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Review and approval of course syllabi

Below, you can read about the faculty’s quality review work and approval of first and second cycle course syllabi.

Responsibility and instructions for syllabi

All teaching at higher education institutions takes the form of courses. Each course is to have a course syllabus. This also applies to placements, project work and degree projects.

The faculty’s Study Programmes Board has produced instructions and templates for how the faculty is to approve and design first and second-cycle courses. The instructions summarise the rules and procedures for how course syllabi are to be managed, following both national rules and Lund University’s central rules.

The departments are responsible for initiating and approving proposals for new course syllabi according to the instructions and templates. The faculty’s Study Programmes Board is responsible for approving course syllabi and preliminary range of courses. The Study Programmes Board has delegated decision-making to the chair. The final range of courses and the budget are then approved by the faculty board.

Process for reviewing and approving course syllabi. Illustration.

Working process – from initiating a course syllabus to the created course session

All syllabi are approved in Swedish and English in Lund University’s course database, LUBAS. The decision-making process for course syllabi therefore follows the system’s structure.

Idea for a new course

The department initiates a new course syllabus via, for example, the director of studies, a member of teaching staff or teaching team.

Draft stage

The department creates a new course syllabus (new course code, title, entry requirements etc). The departments are responsible for ensuring that the syllabus follows the faculty’s specifications and is of good quality in terms of content and language.

Preliminary stage

The department’s first and second-cycle undergraduate education board or equivalent approves the preliminary course syllabus

Review stage

The department sends the course syllabus to the faculty office for review. The faculty office informs the department if something needs to be revised and the department implements those measures.

Consultation statements

The faculty office sends the course syllabus to a sister department (a department in a related subject) and to the Faculty of Science Students’ Union, for consultation.

Approval

The department responds to the points raised in the consultation and the faculty office approves the course syllabus.

Establishment

The chair of the Study Programmes Board establishes the syllabus. The syllabus is then translated into English and the modules are sent to Ladok.

Creating a course session

The department creates the course session and advertises the course.

Process for particular course types

Contract education courses that award credits follow the same working process as the other first and second-cycle syllabi, with a few exceptions (see page 28 of the faculty’s instructions below). Faculty-wide courses, which are interdisciplinary, have a departmental link and are approved according to the working process above.

Editorial revisions of course syllabi

An existing course syllabus which requires only minor editorial adjustments does not need to be dealt with by the first and second-cycle education board or equivalent for approval. Nor does it need to be sent for consultation to a sister department (a department in a related subject) or students’ union.

Student influence

Students have a legal right to influence the University’s courses and programmes. At the Faculty of Science, students are given the opportunity to have an influence at two points during the course syllabi quality review process.

The first opportunity is when the department’s first and second-cycle education board, departmental management or equivalent initiates and approves a proposal for a new syllabus. Students are then able to exert influence via the student council representatives who are members of that body.

The second opportunity is when the faculty office sends the course syllabus to the Faculty of Science Students’ Union.

Policy documents