Enhancing the organisation and the management of Built Environment Higher Education courses

Gomis, K; Saini, M; Pathirage, C; Arif, M

Abstract

Purpose – Persistent critical issues in Built Environment Higher Education (BEHE) curricula
may need to be addressed by improving course organisation and management. In addition to
the implications of the COVID pandemic, issues such as inadequate communication and lack
of contemporary and innovative practices integrated with course delivery have resulted in a
gap for Course organisation and management. The purpose of this study is to recommend a set
of drivers that can assist academics and academic institutions in improving course
development, organisation and management in the BEHE context. Thus, the study focused on
three themes: course organisation and administration, timetabling, and course communication.
Methodology- A systematic approach was taken to obtain data, where a documental analysis
and a close-ended questionnaire were adopted as data collection instruments. The documental
analysis considered 334 Mid Module Reviews (MMRs) generating data from architecture,
construction management, civil engineering, surveying and real estate students. Content
analysis was used to identify critical themes within the MMRs and develop a closed-ended
questionnaire. Twenty academics from each discipline completed the questionnaire. Eight
drivers were developed from the data obtained from both MMRs and questionnaires. Content
Analysis and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) were applied to identify the relationship
between the drivers. Finally, these drivers were categorised by their level of influence and
reliance to highlight how they contributed to improving course organisation and management.
Findings – The study revealed eight drivers that can improve course organisation and
management in the BEHE context. The study found that using Virtual Learning Environments
(VLE) and communication are fundamental in course organisation and management.
Practical implications: This research paper suggests drivers to improve how academics and
academic institutions organise and manage courses. The study recommends eight drivers that
could be used as a guideline and a best practice as per the level partitioning diagram developed
to enhance the course organisation and management in BEHE.
Originality/Value: The study proposes a set of drivers to improve course organisation and
management in BEHE curricula. Furthermore, insight into how these drivers influence and rely
on each driver and their relation with the NSS theme are novel contributions to the current
body of knowledge. The paper further clarifies how they should be implemented for successful
course organisation and management, thus, improving the quality of courses in HE curricula.

Citation

Gomis, K., Saini, M., Pathirage, C., & Arif, M. (2022). Enhancing the organisation and the management of Built Environment Higher Education courses. Quality Assurance in Education, https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-01-2022-0020

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 18, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 9, 2022
• Publication Date: Dec 9, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 9, 2023
• Journal: Quality Assurance in Education
• Print ISSN: 0968-4883
• Publisher: Emerald
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-01-2022-0020
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-01-2022-0020
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Citation Gomis, K., Saini, M., Pathirage, C. and Arif, M. (2022), "Enhancing the organisation and the management of built environment higher education courses", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-01-2022-0020