Macquarie U is set to introduce a new curriculum model from 2020, with plans being well-received at an all-staff meeting this week. The plan goes to Senate next week. “Consultation has been quite good, for a change – the people doing it, really, really want to get this right” an observer of life in Lighthouse Land says.
The plan proposes two undergraduate degree types; generalist and specialist, studied singly or as a double degree. Students in all degrees will take units from a red zone (“specific depth requirements for the disciplinary, trans-disciplinary or professional area of study”) and a purple zone, where they can “enrol in any unit within the university for which they meet the pre-requisites.”
Macquarie U people are particularly pleased that the Professional and Community Engagement programme continues, as an in-depth degree requirement. PACE, in place since 2010, is the university’s experiential-learning placement programme.
The post-graduate course model is also redesigned, along the same lines and micro-credentials are incorporated into the new structure.
Simple it is not, but the view on campus is that essential it is.