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Numerous challenges in education emerge as our technology-driven society rapidly evolves and manifests more exigent requirements from engineering professionals. Higher education, nonetheless, seems to adapt to such requirements at an unequal speed, generating some tensions between industry and higher education institutions. The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences obtained through a process of assessment and redesign of a large enrollment course of programming from which the authors developed a systematic approach for course design/redesign.

A mixed method approach was deployed for data gathering and evaluation, consisting of close-ended surveys, open-ended questionnaires, information matrices and state of the art compilation. Triangulation of the information offered clear data about the necessity of curriculum redesign; therefore, a new programming course curriculum encompassed with relevant necessities in engineering and science was developed.

The authors produced a coherent and dynamic systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum, which the authors find extremely helpful to improve negotiation processes inside higher education institutions, as it can be implemented to improve any large enrollment course curricula in engineering and science.

By following the systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of curricula the authors developed, higher education systems could embark more efficiently in the ever-challenging process of adapt their courses and programs to tackle the upcoming demands of our society.

So far, a systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum was not published, and it supports the improvement of pedagogical approaches in academic institutions.

Western management philosophy and thought have been around for millennia; however, the supremacy of its concepts and writings has become a subject of criticisms in Africa. There is a huge gap in African management education which calls for redesigning of management curriculum to affirm African social orientation and self-determination that will enable new forms of learning and knowledge required to tackle complex global challenges. The objective of this chapter is to review Western management thought and practice vis-à-vis the existing management philosophy in Africa prior to her colonisation and advocate the need to redesign management curricula. To accomplish the aforementioned objective, this chapter took a historical, reflective and systematic approach of literature review to advance renewal of management curricula in Africa. The analysis began with a review of pre-colonial management philosophy and thought in Africa, followed by a discussion of how colonialism obstructed and promoted the universality of management. This was followed by a review of African traditional society and indigenous management philosophies. The chapter discussed topics that should feature in an African-oriented management curriculum and highlighted fundamental constructs that can be fused into management curriculum of business schools/teaching in Africa. The chapter also made a case for a flexible management curriculum structure that is broader than the conventional transmission-of-knowledge building which views students as passive learners’ by adopting suitable pedagogical tools that will be relevant for knowledge transmission and assessment and also enhance learning and management practices that is culturally fit and relevant to global practice.

For over a decade now, various stakeholders in accounting education have called for the integration of technology competencies in the accounting curriculum (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), 2013, 2018; Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC), 1990; American Institute of Certified Public Accountant (AICPA), 1996; Behn et al., 2012; Lawson et al., 2014; PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), 2013). In addition to stakeholder expectations, the inclusion of data analytics as a key area in both the business and accounting accreditation standards of the AACSB signals the urgent need for accounting programs to incorporate data analytics into their accounting curricula. This paper examines the extent of the integration of data analytics in the curricula of accounting programs with separate accounting AACSB accreditation. The paper also identifies possible barriers to integrating data analytics into the accounting curriculum. The results of this study indicate that of the 177 AACSB-accredited accounting programs, 79 (44.6%) offer data analytics courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level or as a special track. The results also indicate that 41 (23.16%) offer data analytics courses in their undergraduate curriculum, 61 (35.88%) at the graduate level, and 12 (6.80%) offer specialized tracks for accounting data analytics. Taken together, the findings indicate an encouraging trend, albeit slow, toward the integration of data analytics into the accounting curriculum.

In a time that could be described as a “perfect storm” in higher education, faculty and administration have been exploring all possible tools to attract students and help them stay on a curriculum path so they can graduate within a reasonable time. The purpose of this paper is to explore three strategies for riding the storm in a large mid-western USA university.

The authors identify three strategies for increasing student retention and course completion, including: increased choices in scheduling; redesigning the curriculum; and offering multiple options for mode of delivery. In addition, the pilot of these strategies in a Technical Data Analysis class will be described and evaluated.

Providing choices in scheduling courses (strategy 1), redesigning the curriculum to offer flexible pathways to graduation (strategy 2), and offering students options in delivery modes (strategy 3) increase the likelihood of student success, allowing them to find a way out of and therefore escape the “perfect storm” that higher education finds itself in today.

Flexibility in scheduling courses by offering multiple delivery modes increases student access while maintaining the same learning objectives and outcomes.

This paper addresses a known challenge in higher education and offers three strategies to improve retention and completion.

This chapter addresses the balancing act between curriculum guidance and curriculum space, against the backdrop of an integral curriculum review at the national/macro level in the Netherlands, labelled ‘Curriculum.nu’. As part of this review initiative, many choices have to be made, reflecting answers to the following two questions: What balance is needed between curriculum regulation at the macro level and the provision of curricular space for schools at the meso and the micro level? And, what are the related responsibilities of all involved in the educational system web in order to make the curriculum change successful? Before getting to tentative answers, the chapter will provide an introduction to curriculum policy in the Netherlands and will offer an overview of the motives, aims, approaches and preliminary results of Curriculum.nu. The provisional answers include a set of research-informed principles for making the curriculum review efforts a success, including a call for dovetailing the various curriculum layers and for a strategic curriculum mix of room for school-specific decision-making, substantive guidance, support by exemplification and firm investments in professional development.

The whole process of reviewing and redesigning curricula is an exercise in managing change. Given the multiple stakeholders in the educational enterprise, the many forces that impact upon those enterprises, and the organized and complicated activities in which those enterprises engage, the management of curricular change can be a daunting challenge. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that this challenge can be met by adapting and applying knowledge and techniques from the discipline of organizational development and change (ODC) and by including student feedback as an important source of diagnostic input in the change process.

A process used in one American school of business for incorporating meaningful student input into the curriculum review and planning process is described. The paper reports on the use of a student survey and student focus group to generate feedback in two areas of the college's curricular concerns: the structure, operation, and impact of an introductory business course offered in the first year of the undergraduate experience; and second, the potential addition of majors, minors, and a course requirement in the business school's curriculum. The paper explains how the survey and focus group were used, summarizes the results provided by each diagnostic venue, and discusses how the diagnostic information is currently being used in the college's curricular design process.

It was recognized that there are many drivers of curriculum development, most importantly the needs and desires of employers for educated people who have the skills and competencies that can help their organizations survive and succeed. Employers constitute the ultimate marketplace for the output of educational institutions.

It is hoped that this example application of ODC techniques for diagnosing the need for curricular change will stimulate others to embrace ODC as they think about the broader issues of change in educational institutions, and in responding to needs for curricular change.

As universities grapple with the question of how to prepare students for increasingly uncertain futures, the development of evidence-based frameworks to guide academic program¹ design is critical. Here, we propose a strategic framework with a high impact on program design, implementation, and evaluation as well as mentoring and support for academic program leaders. High impact can be achieved when program leaders are enabled to embed key future-focused capabilities and skills across the curriculum in a program. In order to ensure that these capabilities are systematically and cohesively embedded in students’ learning journeys, we suggest that academic program leaders (e.g., Directors of Studies, Subject Area Coordinators, etc.) require strategic approaches to program design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as mentoring and support. Such approaches would ensure that high impact practices are consistently employed, rather than being the exception in isolated courses.² At Queensland University of Technology, we have developed a holistic model to support “whole-of-program” design for award programs across faculties and disciplines, in a coherent and strategic way. The model we use is based on a framework for curriculum design called the Future Focused Curriculum Design Framework (FFCF), and is an iterative model that places learners at the center of their learning to enable meaningful change to the design of programs. The adoption of the framework is supported by curriculum design studios situated within each discipline-specific faculty,³ which are made up of curriculum and learning designers, working closely with academics in different faculties. A key element of the process is that curriculum design studios enable relationships and communities to develop (Wenger et al., 2002), which in turn allows for contextualized practice. This holistic model supports whole-of-program design for award programs, in a coherent and strategic way and enables communities of practice to emerge in an iterative manner. In this chapter, we share our experiences with using this model and the impacts it has achieved, and we reflect on ways it be adapted for future use and in other contexts.

To introduce to the special issues on threshold concepts in business education.

Provides an overview of the various papers comprising this special issue.

There are no specific findings in this paper as its purpose is to introduce the selected papers in this special issue.

Editorial.

This paper aims to report on findings from the first phase of a longitudinal study of undergraduate business students’ attitudes, beliefs and perceptions concerning sustainability issues.

To improve understanding of the potential effects of changes in the curriculum, business students enrolled during the academic year prior to a redesigned, sustainability-informed, curriculum were surveyed. Familiarity with key sustainability terms was tested using a semi-structured questionnaire applied across two campuses of James Cook University, Australia. Quantitative data were complemented by use of open-ended questions that yielded qualitative insight into a range of student knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and normative influences relating to sustainability and climate change.

Findings reflect naïve awareness of the potential impact of individual contributions to sustainability and environmental challenges. They reveal a tendency to regard major issues as beyond personal control and to view solutions as being the responsibility of others. This is coupled with reluctance to consider major lifestyle changes.

Universities are increasing their focus on sustainability-related issues and the ways in which these can be effectively communicated via curricula. This paper carries implications for this societal agenda, particularly in relation to the need to address disconnections between awareness of issues, personal relevance and effective strategies for addressing sustainability issues.

The findings shed fresh light on the attitudes and behavioural dispositions of undergraduate business students and could help guide the development and delivery of curriculum content.

The purpose of this paper is to review a year-long project entitled SaP@Parsons, which aims to bridge the gap between our current foundation degree curriculum and a revised curriculum where research and enterprise education were interwoven throughout, helping to better equip our graduates with the enhanced capacity to generate ideas and the skills to make them happen QAA (2012). The project used Student as Producer as a theoretical framework to embed research and enterprise into the curriculum. It was originally led by Professor Mike Neary at the University of Lincoln.

The paper reflects on the process of embedding research and enterprise education into the curriculum, including the experiences of the author and students.

It was found that reorientation of the curriculum is possible, without integrating enterprise specific learning aims into the programme to embed enterprise and research, can have a positive impact on both staff and student experience.

The paper provides a summary of strategies and examples of the effective use of Student as Producer as a framework for helping to embed research, enterprise and employability into a foundation degree curriculum and the resultant positive outcomes. The setting for this was HE provision within an FE college.

This paper highlights the innovative nature of the project in seeking to engage students in research and enterprise from level 4, rather than levels 6 or 7 within College-based Higher Education, through working with local social enterprises.