ABSTRACT
There is a clear and present need for educational institutions to assess the content and delivery of all their courses. In addition to the needs of the Educational Institutions this process is being driven in the UK by the introduction of wide ranging Quality Assessments (QA’s) for all undergraduate programmes (programmes of study are composed of individual courses which may be of modular form). This twin track approach is posing challenges for educational institutions. Teaching Quality Assessments (TQA’s) are being undertaken by the government and through the well established systems of accreditation for professional vocational courses. Where programmes are of a multi-disiplinary nature, as the courses in the Department of Construction Management & Engineering at the University of Reading, there is also the need to assess the balance and flavour of the various educational strands. In order for the educational objectives of these studies to be met there is a need to evaluate the content, breadth and degree of understanding of each course which makes up the undergraduate programme.
This paper will address these issues by the use of a three dimensional representation of the practical and educational aspects of an undergraduate course. The interrelationship between the main themes or strands of the course will be described and a method for quantifying their various contributions will be proposed. In addition the paper will give examples of how this information can be used as part of a continuous course monitoring and evaluation programme. The opportunities for developing documentation for the accreditation of courses will also be given.
