A Replicable, Zero-Based Model for Marketing Curriculum Innovation

Abstract

As university curriculums inevitably change, their evolution typically occurs through a series of minor incremental adjustments to individual courses that cause the curriculum to lose strategic consistency and focus. This article demonstrates a zero-based approach to marketing curriculum innovation. The authors describe forces of change that led them to completely redesign their marketing curriculum, and they chronicle a replicable process that can be used to develop and launch an extensive transformation of an existing program that is focused yet adaptive. The process includes faculty commitment, consensus, collaboration, and compromise; stake-holder input; points of distinction; unifying themes; intended learning outcomes; instructional design; approval; a transition plan; launch; and evaluation and continuous improvement. The authors believe that departments of any size can implement a similar redesign process to develop a curriculum that is strategically consistent with the department's core competencies and focused on learning outcomes that are fundamental to any marketing career.