Overview

Background

The Medical Degree (MBChB) is accredited by the General Medical Council (GMC). To enable this accreditation, the University must prove how we meet all the criteria set out by the GMC through the teaching undertaken in the curriculum. We currently do this through an in-house developed  system called COMMAND.  Due to changes in requirements and technologies involved, the present version of the software is is no longer deemed fit to meet future needs.

In short, there is a need to map the MBChB programme to the forthcoming content map from the GMC that relates to the national medical licensing assessment.

Similarly, the Veterinary Medicine degrees are accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE). Due to changing requirements the current spreadsheet system is no longer fit for purpose.

There is a need to map the requirements of the various accrediting bodies to the curriculum that is taught, with sufficient clarity to enable the award of continued accreditation. This is too complex to be undertaken through spreadsheets: alternative solutions are available in the market and there is a need to find and implement a solution for each of the Schools in CMVM.  Such solutions will be considered and compared with the viability of upgrading and enhancing COMMAND.

This will initially be undertaken as one project as there are very similar aims and ideally one application solution could be used for both cases.

If there is a need to separate this into two projects this will be done. If this is not complete before the next visitation then the Vet School will be given a minor or major deficiency, potentially impairing our reputation. All schools are now being asked to demonstrate clear mapping of competences at all stages of the curriculum. Most of the School’s major competitors have well embedded curriculum mapping systems consistent with the AVMA and RCVS increasing emphasis on audit and outcomes assessment. Lack of accreditation is a major risk to CMVM and this project is a priority for the College.

Scope

The scope of the project is to evaluate the current curriculum mapping solutions and future needs for the MBChB and Vet Degrees.

An assessment will be made as to which tools are available and the extent such tools meet business requirements with functional offering and pricing models. This will include a high-level view of the effort involved to upgrade the existing system to supported technologies and the functionality needed (small/medium/large sizing).

An options paper with findings will be presented to the project stakeholders with a summary and recommendation.

Objectives

To ideally identify a single product that could be used in the future for curriculum mapping within the medical and veterinary schools of the university.

Deliverables

Benefits

This project will:

• Bring clarity of requirement for a curriculum mapping tool that could be used across the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, and a recommendation as to how to proceed with implementation of the recommended solution.

It is expected that a subsequent implementation project enabled by this project would:

• Enable accreditation for the MBChB and Vet Degree programmes. In addition, the solution would highlight areas that are missing from the curriculum, those are covered but not adequately and those that are over-covered. Thus enhancing visibility of curriculum elements and clarifying for students (and staff) the linkages, position and rationale of all curricular elements.
• The solution would also greatly facilitate ongoing curriculum development, evolution and review and streamline the process by reducing the need for cumbersome means of recording, cross checking and referencing. This affects all undergraduate students in the schools involved.
• A robust mapping tool should be useful to and enhance the experience of all stakeholders – students, staff and relevant accrediting bodies.

Success Criteria

The stakeholder group support the recommendation on the acquisition of a software product and/or service of choice.

Project Milestones