BACKGROUND

The organization concerned is one of Britain's largest universities having centres in three towns in the Midlands as well as being supplemented by an internationally dispersed Associate and Linked College Network. Arrangements with other institutions mean that some of the programmes of study are delivered overseas, such as in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Students are normally based at one of the university's centres for the duration of their programme, though they benefit from the facilities of the whole university. In total, there are approximately 30,000 students, most of whom are undergraduates.

The range of academic and vocational opportunities that the university offers within each of its faculties is extensive with subjects ranging from law and engineering to agriculture and the arts (see Appendix A). Study options include full-time, part-time and sandwich programmes. Increasingly, there are opportunities to study or undertake work placements abroad. Many subjects are also offered in joint and combined honours routes, enabling students to pursue more than one area of interest.

A number of national issues that impact upon all universities as well as local issues specific to the university have to be addressed in order to continue expansion and development. Some of these include: an over-supply of student places, which has made the sector intensely competitive; the expectations of fee-paying students, who are demanding facilities and resources of the highest quality; decreasing income from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE); and a growth in the number of performance indicators evident in national league tables which have a significant impact upon every institution's reputation. Strategically, the university is now seeking to provide fewer things in fewer places to even higher quality and so acquire a growing reputation as a great place to study, work and live.

The case study relates to delivery of the Computing and Ethics module that is offered to undergraduate students within the Faculty of Computing Sciences and Engineering. The Faculty is responsible for more than 3,000 students based in several locations around the world. In 2000/2001, the Faculty generated £3.3 million through a mix of external income activities including research, consultancy, training, conferences and technology transfer. The responsibility for curriculum development and delivery of the degree programmes lies with specialist subject groups. Degrees comprise a number of mandatory and optional modules at each stage. Many modules are shared across programmes. Each degree programme has an academic manager and several year managers. Each module has an academic leader. It is the role of these managers and leaders to develop consistent curriculum strategy at both degree and module level.