New white paper by University of Phoenix: aligning curriculum with labour market through skills mapping
The University of Phoenix has released a white paper titled "Ensuring Educational Excellence and a Career-Focused Experience through a Skills-Aligned Curriculum Map," authored by Mary Elizabeth Smith, M.Ed., Director of Learning Innovation and Strategy, and Nick Williams, Ed.D., Director of Assessment.
The document discusses the university's strategy to align its curriculum with the demands of the current labour market, focusing on providing education relevant to careers and verified through authentic assessments.
Doris Savron, Vice Provost of Colleges, Assessment, and Curriculum, explains, “As the labour market continues to increasingly focus on skills and implement data analysis and artificial intelligence to understand skills gaps, higher education programs have a mandate to arm their learners with skills confirmed by authentic assessments.”
ETIH outlines seven key aspects of this EdTech approach in the whitepaper:
Skills-Aligned Program Curriculum Map: The curriculum map serves as a foundational tool, linking course outcomes with programme learning outcomes and skills validated by industry standards. This structure is designed to make academic achievements more relevant and recognisable to employers.
Student-Facing Skills-Aligned Learning Experience: By integrating the curriculum map into the learning experience, students are made aware of the specific skills they are developing in each course, alongside the methods used to assess these skills.
Outcomes Management Tool as a Single Source of Truth: Implementing a web-based outcomes management tool ensures a unified approach to tracking and aligning educational content with industry needs, facilitating a common language around skills and learning outcomes.
Learner Record: The university aims to digitally document skill demonstrations and academic achievements, providing a comprehensive record that reflects a student's competencies and educational journey and is tailored for employer evaluation.
Translation into a Skill-Aligned Learning Experience: The whitepaper emphasises the importance of a "contextualised career narrative" within curriculum design.
Technology-Enabled Career-Focused Strategy: Validated curriculum maps are digitised and integrated into an outcomes management tool, serving as the definitive guide for curriculum development and the strategic deployment of digital badges and micro-credentials aiming to signal specific competencies to employers.
Leveraging Digitised Maps for Communication and Awareness: Making skills and learning outcomes accessible on the university's website and within the course materials aims to allow students and potential learners to appreciate the career relevance of their education.
The white paper is part of a series from the University of Phoenix detailing the development and implementation of the skills-aligned curriculum.
Savron concludes, “University of Phoenix programs built on a skills-aligned curriculum map are part of a career-focused ecosystem designed to illuminate career pathways and resources for our students and alumni, and which informs our future-state strategies on new support products and technologies.”
