The Inclusive Course Design Tool

All colleagues involved with the design and delivery of our courses.

The Inclusive Course Design Tool has been updated, after consultation, for 2022-23. This includes a reduction in questions from 42 to 30.

Course action plans created in 2021-22 should be in place and be implemented during 2022/23. Deans provide a report for assurance to AQSC in October 2023 on the implementation of these inclusivity action plans.
The Inclusive Course Design Tool should also be used in the development and design of all new courses and the revalidation of existing courses, it needs to be signed off prior to submission of documentation for re/validation process. 
The Tool helps the course team reflect on the key issues which inform best inclusive practice.
The submitted  documentation should express clearly how the course has been designed to support inclusivity. 

For existing courses, Course Directors and their teams should review  the new version of the tool using their previous 2021- 22 responses. Then they should identify changes that have already been made and areas that still need to be enhanced. The 13 flagged questions impact most directly on the attainment and experience of BAME students and should be prioritised.

This Tool is structured in six parts – planning your course, managing your course, supporting all students on the course, building the course community, developing all students on the course, challenging all students on the course (Pickford, 2018 ).

Consideration of all our diverse student groups* and how to maximise their learning and attainment is fundamental to course design and delivery and we must enable all students to be satisfied with their learning experience and progress to complete their study with a positive outcome.

Institutional priorities (for satisfaction, continuation and graduate employment) and requirements for the UK Quality Code for HE, our institutional APP and FHEQ requirements and outcomes are encapsulated in the Tool’s reflective questions.

Questions marked with a flag () highlight some important areas which may help to address our BAME student attainment gap.

This work forms an integral element of our Education Strategy – to provide all our students with an excellent education and experience. This also supports and informs our commitment and OfS requirement under Condition of Registration B2. This means we “must support all students, from admission through to completion, with the support that they need to succeed in and benefit from higher education”. In addition, it addresses Condition B3, that we “deliver successful outcomes for all students, which are recognised and valued by employers, and/or enable further study”.

* Particularly, black, Asian, international students and those with mental health needs, disabled students, those who may be first in their family to enter HE, those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, students who commute or are carers, estranged students or those entering HE from care. Intersectionality of these student groups should also be considered.

There are supporting resources available for all the questions by clicking on the pink box in the left hand menu. In addition, two key documents to support the completion of The Inclusive Course Design Tool are the Course development principles and the Inclusive assessment guidance.