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Quality Handbook Section 12 - Course Design Requirements

This page outlines the standards and principles that all NTU courses must follow to ensure students receive a high-quality, inclusive and professionally relevant learning experience aligned with the University’s strategic priorities.

Latest version: September 2026.

1. Purpose of NTU course design requirements

NTU’s six principles of ‘Creating Opportunity, Valuing Ideas, Enriching Society, Embracing Sustainability, Connecting Globally and Empowering People ’ underlie the expectations of course design and operation. As such, NTU courses are designed to ensure that all learners have a high-quality learning experience that is aligned with the University Strategic Plan and meets internal and external benchmarks.

All courses will meet:

and be aligned to

For further information, please see the NTU Reimagined Strategy.

1.1 All NTU courses will be designed to:

  1. Develop students’ intellectual agility, initiative, creativity, and collaboration, as well as technical and academic expertise;
  2. Provide a transformational experience for every student, creating opportunities for accomplishment in their life and career;
  3. Consider the demographic profile of NTU students and, through the student experience, create opportunities to build belonging and community;
  4. Make extensive use of experiential and active collaborative learning.

2. Scope of the policy

2.1 This policy applies to the design and subsequent operation of all NTU courses with an NTU award.

2.2 The requirements listed in section 4 and the specific course requirements listed in the relevant templates in section 6 must be met in the design of courses. The requirements in section 5 must be met for the operation of courses.

3. Deviation from the requirements

3.1 Where any course design deviates from the requirements specified in this policy, a detailed justification must be provided for approval by ASQC.

3.2 A register of exceptions will be maintained. Exceptions will be valid at the point of approval for a period of five years, after which reapproval will be required.

3.3 The Exceptions Register is available on the Academic Quality Hub (NTU Staff login required).

Further information

  • A list of potential deviations for which exceptions may be sought can be found in Appendix One.

4. Requirements for the design of all NTU courses

NTU course requirements will be incorporated into all courses (full-time, part-time and all modes of delivery) and will be assessed at the point of approval for a new course and at reapproval for existing courses. All courses must follow the semester model (see the semester features via the Academic Quality Hub on SharePoint) unless a formal exception has been granted by the Semester Compliance Group.

The requirements accessed via the link below are mapped against NTU’s definition of educational gain (Appendix Two), the Office for Students (OfS) B Conditions of Registration and the Advance HE Student Needs Framework (SNF) (Appendix Three).

Please use the following link to download a PDF which sets out the requirements for the design of all NTU courses:

Requirements for the design of all NTU courses

Please note, in addition to meeting these course requirements, the contextualised requirements for course types specified in the relevant template in section 6 must be met.

5. Requirements for the operation of all NTU Courses

The requirements accessed via the link below are mapped against NTU’s definition of educational gain (Appendix Two), the Office for Students (OfS) B Conditions of Registration and the Advance HE Student Needs Framework (SNF) (Appendix Three).

Please use the following link to download a PDF which sets out the requirements for the operation of all NTU Courses:

Requirements for the operation of all NTU Courses

6. Requirements for the design of NTU course types

NTU contextualised course requirements will be assessed at the point of approval for a new course and at re-approval of existing courses.

Please use the following link to download a PDF of all eight templates. Alternatively, they can all be accessed separately in the sections below.

All templates

Template One: Undergraduate courses

6.1 This template applies to all undergraduate courses, including those with an integrated foundation year, integrated masters and a sandwich year. It does not apply to foundation degrees, L6 top up, apprenticeships, or HNCs and HNDs which are covered in other templates.

6.2 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of undergraduate courses, the following must be incorporated:

The requirements accessed via the link below are mapped against NTU’s definition of educational gain (Appendix Two), the Office for Students (OfS) B Conditions of Registration and the Advance HE Student Needs Framework (SNF) (Appendix Three).

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template One: Undergraduate Courses:

Template One: Undergraduate Courses

Template Two: Foundation Degrees and L6 ‘top up’ courses

6.3 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of Foundation Degrees and L6 ‘top up’ courses, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Two: Foundation Degrees and L6 ‘top up’ courses:

Template Two: Foundation Degrees and L6 ‘top up’ courses

Template Three: Postgraduate taught courses

6.4 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of postgraduate courses (full time and part-time), the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Three: Postgraduate taught courses:

Template Three: Postgraduate taught courses

Template Four: Higher National Certificates and Diplomas

6.5 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of Higher National Certificates or Diplomas, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Four: Higher National Certificates or Diplomas:

Template Four: Higher National Certificates or Diplomas

Template Five: Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are funded by the government through the apprenticeship levy. Apprenticeship courses are flexibly designed to allow apprentices to achieve both the underlying qualification and the apprenticeship.

6.6 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of apprenticeship courses, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Five: Apprenticeships:

Template Five: Apprenticeships

Template Six: Fully online courses

6.7 Due to the particular nature of online learning, to meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of fully online courses, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Six: Fully online courses:

Template Six: Fully online courses

Template Seven: Skills Bootcamps

6.8 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of Skills Bootcamp courses, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Seven: Skills Bootcamps:

Template Seven: Skills Bootcamps

Template Eight: NTU courses in Mansfield

6.9 To meet the specific requirements in relation to the design of courses delivered in Mansfield, the following must be incorporated:

Please use the following link to download a PDF of Template Eight: NTU courses in Mansfield:

Template Eight: NTU courses in Mansfield

7. Appendix One: Potential deviations from the course requirements

To enable NTU courses to meet sector expectations and to be operationally and financially viable, they must meet the requirements in this policy. However, there are some circumstances where courses need to deviate from these for either business, accreditation, or industry needs. Where exceptions are requested, these must be presented to the ASQC Course Approval sub-committee and approved at ASQC at the initial course approval, and then every five years thereafter.

7.1 The information below identifies the requirements for which course teams may seek approval for a deviation.

Module size

  • PSRB, or accreditation requirements for modules to be different sizes than those specified in the policy.

Number of module options

  • A greater number of option modules than stipulated in the policy is required for a specific industry need.

Arrangement of module options:

  • Options to be arranged differently: options to be organised in sets with a differing number from that specified; options to be delivered at different times from one another.

Start dates: Courses must start on specified dates in September or January:

  • The requirement to start a course on a different specified start date is due to the specific needs of the course delivery and content.

8. Appendix Two: Educational gain at NTU

8.1 Students’ educational gain at NTU is characterised under three areas: Live, Learn and Work.

Live – Personal development

  • Confidence: Develop one's own confidence and personal direction through self-reflection.
  • Curiosity: Explore arts and culture, sport, volunteering and wellbeing events and activities.
  • Engagement: Commit, participate and connect with all aspects of the NTU experience.

Learn – Academic and technical development

  • Specialist subject knowledge: Deepen and apply subject specialism knowledge.
  • Critical thinking: Develop logical and analytical reasoning, problem-solving.
  • Socially conscious practice: Recognise and act on the power to make positive change.

Work – Professional development

  • Work Experiences – Apply insights, influence and knowledge within workplace environments.
  • Collaboration – Cultivate networking, teamwork and communication skills.
  • Professional Skills – Develop a wide range of professional behaviours.

9. Appendix Three: Student needs framework

Supporting student needs is the responsibility of all staff.

The Advance HE Student Needs Framework (SNF) is categorised in two ways: those that relate to students’ individual competence, confidence, and resilience; and those that allow students to build their feeling of belonging and community.

The framework is a preliminary mapping of students’ needs under these two headings.

9.1 These student needs are summarised with an SNF number allocated to each aspect to aid alignment with NTU course requirements. For more details, see the Framework itself.

Student need:

Individual competence, confidence, and resilience

  • Personal development: SNF 1
  • Specialist input: SNF 2
  • Accessible information: SNF 3
  • Becoming independent: SNF 4
  • Clear expectations: SNF 5

Belonging and community

  • Space and place: SNF 6
  • Identifying with interests and the institution: SNF 7
  • Meaningful staff relationships: SNF 8
  • Meaningful peer relationships: SNF 9
  • Communal settings and community building: SNF 10

Further information

Change History

Approval Date:

30.09.16

Nature of Revisions:

Removal of reference to graduate attributes.
Additional references to Strategic Plan and Curriculum Refresh Framework.
Additional requirement to notify students holding an offer of any change approved which affects the material information.

Implementation Date:

01.10.16

Approval Date:

01.10.17

Nature of Revisions:

Addition of reference to accelerated routes (moved from CAR).

Implementation Date:

01.10.17

Approval Date:

12.09.18

Nature of Revisions:

References to Curriculum Refresh Framework removed and replaced with references to the Strategic Plan.
Reference added regarding requirement for a synoptic assessment piece to be included in all courses.

Implementation Date:

01.10.18

Approval Date:

02.02.22

Nature of Revisions:

Amendment of requirement 3.5 (module length).

Implementation Date:

01.03.22

Approval Date:

21.03.24

Nature of Revisions:

Inclusion of section mandating the use of module learning room templates.

Implementation Date:

22.03.24

Approval Date:

19.09.24

Nature of Revisions:

Addition of AWLE and sustainability requirements.

Implementation Date:

01.10.24

Approval Date:

15.05.25

Nature of Revisions:

Reformatting of policy; clarifying existing requirements; introducing new requirements.

Implementation Date:

01.09.25

Approval Date:

26.11.25

Nature of Revisions:

Removal of requirement that modules within a set must run at the same time.

Implementation Date:

27.11.25

Approval Date:

10.02.26

Nature of Revisions:

Clarifications added to the following areas to provide clearer articulation of the requirements: course structure using the semester model, assessment, delivery, learning engagement hours.

Implementation Date:

11.02.26

Approval  Date:

01.09.26

Nature of Revisions:

  • Addition of Template 7: Skills Bootcamps, and Template 8: NTU Courses in Mansfield.
  • Approved Gen AI requirements added.

Implementation Date:

01.09.26