Program Authorities series (Curriculum Transformation)

Overview to Curriculum Transformation: Program Level Approach

Tuesday 24 March, 9:30AM - 12:30PM

Presenters (in order of presentations): Christine Mathies (Tini), Karin Watson, Adeline Siva/Alison Freeman, Kath Karras, Scott Kable, Kristin Turnbull/Ee Kho, Anita Heywood, Nick Pollis, Diana Perche

This introductory session offers program authorities a clear, program‑level perspective to Curriculum Transformation and how its key elements fit together. You’ll hear brief, focused overviews of the four components (FlexSemester, Program Simplification,  Assessment and Feedback, and Pedagogical Principles), alongside insights from the Program Review Committee, timelines, and an overview of timetabling considerations.

The session also introduces the Curriculum Transformation Support Model, led by the PVCE, including the range of support available, and strategies on how to engage with professional development effectively to suit your needs and context. Designed to be practical and interactive, the session concludes with rotating table discussions, giving you the chance to ask questions, clarify details, and connect directly with the teams involved.

Tuesday 24 March, 9:30AM - 12:30PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Self-evaluation workshop

Tuesday 24 March, 1:30PM - 3:30PM

Presenters (in order of presentations): Karin Watson, Ee Kho, Kristin Turnbull, Rachel Kasturi, Emily Chandler, Freddy Ha (PVCE), Ben Phipps and Will Scates Frances (Nexus), Sanja Lucic (Medicine & Health), representatives from Faculty Education Development teams.

This hands‑on, interactive workshop recognises that schools, faculties and individuals are engaging with Curriculum Transformation at different stages, paces and levels of confidence. Using a guided self‑evaluation questionnaire focused on Program Simplification, Assessment and Feedback, and Pedagogical Principles, program authorities will be supported to identify the type and level of support that best suits their context.

Members of the Pro Vice‑Chancellor Education (PVCE) team and representatives from each Faculty’s Education Development team will be present, offering both a holistic and faculty‑specific perspective. Together, they will provide practical advice on how to “choose your own journey” through the Curriculum Transformation process.

Designed to be practical and collaborative, the session includes hands‑on workbooks and facilitated table discussions, creating space to ask questions, clarify next steps, and connect directly with both central and faculty‑based teams.

Tuesday 24 March, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Program Design Procedure workshop

Wednesday 25 March, 9:30AM - 11AM

Presenter: Scott Kable and Linley Briggs

This session introduces the new Program Design Procedure (PDP), with a focus on understanding its design intent and compliance requirements. The workshop will walk participants through the key sections and changes to the PDP. We will highlight the sections that are receiving most questions, explain the design intent and offer examples of program design that would conform to the procedure.  The session will work through a hierarchical method for implantation, identifying immediate quick wins as well as more complex areas.

Our primary focus will be on building clarity and confidence in designing programs that meet the PDP requirements, and how these activities fit into the broader Curriculum Transformation. The session will finish with Q&A.

Linley Briggs is the Project Manager on Academic Calendar Program, leading coordination and operational delivery of Curriculum Transformation, including implementation of the new Program Design Procedure. Her role focuses on Faculty enablement and close collaboration with Faculty Transition Teams to support the flex-semester transition. 

Scott Kable was Academic Lead and Owner of the Program Simplification theme of the SX Program and continuing to assist in this implementation phase. Scott has a long track record of innovation in science education, introducing competency-based assessment in UNSW Chemistry 1 courses about 10 years ago, and providing professional development in laboratory education to hundreds of science academics and thousands of high school science teachers over a 20-year period.

Wednesday 25 March, 9:30AM - 11AM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Program Level Assessment Design

Wednesday 25 March, 11AM - 12:30PM

Presenters: Mark Ian Jones and Tracy Wilcox

This session introduces program authorities and specialisation leads to the foundational concepts and early steps involved in shifting from course-based assessment to a coordinated, whole-of-program approach. The workshop builds shared understanding of why PLA matters and what it involves, outlining key stages such as clarifying program learning outcomes, mapping assessment across the degree, identifying gaps and redundancies, and strengthening feedback and progression. Drawing on case studies of implemented program-level models, the session provides practical templates, exemplars and frameworks to support informed curriculum discussions and future program-wide assessment design.

Wednesday 25 March, 11AM - 12:30PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Pedagogical Principles workshop

Wednesday 25 March, 1:30PM - 3PM

Presenters: Ee Kho and Kristin Turnbull

This session provides an introduction to UNSW’s Pedagogical Principles, which articulate our commitment to delivering education that is rigorous, relevant, and responsive to contemporary needs. It will explore the two dimensions of the Principles: the “how” — the teaching practices and learning environments that shape student experience — and the “what” — the core themes and priorities that guide student learning. The session will also consider how these principles can be mapped across a program to ensure coherence and impact.

Kristin Turnbull is the Lead, Academic Development and Career Advancement in the PVC Education Portfolio. With a career focussed on teaching, teaching development and career advancement, she has extensive experience in supporting and developing capability in educators. She is passionate about the opportunities that arise when educators work with students as partners to improve the teaching and learning experience.

Ee Kho is the Lead, Curriculum and Educational Design in the PVC Education Portfolio. Ee’s career spans the rollout and implementation of major strategic educational initiatives across UNSW. She brings a strong track record of collaboration, capability building and leadership to her work in supporting curriculum transformation and broader education‑focused innovation across the university.

Wednesday 25 March, 1:30PM - 3PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Assessment & Feedback drop-in session

Wednesday 25 March, 3PM - 4PM

The drop-in sessions offer flexible, informal opportunities to learn, ask questions without prior registration.

Wednesday 25 March, 3PM - 4PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

Universal Design for Learning: Program Level Approaches

Universal Design for Learning: Designing Programs for Access and Inclusion

Thursday 26 March, 9:30AM - 11AM

Presenter: Rachel Kasturi

As part of Curriculum Transformation, this session invites program authorities to consider access and inclusion as program-level design responsibilities. Rather than focusing on classroom strategies, we will examine structural patterns that shape participation and progression across the lifecycle of a program. These include assessment sequencing, cumulative cognitive load, navigation consistency, baseline accessibility expectations and the clarity of disciplinary and institutional communication.
While individual courses may appear sound in isolation, patterns across a program can accumulate into structural barriers. Greater consistency, predictability and shared, explicit expectations clarify progression pathways, reduce avoidable attrition risk, and uphold academic standards.
This session positions UDL within a broader inclusive education framework. We will explore how stabilising core program structures creates the conditions for flexible, context-responsive design at course level. Participants will leave with practical prompts to review transition points, assessment patterns and hidden curriculum assumptions within their own programs.

Dr Rachel Kasturi
Rachel is a Senior Inclusive Educational Designer in the PVCE Curriculum and Educational Design team, where she leads initiatives to advance inclusive education. Drawing on a background in communication sciences and student equity, she partners with students, academics and professional teams to embed accessibility, usability and Universal Design for Learning within curriculum design and teaching practice. Her work focuses on translating inclusive principles into sustainable, system-level change that strengthens capability, clarity, and belonging across complex higher education environments.

Thursday 26 March, 9:30AM - 11AM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Securing assessment in an AI-enabled environment

Thursday 26 March, 1:30PM - 3PM

This session introduces academic staff to the principles and practical considerations involved in designing assessments that maintain integrity while recognising the realities of generative AI. The session builds a shared understanding of why assessment security matters beyond traditional exam settings, emphasising that secure assessment can take many forms, including tasks where student learning is observed in action. Drawing on concrete examples—such as interactive oral assessments, structured in-class activities, scaffolded task completion, and participation-based approaches—the workshop provides practical strategies and exemplars that support credible, authentic, and defensible assessment design in contemporary learning environments.

Presenters: 

• Mark Ian Jones
• Tracy Wilcox
• May Lim and Silas Taylor: The Owl Project' - group-based oral assessment design
• Lynn Gribble (structured class participation)

Oral assessments panel:

• Pranit Anand (Business)
• Maja Cassidy (Science)
• Ernest Tse (Engineering)
• Meredith MacAulay (panel chair)

Oral assessments panel chaired by Meredith Macauley, ADA, showcasing a range of approaches from across UNSW. Panel members: Dr Pranit Anand,  Senior Lecturer, School of Information Systems and Technology Management, School of Business; Dr Maja Cassidy, Senior Lecturer, ARC DECRA Fellow and Scientia Fellow in the School of Physics; Ernest Tse Associate Lecturer School of Chemical Engineering.

Thursday 26 March, 1:30PM - 3PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Pedagogical Principles (UDL) drop-in session

UDL Drop-In: Program Level

Thursday 26 March, 3PM - 4PM

The drop-in sessions offer flexible, informal opportunities to learn, ask questions without prior registration.

Bring a program pain point (or barrier), such as limited assessment variety and/or clustering, unclear expectations, navigation inconsistency, or baseline accessibility questions, and we’ll use a program-level UDL lens as a practical tool to name the recurring pattern across courses and outline possible next steps (template provided).

Thursday 26 March, 3PM - 4PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

Embedding Indigenous Knowledges: Program Level Approaches

Tuesday 31 March, 9:30AM - 11AM

Presenter: PVCIE, Christine Evans

UNSW has an extraordinary opportunity with the current curriculum transformation priority to significantly enhance and make more consistent the representation of Indigenous Knowledges in its programs. Current, culturally responsive communication and 'culturally quality assured’ representations of Indigenous Knowledges in program and course learning outcomes,  course content and assessment will serve all students expected to work productively and meaningfully in their professional practices with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals. It will also enhance cultural safety for Indigenous students in their educational experiences at UNSW. This presentation will unpack key themes emerging from the Indigenous Knowledges and Curriculum Framework currently in draft for consultation with internal and external stakeholders and share guiding documents developed for UNSW curriculum designers and writers relating to the representation of Indigenous Knowledges in curriculum. 

Associate Professor Christine Evans is a Wiradjuri woman with cultural connection to the Mudgee region of NSW.  Chris has worked in higher education for over 20 years primarily as an academic in initial teacher education or in curriculum lead roles. She has served in senior leadership roles in curriculum authorities such as ACARA and NESA and led large scale curriculum reform in the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in school curriculum contexts.

In the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education at UNSW, Chris is leading projects to support the representation of Indigenous Knowledges in curriculum and professional learning in Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness for UNSW staff. Her research has focused on Indigenous representation in education processes. An Aboriginal Education Consultative Group member locally and regionally for several years, Chris is also represented on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committees and advisory groups such as at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, where she is Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group and MCA Board Member, and the National Library of Australia. 

Tuesday 31 March, 9:30AM - 11AM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

AI Literacy and Capability: Program Level Approaches

Tuesday 31 March, 11AM - 12PM

Presenters: Mark Ian Jones and Tracy Wilcox

This session introduces Program Authorities and Specialisation Leads to a coordinated, program-level approach to developing students’ AI capabilities. The session outlines new AI permission categories while reframing the conversation away from policing AI use and toward clarifying assessment purpose. Recognising that AI is embedded across most professions, the workshop positions AI capability as integral to industry readiness: graduates should be able to use AI tools responsibly, critically, and effectively within their disciplinary context. It promotes a staged model of skills development—progressing from foundational literacy and ethical awareness to critical evaluation and applied practice—and supports leaders to identify, scaffold, and map coherent AI capability development across the program.

Tuesday 31 March, 11AM - 12PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Embedding Societal Impact: Program Level Approaches

Tuesday 31 March, 11AM - 12PM

Presenters: Ben Phipps, Scott Mooney, May Lim

This session introduces academic staff to the principles and practical considerations involved in designing programs that embed Societal Impact with a view to preparing students, in line with Progress for All Strategy, to take part in real world learning and initiatives that have societal impact in interdisciplinary contexts that prepare them for future careers. The session introduces recommendations from the Nexus Societal Impact Challenge Projects Squad review of how Societal Impact is currently embedded into programs and models that have the potential to build students' skills and knowledge over the course of a program in preparation for them to have a positive societal impact. The session will provide the opportunity to hear two existing faculty perspectives and include a range of in-progress and existing approaches to embedding societal impact to stimulate creative ideas for embedding societal impact in programs in line with the universities Societal Impact Framework.

Tuesday 31 March, 1PM - 2PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Future-Focused Skills: Program Level Approaches

Tuesday 31 March, 2PM - 3PM

Presenter: Alison Beavis and Andrew Dymock

Tuesday 31 March, 2PM - 3PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Cultural and Emotional Dimensions of Learning: Program Level Approaches​

Wednesday 1 April, 9:30AM - 11AM

Presenter: Valerie Combe-Germes

This session explores how cultural and emotional factors shape students’ learning experiences across a program, not just within individual courses. It examines how curriculum design, assessment practices, and learning environments can intentionally foster inclusion, belonging, and emotional engagement.

Participants will consider program-level strategies to embed culturally responsive pedagogies, support student wellbeing, and create coherent learning journeys that acknowledge diverse identities and backgrounds. The session will provide practical examples and frameworks for aligning learning outcomes, teaching practices, and support structures to enhance both academic success and students’ sense of connection and relevance throughout their studies.

Valerie Combe Germes is an Education-Focused Academic and Deputy Head of School in the School of Humanities & Languages (ADA). She is committed to innovation in Learning and Teaching, having led VR projects in languages and developed adaptive learning modules; she is now exploring AI tools for personalised learning. Her work champions inclusive, student-centred practices that support wellbeing, strengthen students’ sense of belonging, and ensure learning is relevant, engaging, and impactful.

Wednesday 1 April, 9:30AM - 11AM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

​Open Assessments: Design, Guidance and Judgement

Wednesday 1 April, 11AM - 12:30PM

Presenters: Mark Ian Jones and Tracy Wilcox​

This session focuses at the course level, responding to the reality of ubiquitous AI use in contemporary learning environments. The session explores how to design assessments that assume AI is available, shifting emphasis toward clarity of task purpose, explicit guidance, and robust academic judgement. Through practical examples it examines how to structure prompts, scaffold process, and define criteria that distinguish between superficial AI-supported output and demonstrated student understanding. The workshop supports educators to design open assessments that are authentic, transparent, and defensible while maintaining high academic standards.

Wednesday 1 April, 11AM - 12:30PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Fostering Lifelong Learners: Program Level Approaches​

Wednesday 1 April, 2PM - 3PM

Presenter: Freddy Ha

If graduates are expected to be curious, adaptable, and capable of learning beyond the degree, these capabilities need to be intentionally developed across the program, not left to chance. This workshop invites program authorities to examine how lifelong learning is currently fostered in their program and where stronger sequencing, visibility and review may be needed. Through interactive activities and practical planning, participants will leave with a draft lifelong learning capability pathway and clearer direction for embedding lifelong learning through program-level approaches.

Freddy Ha is an Educational and Assessment Designer in the PVCE Curriculum and Educational Design team at UNSW. Freddy has several years of experience across higher education teaching, learning design, curriculum transformation, assessment strategy and digital learning leadership. His work focuses on designing authentic and inclusive assessment that is academically rigorous, supports student development over time, and helps make expectation clearer for both staff and students. He’s especially interested in practical ways to strengthen course and program coherence, including outcome and assessment mapping, and designing assessment that holds up in contemporary learning environments.
 

Wednesday 1 April, 2PM - 3PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

Register

Assessment & Feedback case study session

Thursday 2 April, 10:30AM - 11:30AM

Designing Programs as Connected Learning Systems
A journey toward program-level coherence

This showcase reflects a collaborative program-level initiative within the Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW.

Presented by: Diana Saragi Turnip (Nexus Educational Developer working across the Graduate Diploma in Orientation and Mobility and the Bachelor of Vision Science/Master of Clinical Optometry), together with Dr Vinod Maseedupally (Nexus Fellow, School of Optometry and Vision Science; lead for program-level assessment in the clinical stream of the Bachelor of Vision Science/Master of Clinical Optometry).

Thursday 2 April, 10:30AM - 11:30AM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Societal Impact case study session

Thursday 2 April, 1PM - 2PM

Presenter: Dr May Lim

Dr May Lim is a Nexus Fellow, Scientia Education Fellow, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her teaching philosophy aligns with a quote from Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who said, “People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they are taught”. Dr Lim sees education as an act that transforms our beliefs, values and purposes, with the potential to emancipate and empower its participants.

As the Nexus Fellow for the UNSW School of Chemical Engineering, Dr Lim work with others to foster environments that are conducive to learning and teaching at UNSW. Her contributions are multifaceted and include the development of procedures, resources, and toolkits aimed at creating assessments that are not only valid and reliable but also feasible and scalable. She is dedicated to advancing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). She achieves this by providing educators with essential opportunities for professional development, notably through the organization of conferences and symposia. Additionally, Dr. Lim is an active member of various working and advisory groups, where she contributes her expertise to areas such as innovation, e-Portfolio, artificial intelligence, and SCI-ENG first year students experience. Dr Lim’s role is complemented by her expertise in the use of artificial intelligence for assessment and feedback practices.

Thursday 2 April, 1PM - 2PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.

Embedding Indigenous Knowledges case study session

Thursday 2 April, 2PM - 3PM

Successful representation of Indigenous Knowledges in curriculum requires faculties to have knowledge and understanding of:

• Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ histories, cultures and aspirations
• policy, legislative and governance frameworks
• cultural heritage protection
• cultural protocols
• culturally responsive pedagogies
• self-determination in action
• co-design or partnership practices, and
• curriculum.

This presentation provides guidance about principles and curriculum practices that will enable the successful representation of Indigenous Knowledges in UNSW curriculum during curriculum transformation processes through practical strategies and through case studies by UNSW academics who are contributing to improvement and excellence in this area within their fields.

Thursday 2 April, 2PM - 3PM
Hybrid (Teaching Commons and online)

This session has passed. Please register above for the recordings.