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POLICY STATEMENT

The university is dedicated to providing a high-quality and well-designed curriculum that meets the needs of its students and the community. In pursuit of this goal, we require each faculty member who joins PSU to design and implement individual courses and/or multi-section courses that adhere to the University, College, and Department Regulations.
To ensure that all faculty members are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to create effective course designs, all new faculty members must participate in the Course Design Institute offered by the Teaching and Learning Center.
Faculty members are expected to follow the guidelines provided in this policy when designing and teaching their courses, whether on campus or online. To ensure that our courses remain relevant and effective, we encourage all faculty members to regularly review and update their course materials, assessments, and instructional methods.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

At PSU, we recognize the significance of effective course design in promoting student learning and success. Our approach to course design is guided by Outcome-Based Education (OBE) principles, which emphasize the importance of clearly defined learning outcomes and their alignment with instructional strategies and assessments.
The OBE approach begins with the identification of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) that articulate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students should possess upon completing their program of study. These PLOs serve as the foundation for course-level learning outcomes, known as Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs).
Constructive alignment is a critical principle of OBE that ensures that instructional strategies, assessments, and learning activities are all aligned with the CLOs. This approach encourages instructors to deliberately design courses that facilitate student achievement of the desired learning outcomes.
The advantages of OBE are numerous. By focusing on learning outcomes, we can ensure that our courses are relevant, engaging, and effective in supporting student success. OBE also promotes a student-centered approach to learning, which fosters a deeper understanding of the subject matter and develops valuable skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

The Course Design Policy is applicable to all academic courses offered at PSU, whether on campus or online. This policy aims to ensure the quality and relevance of all university programs and courses by providing a single university-wide policy for their design.
It provides a clear and consistent framework for curriculum design, enabling faculty members to create engaging, relevant, and effective courses promoting student learning. The policy promotes transparency and collaboration in the curriculum design process, ensuring that all courses align with the university's mission and goals.
The policy's scope includes the design of new courses as well as the review and revision of existing courses. It applies to all academic programs, including undergraduate and graduate programs, certificate programs, and continuing education courses. The policy covers all aspects of course design, including learning outcomes, assessment strategies, instructional methods, and course materials.

PRINCIPLES OF THE POLICY

The university's curriculum must comply with the National Qualifications Framework of Saudi Arabia and meet the university's requirements for accreditation or approval as identified in the Program Accreditation Standards established by both the national and international accreditation bodies for specific disciplines.
Backward Design Approach
In the backward design of a course, you start with the desired results, your goals, and what you want students to learn or to become. This policy follows a process based on backward design:

1. Think about your big goals and what you want your course to achieve
2. Outline your course assignments
3. Develop assessment tools
4. Organize your course content and decide on teaching techniques
5. Develop an assessment plan for your course.

DEFINITIONS

Course: A formally organized unit that is recognized by an educational institution for meeting an educational requirement that has a credit value that tuition is calculated.

Course Learning Outcome: Learning outcomes are statements of the knowledge, skills and abilities individual students should possess and can demonstrate upon completion of a learning experience or sequence of learning experiences.

Coursework: Coursework refers to a structured and planned set of educational activities, assignments, projects, and assessments that students are required to complete as part of a formal academic course or program. These activities are designed to help students acquire knowledge, develop skills, and demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter.

Instructional Strategies: Refer to a diverse range of planned methods, techniques , and approaches employed by educators to facilitate effective teaching and enhance the learning experience of the students

Assessment: Assessment is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

The Course Design Institute will cover topics such as learning outcomes, assessment strategies, instructional methods, and course materials. Additionally, faculty members will have the opportunity to engage with instructional designers and other experts to receive feedback and support in developing their courses.
The Course Design Process:
The course design process should address the following items.

1. Research the latest developments and current trends at the local and international levels. Select a textbook and the content of the course.
2. Articulate the course goals, objectives, and learning outcomes to describe the knowledge and skills students should acquire at the end of the course.
3. Adopt instructional strategies that help students meet the intended learning outcomes.
4. Design assessment tasks to measure the degree to which the students meet the learning outcomes.

Stage 1 Identify desired results and establish curricular priorities.

Stage 2 Determine acceptable evidence.

Stage 3 Plan learning experiences and instructional strategies.

Suggestions for preparing assessments to be used:

1. One of the significant goals of assessment is to measure the degree to which students have achieved the intended learning outcomes.
2. The intended learning outcome should guide and drive the choice and design of assessment activities.
3. Students’ work must be aligned with the assessment activity and course learning outcomes to measure their competence concerning the targeted learning outcome.
4. Assessment results must guide and improve student practices based on the constructive feedback that has been provided to them.
5. Assessment outcomes should be used as a guide and help in choosing the best teaching strategies to be used by the instructor.

Suggestions for Choosing Teaching Strategies:

1. A teaching or instructional strategy involves using a number of activities to help students accomplish the learning goals of the class.
2. A general guideline for choosing a teaching strategy is to think of what your students will be able to do after they finish the course. (See Point #6 above.)
3. Try to answer these questions:
1. What activities will help the students acquire the intended skills and knowledge?
2. How can these activities be organized and sequenced to maximize the gain?

Course Specification and Syllabus
A course specification is a document that is prepared for setting out the plans for each course, stating clear guidelines to the course instructors about the course objectives and learning outcomes, the course contents helping in achieving the course learning outcomes, its contributions to the overall program, and how its effectiveness should be assessed. A course syllabus is a requisite document for teaching that is based on course specifications and serves to outline the basic elements of a course, including what topics will be covered, a weekly schedule, and a list of tests, assignments, and their associated weightings.

Suggestions for preparing the topic schedule in the specification and syllabus:

1. Consider the time constraints and the expected breaks in the semester.
2. Spread assignments so that students will be able to handle the load and submit on time.
3. Make sure that students will be able to receive feedback on a given assignment before engaging with the next assignment.
4. Leave some unscheduled slots in your schedule to handle risks and emerging topics.
5. Prepare your schedule according to the Institutional Syllabus Template (see the PSU Policy website).
6. Scheduling is an iterative planning process. Start with a tentative schedule and keep tuning it until you feel satisfied.

A Syllabus is expected to include the following components, as found in the Institutional Course Syllabus Template (please refer to

PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING POLICY VIOLATION

The penalty for academic dishonesty in all academic works, including assignments, projects, quizzes, majors, and final exams, will be a failure, academic suspension, or even dismissal from the university, according to university bylaws and policies.

APPENDICES

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oDUefY_4J0ByovWG0INJCShabGXpap-a/view?usp=sharing
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jlm3krcalZsnEYxV1gGUEXAHDrcEmTUG/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116292705107918067493&rtpof=true&sd=true
• https://educationaltechnology.net/backward-design-understanding-by-design/ )

REFERENCES

Wiggins, G. P., and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Website: https://educationaltechnology.net/backward-design-understanding-by-design/

Hannah Park (University of Kansas, USA) and Jana Roberta Minifie (Texas State University, USA) (2020): Preparing Students for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Higher Education
https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/academic-course/82938

Marzano (2001) , The classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for increasing student Achievement
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1239291.pdf

Erwin (1991), Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED330256

https://www.bu.edu/provost/files/2017/06/Creating-Learning-Outcomes-Stanford.pdf