CURRICULUM AUDIT/PROGRAM AUDIT

Curriculum Audit/Program Audit

Curriculum Audit/Program Audit

This paper presents a live interview with one of the reknowned science curriculum auditor, Mrs. Florance Smith, who is currently working as a head of science department at a local school in California. She has been employed in this school for the past ten years and has gained valuable experince in designing and maintaining coherent curriculums for secondary classes.

During the interview, she was calm and shared her candid opinions regarding the shortcomings in the instructions and Science curriculum and instruction, she opined that methods change, but standards of quality endure. The important issues are not technical but curriculumdriven and pedagogical.

On one of the questions, related to what actually curriculum audit is, she said that aculty roles are becoming increasingly diverse and reorganized. For example, the same person may not perform both course development and direct instruction to students. Regardless of who performs which of these tasks, important issues are involved.

In the development of an electronically offered program, the institution and its participating faculty need to consider issues of workload, compensation, ownership of intellectual property resulting from the program, and the implications of program participation for the faculty member's professional evaluation processes. This mutual understanding is based on policies and agreements adopted by both parties.

She continued that the institution should provide an ongoing program of appropriate technical, design, and production support for participating faculty members. Those responsible for program development should receive orientation and training to help them become proficient in the uses of the program's technologies, including potential changes in course design and management; those working directly with students should also receive training in the uses of the technologies, including strategies for effective interaction.

Decisions about such matters are made by qualified professionals and must focus on learning outcomes for an increasingly diverse student population.

As with all curriculum development and review, the institution should ensure that each program of study results in collegiate-level learning outcomes appropriate to the rigor and breadth of the degree or certificate awarded by the institution; that the electronically offered degree or certificate program is coherent and complete; and that such programs leading to undergraduate degrees include general education requirements.

Academically qualified persons should participate fully in the decisions concerning program curricula and program oversight. It is recognized that traditional faculty roles may be unbundled and/or supplemented as electronically offered programs are developed and presented, but the substance of the program, including its ...