Actively linking learning outcomes and competencies to course design and delivery: Experiences from an undergraduate Information Systems program in Singapore

Abstract

While numerous Engineering education programs seem to have learning outcomes or competencies defined, in many cases, those learning outcomes or competencies do not have any practical relevance for the course design and delivery lifecycle. This conference contribution reports on curriculum and course design and delivery experiences made within the Bachelor of Science (Information Systems Management) degree program (BSc (ISM)) offered by the School of Information Systems (SIS) at the Singapore Management University (SMU). In particular, this paper focuses on the ongoing efforts to actively link program educational objectives, program level learning outcomes and course level competencies to the actual course design and delivery. Using a large third year core course of the BSc (ISM) program (called Enterprise Web Solutions course) as an example, this paper shows how the learning outcomes defined at the program level enable the cross-course alignment within the program, how the course level competencies support the inner-course content alignment, assessment component design and feedback delivery, and how the actual course delivery process enforces changes in course competencies and even changes in the program level learning outcomes.