The Centre for Academic Excellence and Program Quality has produced guidelines for new program development and curriculum modification that ensures curriculum planning, development, implementation, and evaluation are consistent with the college’s mission and vision, the standards set by the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service, the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board and the policy directives set by the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development.
Our New Program Development and Curriculum Modification Guidelines take program developers through the process of developing a new program from concept to approval to implementation and guides them through the process of revising existing courses and programs.
AEPQ Supports
Guidance through the Process
Academic employees wishing to develop a new program should contact the Academic Program Quality Analyst at 416-298-5000 ext. 2191 for guidance through the process. The APA will provide information on all the steps involved and connect program developers to other AEPQ supports, resources and required documentation. The APA is our compliance expert who guides program developers on government definitions and funding requirements and will assist with the completion of forms and submissions to the Ministry.
Curriculum Development Support
Our Professors of Curriculum Development support program developers in the development of program vocational learning outcomes that map to Provincial program standards. They take a capacity-building approach, allowing program developers to adopt the skill of creating clear and measurable outcomes that demonstrate appropriate levels of learning that align with the credential level while expressing the essential learning that a graduate must have to be successful in the workplace. The program developer, usually a faculty member, is the subject matter expert, while the Professors of Curriculum Development provide guidance in expressing the vocational skills, knowledge, and attitudes required of students that a student will acquire at the completion of the program.
The Professors of Curriculum Development assist program developers in understanding government requirements and institutional guidelines with respect to learning outcomes, Essential Employability Skills, General Education and program structure. Together with the Academic Program Analyst, they will ensure program nomenclature adheres to provincial program titling protocols.
The Professors of Curriculum Development support in course development, ensuring each course in the program contains learning outcomes that map to the program vocational learning outcomes using sound curriculum structure. The help with developing appropriate assessments that align with the intended levels of learning as expressed by the course learning outcomes.
When the time comes to make changes to programs, the Professors of Curriculum Developments assist with reformulating courses and program structure.
COCO (Centennial Online Course Outline)
COCO is Centennial's in-house solution for course outline development and storage
Faculty assigned as course developers use this online tool to create new or modify existing course outlines. COCO will take you through an interactive step-by-step development process that better ensures sound curriculum design and facilitate the course outline approval process.
Faculty teaching course sections are able to create weekly topical outlines specific to the section(s) they are teaching.
All employees have read access to all approved course outlines on COCO.
Program Mapping
Program mapping conducted by the Professors of Curriculum Development during the new program development or curriculum modification processes provides a visual blueprint of the program curriculum, enabling program developers and faculty to see where program vocational learning outcomes appear in the program, where there are gaps or where there are overlaps. The program map is an essential tool for faculty and program developers in understanding the structure, progression, and laddering within their program. The program map also ensures the program is in compliance with Ministry program standards
AEPQ's Curriculum Quality Analyst also provides extensive program mapping support during the Comprehensive Program Quality Review process, by taking faculty teams through the mapping process, producing a variety of program maps affording different views of the program and conducting an analysis of gaps and potential curriculum duplication.