Customer story highlights

• Implemented between October 2023 and June 2024
• Phased rollout, beginning with the creation of Chester’s new academic framework
• Enables curriculum creation, modification and management
• Improves visibility of course and module status
• Facilitates curriculum mapping against professional standards and learning outcomes
• Links curriculum information to the University’s course marketing pages
• Establishes one source of curriculum information for governance, planning and review

About the University of Chester

The University of Chester is a modern university with a history dating back to 1839. Today, it supports more than 14,000 students across a range of sites in Chester and the wider region.

With a focus on delivering a supportive, career-focused student experience, the University offers a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, alongside research and community partnerships.

University of Chester website

The challenge: Moving beyond fragmented curriculum management

Before implementing the TechnologyOne solution, Chester relied on an in-house curriculum management system alongside other systems and manual processes.

Over time, this created duplication and made it difficult to maintain a consistent view of curriculum information. Teams were often working with the same information in different places and formats, increasing the risk of inconsistencies and making governance more difficult.

The University was also developing a new academic framework and needed processes and technology that could support more structured curriculum design while enabling teams to work collaboratively.

The move was therefore not simply about replacing an ageing system. Chester wanted to make curriculum information easier to access, track and use, while creating a more consistent approach to managing the curriculum.

The University also recognised an opportunity to strengthen governance and create greater consistency in how curriculum information is managed across the institution. By implementing TechnologyOne Curriculum, Chester is laying the foundations for a more connected approach to academic administration, with the potential to support a more seamless student and staff experience as its wider digital transformation progresses.

The solution: A centralised approach to curriculum management

To address these challenges, the University of Chester partnered with CourseLoop, now part of TechnologyOne, to implement a dedicated curriculum management solution.

The platform provides a central place to manage the curriculum lifecycle, from creating and modifying courses and modules through review and approval to ongoing portfolio management.

The implementation was delivered in phases between October 2023 and June 2024, beginning with the creation of a revised portfolio within Chester’s new academic framework. This enabled the University to introduce the new system alongside changes to its academic structures and processes.

A year on, the solution supports curriculum activities across academic and professional services teams, including curriculum creation and modification, governance, portfolio management, curriculum mapping and collaboration.

Making curriculum information more visible

One of the most significant changes for Chester has been the visibility the system provides.

Previously, understanding where a course or module was in its development or approval journey could depend on emails, individual knowledge and information held in different places.

The new system provides a centralised view of curriculum information and the status of individual courses and modules. Teams can more easily see what is happening, what action is required and where curriculum sits within the wider process.

The system also supports audit points and enables the University to track suspended or closed courses, helping teams identify where follow-up action is required.

This greater transparency is particularly valuable for governance. Rather than relying on information held by individuals, Chester is moving towards using the curriculum management system as its authoritative source of curriculum information.

The new approach is also supporting closer collaboration between academic and professional services teams. Staff can work with shared drafts, contribute comments and see how curriculum proposals develop, creating greater visibility of contributions and a clearer audit trail around decisions.

Curriculum information can also flow directly into the University’s course marketing pages, reducing duplication and making it easier to keep published information up to date.

Chester continues to support adoption through its curriculum management forum, reminders around workflow compliance and ongoing engagement with academic and professional services colleagues.

The results: Turning curriculum data into greater insight

A year on from implementation, Chester has moved beyond simply replacing its legacy curriculum system. By bringing curriculum information and workflows into one place, the University now has greater visibility of its portfolio and better access to the information needed to support planning and decision-making.

The University’s planning team is already using reports from the system to analyse programme performance and student recruitment. This gives Chester greater insight into how its portfolio is performing and supports more informed conversations around course development, market demand and financial viability.

For Ann Cooke, the opportunity is not just about having better data today, but using that information to learn from previous decisions and improve future course development.

This represents a shift in curriculum management from a largely administrative process towards one that can contribute to wider institutional planning and decision-making.

Supporting better curriculum design

Chester is also using the product's curriculum mapping capability to connect professional standards with course learning outcomes.

By bringing this information into the curriculum management process, the University can develop a clearer picture of how its courses align with academic and professional requirements. Information captured during curriculum development can also be used more effectively for academic review and governance.

The University is continuing to develop its use of curriculum mapping, with clearer guidance and consistent adoption helping teams make greater use of the capability.

Looking ahead: Building towards greater automation and AI-powered experiences

For Chester, the benefits achieved so far are an important step in a longer-term digital transformation journey.

The curriculum management solution is not yet fully integrated with the University’s student management system, SITS, meaning some information still needs to be transferred manually between systems.

As Chester progresses its wider TechnologyOne student administration implementation, there is an opportunity to connect these processes more closely, reducing manual data entry and enabling curriculum information to flow more seamlessly across the student lifecycle.

The University sees its curriculum management solution as both a solution in its own right and an important part of what comes next. As more systems and processes become connected, Chester can build on the consistency it has already created to automate more processes, make better use of curriculum data and support more informed decision-making.

Over time, this connected approach could also create opportunities for AI-powered experiences for staff and students, helping the University make its data and services more accessible and responsive.

A partnership the continues beyond implementation

For Chester, the value of the project has extended beyond implementing a new system. A phased approach, focused project team and close collaboration with CourseLoop helped the University establish new ways of working while building the foundations for its wider digital transformation.

A year on, Chester continues to refine its processes, strengthen adoption and explore how it can make greater use of the data and functionality now available.

For Ann Cooke, technology is an enabler, with the real value coming from creating a consistent framework that helps people work more effectively.

As Chester continues its digital transformation, the focus is shifting from replacing a legacy system to making curriculum information a more valuable asset for the wider University. Alongside implementing Student Management, Chester is working towards a more connected systems and data infrastructure, helping information flow more seamlessly across the institution and creating a stronger foundation for data-driven decision-making.