Students benefit from second phase of Academic Calendar

The Faculty of Arts and Science is excited to launch the second phase of the Transforming the Academic Calendar project. This phase launches CourseLeaf CIM, software that will streamline and digitize the University’s curriculum management, integration with PeopleSoft, and improve transparency in curriculum governance contributing to students’ smooth progression through their degree plans.

One of the major benefits of implementing this software is that it enables the efficient collection and publication of learning outcomes in the calendar. Learning outcomes convey to students what they will know or be able to do by the end of a course. Queen’s University is the first university in Canada to offer this.

As the second phase in a three-phase project, this launch supports the development of the faculty’s, and Queen’s, digital infrastructure and is a major milestone towards supporting its Strategic Plan priorities of enriching the student experience and supporting our people.

"This project started within FAS but has expanded university-wide for the benefit of all of our students,” says Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic). “The Academic Calendar is a perfect example of how we can collaborate, break down silos, and create new opportunities for the common good.”

CIM is a powerful, web-based curriculum management solution that does the heavy lifting. Dynamic next generation smart forms include institution specific business logic, data mapping, and automatically drive workflow. Forms pre-populate with course data from the Student Information Systems (SIS) and program content from the calendar.

“Once launched, users can easily access all their course data from within PeopleSoft, clearly indicate changes that they’re proposing, and watch their proposal flow through governance. The system will notify other departments of changes that may impact their courses or Plans, and thus facilitate coordination to ensure successful and smooth progression for students through their degree Plans,” explains Kevin O’Brien, Project Lead and Arts and Science’s Associate Director, Student Services (Registration, Admissions, and Service).

“The ability to collect and publish Learning Outcomes, however, is perhaps the most exciting potential of this software. These can be very useful for prospective students to quickly pick their courses and clearly understand the benefits of a Queen’s education. In doing so, this can help to demystify our Degree Plans and assure students of their relevance when they graduate. This also allows graduating students to show prospective employers what exactly was learned through their course of study and know that Queen’s stands behind the education provided to its graduates. Finally, it will help all students to customize their degrees and pick courses that both interest them and contribute to the development of their portfolio of skills.”

CourseLeaf Catalog (CAT), the first part of the project, reinvented the way Queen’s builds, publishes, and manages its academic calendar with an intuitive toolset that transforms flat, basic text fields into a dynamic, responsive, and student-engaging environment for today’s tech savvy students.

The third phase, launching in 2023, features the introduction of CourseLeaf Planning, Advising and Registration, which will modernize students’ class search and registration by providing tools and features to discover and plan their pathway to graduation.