COURSE DATASHEETS QUICK START Course updates Curriculum/CALI unit 1. Basic principles of the Course Catalog Target group: Direct (MANAGE) Module leaders: request modified/new course (ultimate responsibility) Faculty: faculty approval Educational Policy Department (EPD): quality approval Indirect (VIEW in system and on CALI-web) Students Administrative and academic staff Inspection committees The courses follow an approval cycle before they are put online for the students: 1. The lecturer checks the datasheet, changes it if necessary and submits it to the faculty for approval. 2. The faculty checks and approves or rejects it 3. The Educational Policy Department gives final approval (this is done in bulk for the annual update of the course datasheets) or rejects the change You can always save and continue working later. In other words, you can start working on a course datasheet on 15 April and only submit it on 20 April. This manual helps you change the content fields of your course datasheets. Seven pages need to be checked for each course. The following sections explain what needs to be done for each page. The importance of correct and up-to-date course datasheets: Legal correctness (this is the official channel of communication with the student) Quality of the course and the courses (and university audit) Recognition of credits at the European level: ECTS label (make sure the datasheets are also completed correctly in English too) Basis for Skills Obtained Previously (exemptions) New: Course units (CU) are now called 'courses' in CALI. 'Variants' are now different 'offers' or 'new courses'. More questions or something is not clear? Use the Help feature in the system. Click the question mark in the top right corner on every page of the Course Catalog to open the help pages: Contact curriculum@vub.ac.be. Page 1
2. Getting started: the annual datasheet update 2.1. Logging in You can access the course datasheets in CALI by logging on to the following website: https://administratie.cumulus.vub.ac.be. Use the user name and password of your VUB-NetID. 2.2. How to consult your course datasheets Go to the Course Catalog by choosing Main menu > Self Service > Course Catalog > Add/update Course Catalog: On the main page of the Course Catalog, you have an overview of all the active courses of which you are the module leader, co-module leader or assistant 1 : 1 The standard search function is always available in the 'update course' panel. Use the magnifying glass in this section to use additional search parameters. Page 2
Click the green button with the course number to open the datasheet. You can monitor the status of your datasheets at all times in this overview: - The approval level definitive means, in this stage of the academic year, that you have not started any changes for the following academic year. - As soon as you start to work on a change for the following academic year but have not yet submitted it for approval by the faculty, the status changes to in creation (if the first changes for that academic year) or definitive with change (if the faculty processed an update for that academic year earlier for the programme changes); - When you have submitted the change for the following academic year for approval by the faculty, the status changes to Faculty approval. This means that your datasheets are now submitted for approval by the faculty. All datasheets that you want to change must be in this phase at the latest by 17 May. You must complete 7 pages for each course. The most relevant fields are explained on the following pages. 2.3. How do I check the translation? Several pages have editable fields in light green or indicated with 'several languages activated for this field'. This means that the fields must be translated correctly in English and Dutch. If you edit these fields in Dutch, don't forget to change the English description too (or vice versa). This applies for the following fields: Page 3: 'Course aims' Page 4: 'Additional information' and 'Additional info regarding evaluation' Page 5: 'Learning outcomes' and 'Assignment template' The data language you are working in is indicated in the top right corner on all pages. Page 3
There are 2 options: Dutch and English. You can switch between the two data languages using the arrow: And then select the other data language: For courses with English as the teaching language, you are expected to provide an English description of the multilingual fields for the Dutch as well as the English data language. Note: For English courses which are also included in a Dutch course, there is an exception for the additional info for evaluation (page 4) and the assignment template (subpage 5). These specific data must be in Dutch as well as English, in accordance with the law on the use of languages in administrative matters. This info is of a regulatory nature. For courses whose teaching language is not English, you are expected to provide a Dutch description (or in another language if the teaching language is not Dutch) for the Dutch data language. In addition, a description in English must always be given for the English data language. Page 4
3. Page 1: Basic course details If you conclude after checking the 7 pages that the most recent datasheet is identical and can be used for the following academic year, you do not have to do anything for this datasheet. You can return to the overview by clicking the add/edi tab: Page 5
If you see that this datasheet requires an update for the following academic year, click the course change valid from panel open with the arrow on the left. This displays the details of the course valid from panel: This loads the datasheet for the following academic year which you can edit in accordance with the instructions on the following pages. NOTE: In the event of programme changes, the faculty has already made a partial update of the datasheet for the following academic year. You will see this immediately because a datasheet with a 'valid from date = starting date of the following academic year is displayed when opening the course. If this is the case, you do not have to perform the above steps and you can start editing the details directly. Once again, you only need to take further action if you want to make (additional) changes in the datasheet. Page 6
New details are not available on this page. If you do not understand certain fields, click the question mark in the top right corner for more information. These are mainly 'formal' details about the course. These details are managed by the faculty and lecturers cannot edit them. If you think something needs to be changed, contact your faculty secretariat. Click the print button to make a print-out of the course datasheet. Click the compare button if you want a print-out of the changes made in comparison with the last approved version. Page 7
Course topics are subjects or units that are possible for a course. They should be provided if they influence the further development/full-time nature of the study pathway or if they provide clarification in the study timetable. o Example A: the course 'physical training and methodology I' deals with basketball, football, handball, volleyball and badminton. Organising these sports as subjects may provide extra information for creating the study timetable and when registering for study activities through the SelfService for students. o Example B: the course 'Fundamentals of physiotherapy I module' consists of one module called 'Fundamentals of physiotherapy' and a second module called 'Epidemiology of medical care'. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes. Page 8
4. Page 2: Course offer details If you do not understand certain fields, click the question mark in the top right corner Page 9
for more information. This page also has some formal (greyed out) details. If you think something needs to be changed, contact your faculty secretariat. Please note that a course can contain several offers, if the same course is taught differently o for day and working students or if it is o offered separately in the first and second semester. You can consult the different offers by clicking the arrows in the blue bar Course offer(s) details. Please check for each offer that the course team is complete, in particular for the assistants: complete the fields where possible and create new rows by clicking the plus sign if necessary. Why is this important? o o To create timetables To access the system to process student results: Assess is for inputting results Approval is for awarding the final result in preparation for the deliberation (several members of staff can be given permission to approve; the module leader decides) Non-VUB teaching staff: here you can add the details of guest lecturers or occasional speakers. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes! Otherwise the effect of the changes will not be seen on page 3. Page 10
5. Page 3: Course Component Details If you do not understand certain fields, click the question mark in the top right corner for more information. The list of module leader, co-module leaders and (if applicable) assistants, is displayed here by teaching method (=component). o By clicking view all in the course component details bar, an overview of all teaching methods and the associated staff list with the corresponding contact hours is displayed. o This page applies for all offers. A course has several components besides one or more offers. It's important to provide a description for all the components you want to be able to work with in the timetable for all different offers. o Exam (EXM) is always a mandatory component in order to assign results to the course as a whole. In EXM, enter all ZAP/AAP staff members who need to enter results in the system. o If you want to change the contact hours, you need to discuss this in advance with the faculty secretariat. In the Course aims text box, you describe the content of the course. Describe the subjects, themes, issues, theories that will be handled. Some guidelines for writing correct content: Page 11
o Write a coherent and descriptive text; o Put yourself in the position of the student (especially if your course is also an elective course). o Remember that this content is also used for exemption requests for procedures for previously acquired competencies. Do s Don ts Approx. 250 words Copy of the table of contents Coherent text List of keywords Description of the learning outcomes (page 5!) Example: Curriculum Development (Prof. Dr. Nadine Engels): In this course, (I) we investigate the curriculum ideas of important authors in the field of curricula (e.g. Tyler, Bobbitt, Giroux, Dewey,...), (2) analyse influences of society, (knowledge)sociology, philosophy of education on curriculum construction (Bernstein, Young, Matthijsen,...), (3) compare traditional and progressive approaches in curriculum design, (4) obtain an understanding of the functions of curricula, (5) gain insights in implementing curricula, (6) acquire basic skills in using models and techniques in curriculum development, (7) analyze recent examples of curriculum research. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes! Don't forget the English description of the content! Page 12
6. Page 4: Course Notes, Activities and References If you do not understand certain fields, click the question mark in the top right corner for more information. This page is for study material (references) and you can enter additional information about the course as well as extra information about examinations/evaluations. The study material is managed for each offer. You can use the arrows in the blue bar References to navigate to the study material of the other offers. You can use the copy function if necessary. To do this, edit one of the offers and save it. Then use the arrows to go to the study material of the other offer and click the copy button to retrieve a copy of the offer you already edited. Consider the following: o Click to display an overview. Here, you can add extra information about authors, editions, publication years, publisher, etc. Only the fields with an * are mandatory. Page 13
o You can choose from 4 categories of study material. In addition, you can indicate whether this study material is required or recommended. Handbook: all kinds of handbooks published by external parties or the lecturer; Course text: Reader: a bundle of selected scientific articles (published by the VUB Publications Department or other); Syllabus: the document prepared by the lecturer and made available for students as a guide to the lectures and/or practical exercises and seminars. Digital course material: All kinds of study material distributed through Pointcarré (PowerPoint presentations, video, audio, Prezi s, additional (to be studied) scientific articles, etc.); Practical course material: supporting study materials specific to the discipline being taught (formula sheets, law books, required software and hardware). In the additional information text box you can enter extra information about the course in general (not by offer). o This can be about mandatory presence, guest lectures, course structure (not the same as content). This text box is not about the actual approach or the lessons. o This is NOT a copy or supplement of the study material. o If you plan to use course recordings in the coming academic year, please include the following in the additional information field: "For more information about the specifics of this course, consult PointCarré." o If you do not wish to add additional information, you must still enter a general comment (e.g. not applicable) because this is a mandatory field. Otherwise, you cannot submit the datasheet for approval. In the additional info regarding evaluation text box, you can enter extra information about the course in general, as long as it is additional to the assessment matrix (page 5). o This field must NOT contain the same or contradictory information as on page 5. This can have adverse legal implications! We recommend that you enter as much information as possible on page 5 in the notes sections. The information on page 5 is displayed fully in the Student SelfService. The additional info regarding evaluation field is only visible indirectly, by clicking through further pages. o In this text box you can enter information about how the exam is given, such as the preparation time for the oral examination. As mentioned earlier, you can also enter this in the notes on page 5. In fact, these can be edited for each exam form, which means that the additional information is more targeted and a maximum of exam information is combined in single whole. o In accordance with the law on the use of languages in administrative matters, you must enter in this field, for an English course which is offered in a Dutch course, the details in Dutch under the Dutch data language. This info is of a regulatory nature. o If you do not wish to add anything in this text box, you must still enter a general comment (e.g. not applicable) because this is a mandatory field. Otherwise, you cannot submit the datasheet. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes! Don't forget the English description of the additional information and the additional info regarding evaluation! Page 14
7. Page 5: Learning Outcomes/Assessments If you do not understand certain fields, click the question mark in the top right corner for more information. On this page, you enter the intended learning outcomes (maximum 10) for your course. Learning outcomes specify what a student is expected to know, to understand, and to be able to do when a course is completed, and how that knowledge can be demonstrated. A learning outcome consists of a content and a behaviour. The learning outcomes can be more difficult depending on the complexity of the context, the content, the degree of selfsteering, the nature of the mastery, and it is of the correct level (academic bachelor/master). e.g. Link learning theories (=content) to a teaching vision for learning and instruction (= behaviour). Page 15
The checklist below helps you formulate good learning outcomes: 1. Are the learning outcomes focussed on what the student knows/understands/has the ability to do/...? 2. Are the learning outcomes formulated from the point of view of a student action? Use active verbs for: Easy: Low level of logic Complex: High level of logic Remember (name, define, list, etc.) Understand (interpret, paraphrase, compare, etc.) Apply (calculate, interpret, use, adjust, etc.) Analyse (describe patterns, research, criticise, etc.), Evaluate (judge, evaluate, etc.) Create (write, develop, hypothesise creatively, etc.) 3. Are the learning outcomes verifiable/measurable? 4. Are the learning outcomes specific enough (so they can be used for the evaluation of a course)? 5. Are the learning outcomes realistic (can be realised within the time foreseen for the course)? 6. Are the learning outcomes clear about the level to be achieved? 7. Are the learning outcomes understandable for students who are not following the course? 8. Are the learning outcomes in line with the other courses in the programme? Are they covered by the general learning outcomes of the entire programme? Some examples of correctly formulated learning outcomes: - Educational sciences: teaching subjects: o The students understand recent developments in educational subjects. The are able to identify and illustrate the meaning of the actors, variables and processes that play a role in instruction situations. o They can analyse subject examples and identify the underlying vision, learning theory and applied principles, and their strengths and weaknesses. - Law: contract law: o Students are specifically expected to be able to: give an overview of the content and structure of a specific contract; define the key concepts and put them in the matching context; know and look up information in the sources; use the Civil Code actively and focused is an absolute requirement. qualify and distinguish a specific contract from other, possibly similar contracts. You should specifically check that: o The assignment matrix header field is copied to page 6 as heading for the column(s); o The reporting description field is the title that you want to give to (the whole of) your learning outcome(s): o You write the actual learning outcomes in the learning outcomes box (with white background). You can find more information about formulating learning outcomes here. Then click the Click here to maintain course component assignment details button to go to the assignment template. Page 16
On this page, you must indicate the exam types that you use and the allocation key. NOTE: The breakdown you use here is BINDING for the award of the students' results. Please check this information thoroughly and correct where necessary. You can choose the exam types from the list below. If the exam type you want to use is not in the list, choose the option Other exam. You can select several exam types by clicking the + sign. The strict recommendation of the Educational Policy Department is as follows: Do not indicate a category with lecture, practical exercises, etc. in the title. Use one of the EXAM categories. Oral examination Written examination An oral exam is a conversation where the lecturer asks questions and the student answers them orally. An oral exam is an effective evaluation type that can be used to assess how well students can present the acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes. In addition, the student's capacity to reason is also assessed explicitly. Oral exams often use questions relating to application to specific cases and this offers the opportunity to pose more in-depth questions and increases the accuracy of the assignment. Open book exam: An open book exam does not focus on the reproduction of knowledge but rather on its application and insight into the subject matter being assessed. The evaluation situation can be fairly authentic because professionals may also continue to refer to course literature. During the exam, students are allowed to use (several) sources of information such as the course book, the handbook, scientific articles, notes, slides, law books, etc. The goal is to ascertain how well students can use the available information to make links, for problem analysis, to discuss possible solutions and to evaluate the solutions/decisions for a case or issue. Using tools such as a dictionary, formula sheets, a calculator or drawing material does not constitute an open book exam. This is just a 'regular' written exam with open or multiple choice questions. Multiple-choice examination: Page 17
Practical examination Other examination Master's thesis Bachelor's thesis A multiple-choice exam can be used for many evaluation purposes: - To analyse phenomena - To apply solution principles to new situations; - To understand concepts and principles; - To interpret cause and result links; - To interpret diagrams and tables; - To assess relevant information; - To solve problems; - Matching of concepts (1 belongs with A, 2 with B, etc.); - Complexe multiple-choice questions (2 of the 4 theses are correct); Open questions: A written exam that consists of questions where the students must formulate the answers themselves; this give students the opportunity to illustrate creative, problem-solving skills. As part of every course that consists of different learning activities, there is a possibility to evaluate the competences related to these activities separately. This is an evaluation of all possible practical course types (seminars, practical courses, exercises, laboratory, etc.) which were organised throughout the past semester (permanent evaluation). All other possible examination types which are not mentioned in the list above can be mentioned in this category. Then change the description in the section Assignments and weighting categories vs. assignment category. Example: Peer assessment, Self assessment, Simulation exercise, etc. (summative or permanent evaluation). A dissertation that concludes a master's course. The student shows an analytical and synthetic capacity, or the ability to solve a problem at an academic level, or the ability to produce something creatively. The document reflects the general ability of the student to reflect critically or adopt a research approach. Specific guidelines for preparing the master's thesis can be found in the (faculty) master's thesis regulations. A dissertation that concludes a bachelor's course. A bachelor's thesis is a suitable educational instrument for assessing all the skills that must be acquired during the bachelor's course. Practical assignments with feedback for which no results are given (formative evaluation) fall under one of the aforementioned categories. You can write comments in the notes field. For a complete overview of the assignment template, click the expand button use the function View all and In Category Weight, indicate the weighting of the different examination types next to each examination type. This weighting must be expressed as a percentage. o Example A: Written exam 25% & Practical exam 75% o Example B: Oral exam 100% Within the selected assignment categories, you can make further divisions in different assignments and add more detailed information. Note that at least 1 detail line is required for each exam type/assignment category. o Description: Here you can enter more information about the type of exam (for example: Theoretical, Application, Practical, etc.); o Short description: Here you make an abbreviation. Make sure this abbreviation is as meaningful as possible and that it is different from the abbreviations of the other categories; o Weighting in points: Here you indicate how much this component weighs within the chosen assignment category. This weighting can be expressed as an integer. After saving, the system automatically calculates the weighting for Page 18
o this sub-category as compared with the total. The result is displayed in the column weighted weight in points. Notes: Here you can enter information about: The organisation and how the exam is given (e.g. time to prepare for the oral exam) Sample exam questions Tools that can be used during the exam in the case of open book exams, it is recommended that you mention in the additional info regarding evaluation that e-books or other electronic appliances cannot be used during the exam Make sure that this page in particular does not contain information that conflicts with the Additional info regarding evaluation text box on page 4. The Preliminary examination ( tentamen ) check box is for situations when an official preliminary examination is organised. An official preliminary examination can only be organised, according to the teaching and exam regulations, for year-long courses which are part of the first year of the model programme for a bachelor's degree. If this checkbox is selected, it means that this assignment is taken as an intermediate exam (not for the final exam) but it does count towards the final grade. In this case, an intermediate grades list can be created. NOTE: The assignment template is organised per offer. You could for example distinguish between the method of evaluation for day and working students. You can use the copy function if necessary. To do this, edit one of the offers and save it. Then use the arrows to go to the template of the other offer and click the copy button to retrieve a copy of the offer you already edited. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes! Don't forget the English descriptions! Page 19
8. Page 6: Assessment matrix In the assessment matrix, a link is made per offer between the different learning outcomes and the examination method: How are the learning outcomes tested? o When submitting, a check is performed to see if at least 1 check box is selected in each column (Is every learning outcome being tested?). o Be aware that the assessment matrix is maintained per offer. In the blue bar assessment matrix, you can use the arrows to go to the assessment matrixes of the other offers. NOTE: Don't forget to save your changes! Page 20
9. Page 7: Validating and submitting This page has a functional nature. In the white box motivation, you can save the motivation/description of the changes made at each level (lecturer/faculty/quality assurance). o If you loaded the datasheet for the following academic year yourself for the first time (approval level = in creation), a blank box is displayed where you can enter the description of the changes you made. o If the datasheet for the following academic year has already been edited by others, this field will probably be filled and can no longer be edited. If this is the case, click the plus button in the top right corner of the motivation panel to add an extra field where you can enter the description of your changes. If you skip this step, an error message is displayed when you validate and/or submit. o Enter a summary of your changes in this field. This text is also included in the e-mail to your faculty approver. If you require extra information or want to ask him/her a question, you can use this field. When you click validate, the system gives you feedback about possible issues. If these messages are not clear, or if you cannot solve them, please contact curriculum_cali@vub.ac.be. To confirm your changes you must click the submit button. A modified course datasheet is only processed for the following academic year if it has been submitted successfully to the faculty approver. Note that changes must be submitted for further approval at the latest by 12/05. Datasheets which are not updated AND submitted for further approval by this date, will be used in the Page 21
following academic year as they were saved for a previous academic year! This is true for datasheets that you do not want to update but also for datasheets that you edited but did not submit. The faculty will process your request after you have submitted it. The changes will only be implemented in CALI-web and the SelfService for students when the approval has been granted by the faculty AND subsequently by the quality control of the Educational Policy Department. The tentative deadline for completing this process as a whole is 01/07. Page 22