tutor still maintains overall responsibility for the portfolio, and, as such, may be required to work with Course Directors where there is adverse feedback from participants, faculty or staff. Prospective Course Directors must demonstrate a commitment to the course and its role in education or continuing professional development. They must have completed an approved Training the Trainers or equivalent course; or have other relevant qualifications; or have a proven track record in a similar role. Key areas of responsibility for the Course Director include: Building relationships with faculty and keeping them informed during the run up to a course Guiding or giving recommendations to the faculty about specific allocations or sessions they will need to cover Where appropriate, having an awareness of the budget/financial implications of setting up courses Specific Course Director responsibilities leading up to a course are laid out below. In the responsibilities below, course administrator covers both the responsibilities of the I&D Advisor and the Education Programmes Assistant as the person you work with will be dependant on whether courses are new or established. For new courses the time scale for activities made need to be adjusted to ensure there is appropriate lead in time. At least six months before the course: With the course administrator, gain College approval of the course as per the procedure documented above prior to advertising the course or enrolling students. With the course administrator, identify suitable dates for the course. With the course administrator and technical co ordinator, identify equipment, rooms and materials needed, identify potential sponsors that might be able to provide equipment on loan and provide contacts if necessary. With the course administrator ensure that the technical co ordinator, audiovisual staff and associated staff are aware of the planned course. Ensure that the course is organised and run in accordance with College policies and procedures. With the course administrator, draft the course programme and ensure it meets the Expected Learning Outcomes. 23

With the course administrator, identify faculty members and ensure they are adequately briefed as to their responsibilities. This may include development meetings, dry runs or pre course meetings as is necessary and appropriate. With the course administrator and the Development Office, discuss and identify relevant sources of funding as appropriate. At least eight weeks before the course With the course administrator, finalise the course programme with the faculty names assigned to teaching sessions. With the course administrator, plan the faculty pre course and post course meetings if appropriate. With the administrator and the technical co ordinator, ensure that all required equipment and materials have been arranged. With the course administrator, confirm the questions for the evaluation form. Two weeks before the course Meet with the course administrator, technical co ordinator and any local members of faculty to ensure that all arrangements are progressing smoothly and to handle any problems that may have arisen. During the course Be available at all times during the course. Demonstrate commitment to the course philosophies and programme content. Introduce the course, introduce faculty members at the start of their sessions and close the course. As part of the introduction, ensure that participants understand how the assessment or any other relevant processes will be conducted. Refer to the College evaluation procedure. Course participants and faculty must be given relevant basic health and safety information at the start of a course (e.g. the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire). Co ordinate the activities of members of faculty, the course administrator, the technical co ordinator and any other support staff. Maintain the course programme and objectives and ensure the quality of the course. Maintain the time schedules laid out in the programme. Oversee the conduct of the assessment or any other relevant processes, ensuring they are fully completed. Assist with any problems that may arise. Ensure any walk in participants are dealt with appropriately and in line with College policy. Conduct faculty meetings prior to each day of the course and at the end of each day if appropriate. Answer any questions which may be raised by participants or members of faculty. Encourage participants and faculty to feedback after the course using the SCOPE forms. 24

After the course With the course administrator, approve and document the students assessment and final results and arrange for their distribution to the participants, if relevant. With the course administrator, draft a letter of thanks to be sent to faculty members. With the technical co ordinator, ensure the return of all course equipment on loan or hire. With the course administrator, evaluate the course based on information from SCOPE (participants; faculty), post course faculty meetings, observations, verbal feedback from the participants on the day of the course and feedback from other relevant parties (e.g. technical coordinator, Development Office etc). Discuss any changes for the next iteration and ensure there is plenty of time to implement these changes. With the course administrator, ensure all the appropriate parties are informed and able to complete tasks. Conduct a faculty debrief based on the results of the course evaluation Follow up on any appropriate actions. Evaluating and Changing Every course is evaluated using SCOPE (Systematic Collection of Participant Evaluation). The Development and QA Education Team and College wide QA Team will work together to produce online evaluations for every course. You will need to provide any relevant information (programme, learning objectives and any further questions you may want asked) at least 3 weeks before a course. In the case of new courses, you will work with your Advisor on this process and will need a greater lead up time to ensure accuracy. SCOPE is compulsory for all participants; they are required to fill the questionnaire in online within two weeks of the course if they wish to receive their certificate of attendance/completion. There is also SCOPE for Faculty however this is not compulsory; you should encourage Faculty during briefing meetings and in any post course emails and/or thank you letters, to fill this out as it is useful for future course development, which you and they should have a vested interest in. Following a course, College Wide QA team will produce a report based on the SCOPE data which you will be sent when it is ready. If you want to see previous SCOPE reports for your portfolio the QA Coordinator can provide you with these and discuss the results and any subsequent actions. Education QA team analyse these reports using a Red, Amber, and Green (RAG) flagging system. Responses to survey questions are categorised and given a percentage score which reflect positive ratings. Red 0 74% Amber 75 84% Green 85 100% 25

All courses with an Amber or Red rating are added to the RAG Alert sheet for further investigation by the appropriate team. This internal RCS Education process ensures that quality and standards are maintained across the board. Courses are also selected to go through the College Wide QA process, which ensures that RCS Education processes are consistently robust. For pilot courses, following your SCOPE results and any other evaluation you may take into consideration, you may wish to make some changes for the second pilot or before handover. These will very much depend on the running of the course, how effective the learning was felt to be and whether the content and format were right for the aims, Expected Learning Outcomes and target audience. Any changes will be discussed with the Advisor. If changes have a large impact on the ELOs or running of the course, a new course proposal form and budget will need to be submitted. Redeveloping courses Existing courses to be redeveloped will be determined by RCS Education, with supporting information from the Course Director/Tutor. If course places are consistently not filling, or SCOPE data is consistently adverse, redevelopment might be considered for a given aspect, or for an entire course. If you feel this is necessary for any of the courses within your portfolio, you should discuss this with the Education Centre and Programmes Lead in the first instance. Regionalisation Regionalisation of courses will be determined by RCS Education and will be based on demand as well as feasibility such as; do other centres have the facilities to deliver the course? If so, does the market warrant running the course elsewhere? Regionalisation may be favourable if there is a high demand for the course in many regions. I&M report will provide a breakdown of regions and you may wish to discuss and suggest where it would be most sensible to regionalise. The final decision will be down to RCS Education once the course has been successfully piloted. If there is a plan to regionalise part of the piloting will be to: specify the requirements for regional delivery in terms of equipment and resources so that we can provide this information to centres agree if it is to be a College@ or a regionalised course have a clear faculty/participant criteria in place agree how we will choose the centres (criteria) develop participant and faculty handbooks, faculty teaching notes and centre set up guidance The full details regarding Regionalisation are available on the Tutors area of the website in the form of a paper presented to Education Board. 26