The PALET (Programme Approval Lean Electronic Toolset) is a JISC-funded project supported by the Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design programme.  The project is led by Cardiff University. 

Our Project

The key objective of the PALET project is to develop an electronic toolkit to support the University’s approach to developing, approving, managing and maintaining its rich and complex academic provision. The key is to develop a ‘total’ approach integrating the human and the electronic, the educational and the administrative. The project will develop processes and systems to ensure that the provision offered by the University is of a high academic standard, provides an attractive student experience, and is market relevant. As part of this, the project will seek to introduce a more formalised approach to business planning and will pilot approaches to ‘cohort networking’ as part of the programme of activity introduced to support Curriculum Design.

The project is organised around three key areas or Curriculum Development:  

• Design of the Curriculum
• Management of the Curriculum  
• Communication of the Curriculum.
  

The project team have developed the below SpicyNodes Map to communicate the scope and remit of the project and also some of the related Cardiff University initiatives with which the project has aligned.

PALET - THE STORY

Institutional Story - The PALET Project (Coming soon...)
Stakeholder Engagement - Approaches, Reflections, Advice The PALET Stakeholder Communication Beehive, , PALET Curriculum approval process: Lean Process Mapping
Scope - Defining, Refining, Revising - PALET scoping model, The PALET Motherboard

DESIGN

Curriculum Design Process (Flowchart - linked to resources and guidance)

Academic Design vs Business Considerations - A parallel process - Resources Planning, The Feasibility Study, The Business Case

The Student Voice - Student Voice Framework (from the Student Voice Project)

"Hardcoded" Curriculum Design - Size, Shape, Structure of the Curriculum

Cohort Electronic Networking - Lotus Connections

MANAGE

Revised Approval Processes

Programme Management Principles

Programme Structures

Module Management

Programme Management

COMMUNICATE

Revised Programme Specification and Module Description Template

Reuse of Data using Webservices

The Programme Management Portlet

Standard Student Handbook

Our Dissemination

Presentation at the SITS Regional User Group - June 2011

PALET Project Poster

Project blog/website

The PALET Project: Video Blog Series

Our Technical Developments

The PALET Project - Full Technical Specification

The PALET Portlet - Draft Technical Specification

Our Cluster

We are working in a cluster with 4 other projects involved in the Curriculum Design programme. The focus of these projects is on process and quality improvements for more flexible/responsive curriculum design.

Birmingham City University - T-SPARC project

City University - PREDICT project

University of Cambridge - Course Tools project

University of Greenwich - UG-Flex project