Contact us
For more information about the project email [email protected].
The Curriculum Quality and Sustainability (CQS) project is a key initiative under the University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy, supporting our long-term vision outlined in our Sydney in 2032 strategy. The project aims to make the curriculum clearer and easier to navigate—giving students a better experience and reducing the administrative burden on staff.
Staff and student feedback —including insights from Sydney Listens, the Student Experience Survey (SES), and Unit of Study Surveys (USS) —has helped us identify two priorities:
In 2025, the project team will focus on:
In 2024, we developed a set of draft curriculum design principles with input from Deans, the Provost, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education). A diverse working group led by Professor Garry Barrett (Pro Vice Chancellor (Curriculum Futures) and made up of staff from faculties and University schools refined these principles and invited University-wide feedback.
Staff provided feedback via a survey (which closed on 27 June 2025), and we extended engagement to:
The Academic Board, including members of the Academic Standards and Policy Committee
Student representatives from the SRC, SUPRA, USU, and the Disability Equity Officer
Feedback highlighted the need for principles that are:
Active and student-focused — using language like “We design…” rather than descriptive statements
Clear and accessible — replacing or simplifying technical terms and using headings to emphasise key themes
Inclusive and accountable— emphasising shared responsibility, accessibility, and equity in curriculum design
Taking all feedback into consideration, we refined and updated the draft principles to:
Reframe intentionally– shifting to active, student-focused statements
Improve clarity – simplifying wording and highlighting key themes with headings
Refine tone – emphasising shared responsibility, accessibility, and accountability in curriculum design
The refined principles and their earlier version can be seen below.
Current principle: Our curriculum complies with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and all legislative, regulatory, and quality assurance requirements, includingrequired external accreditation standards.
Previous version of principle: There was no change to the wording of this principle.
Current principle: We describe and define our curriculum structures and components consistently and accurately to provide clarity for students.
Previous version of principle: We describe and define our curriculum structures and components consistently.
Current principle: We design our curriculum to ensure all students can access and participate in a coherent education experience that is inclusive by design, meaningful,challenging, academically rigorous, and enables a cohort experience.
Previous version of principle: All students can access and participate in a coherent education experience that is inclusive by design; meaningful, challenging, and distinctive;and enables a cohort experience.
Current version: We clearly describe what students must do to be admitted, progress, receive credit, and finish their course, enabling them to navigate their studies with confidence.
Previous version of principle: Course resolutions provide students with clear requirements governing their admissions, progression, credit transfer and completion of their studies.
Current version: We align learning outcomes, content, activities, assessments, and graduate qualities at both course and program levels to support student success and employability.
Previous version of principle: Curriculum designs align learning outcomes with content, learning activities, graduate qualities and assessment at a course and program level, ensuring the highest employability outcomes.
Current version: We embed assessment and feedback in our course and program-level design to support learning at every level - unit, course, and year groups.
Previous version of principle: Assessment and feedback are integrated into course and program-level design to support learning across units of study, courses, course components and year groups.
Current version: We design our curriculum to align the University’s strategic academic priorities with high quality and sustainable delivery, enriching student experience and supporting staff workforce planning.
Previous version of principle: Our curriculum aligns with the University's strategic priorities, and its size and shape positively affect the quality of our students' experiences, workforce planning and workloads.
Current version: Faculties, University schools and disciplines have collective responsibility for designing, delivering and assuring coherent, high-quality courses and programs.
Previous version of principle: Curricula are collectively stewarded by faculties and University schools, focusing on course and program-level design and coherence.
Current version: We assure the quality and sustainability of all courses, pathways, and units of study through active monitoring, responsiveness to student feedback, and ongoing review and improvement.
Previous version of principle: Our courses, components and units of study meet quality and sustainability metrics and are actively monitored, reviewed, and improved.
The refined principles are now being used to develop a set of curriculum design requirements, which will form the foundation of the University’s curriculum framework.
These requirements will:
Establish common rules for course and pathway structures, terminology, and other elements of curriculum design
Ensure our courses meet national standards, are consistent across the University, and provide fair and logical pathways
Make study options easier for students to understand and navigate.
They will also address current gaps in education policy and process, giving staff a reliable resource for designing, updating, and maintaining curriculum. The overarching aim is to strengthen shared responsibility, uphold academic quality, and keep students’ best interests at the centre of curriculum design.
The CQS tool will measure how well units of study, pathways and courses meet University-wide standards for quality and sustainability. It will be used to support:
This tool will help us ensure our courses, pathways and units of study remain high-quality, student-focused and sustainably managed.
If you have any questions or would like more information, email the CQS project team at [email protected].
For more information about the project email [email protected].
For more information about the project email [email protected].