Developing course purpose statements
Definition
A course purpose statement sets out for various audiences the benefits of completing the course.
Target audience
The 'audience' or 'clients' for course purpose statements include:
- students taking the course - the statement tells them what you hope they will gain from the course
- prospective students of the course - the statement helps them to decide whether to select the course
- prospective employers - the statement tells them in broad terms what they might expect of students who have studied the course
- those teaching other courses - the statement helps them to judge how this course fits with courses they might be teaching
- professional bodies - the statement helps them to decide how successful completion of this course might contribute towards a student being accepted into the profession.
You may be able to think of other possible audiences more specific to your particular course.
Writing course purpose statements
The purpose statement is analogous to the mission statement in a strategic plan. Its job is to tell people in broad terms what the course is for and what it offers students. More detailed guidance for students is given in the learning goals. Writing course purpose statements is probably easier than writing guidelines for their construction. However, we have provided some tips below, as well as a number of examples.
To write the statement:
- First try setting out the benefits of the course in several statements. Each of these statements will be targeted at one or more of the audiences mentioned above.
- Next decide which audiences are most important from your point of view.
- Finally, combine the statements for the most important audiences into a coherent whole.
- Write the statement so that it could be included readily as a statement about the course in a School or Faculty handbook.
Note that:
- Current students always ought to be one of the important audiences for the purpose statement.
- Where the program is a 'fixed' one with no optional courses the purpose statement will not be used to recruit students to the course, thus prospective students will not be an important audience; in most other cases, prospective students will be an important audience.
- The higher the level at which the course is offered the more likely it is that prospective employers and professional bodies will be important audiences.
- Any purpose statement
may at some stage become a public document to be looked at by members
of the general
community;
the purpose
of your
course may need to stand up to scrutiny by
those with only minimal knowledge of your
field.
Examples
Here are some examples of course purpose statements taken from various sources:
1. From a UQ engineering course.
Engineers generally work as part of a team, with other engineers, scientists, and technologists. For a team to be successful, its members must be able to communicate effectively with each other. What's more, if you look in the papers, you will see that employers want graduates with excellent communication skills. So, engineers must be able to communicate with their professional colleagues. In addition, engineers are increasingly being asked to explain their decisions and designs to the community, which again requires good communication skills, as well as an awareness of the community's needs.
Communication can take many forms. In your professional life, the two most important (and obvious) are written and verbal presentations. You must also be able to listen well. This course gives you the opportunity to learn about, and more importantly, to practise the written and verbal communication skills you will need to be successful in the engineering profession and to promote the engineering profession more broadly within our community.
This course is compulsory for second years because it is a foundation course. Without effective communication, the best engineering solutions will not be implemented effectively, and will not be accepted by the community. The skills learned in this course will be used and further developed in many courses later in the program.
Comment: By its language this statement is addressed both to present and prospective students. While it does not seek to recruit prospective students (the course is a compulsory one), it does seek to make them feel that the course is worthwhile. The first paragraph also addresses possible future employers and professional bodies.
2. From a computers in the behavioural and social sciences course at another university.
All disciplines are requiring more expertise in the use of technology. This program is designed to introduce the student to contemporary uses of technology within the discipline. The specific content of the program will probably change each time that it is taught as new technology and resources become available or as new uses are made of current technology. The program is designed to be included as a part of the campus computer-literacy requirement by providing an introduction to basic computer skills needed by Behavioural and Social sciences students. The Psychology and Sociology departments require this program in conjunction with P211, the Research Methods program. The program supports the campus learning objectives of: Depth in a field of knowledge, effective communication, and identifying problems and finding solutions.
Comment: This purpose statement seems aimed mainly at prospective students. It puts the course into perspective, showing how it will help students to achieve some campus learning objectives and, more specifically, how it will help students cope with computer demands in their other courses.
3. From a UQ social work course.
The aim of this program is to develop a critical awareness of the interaction between social work and the law in current social work practice. It is not designed to produce bush lawyers. The program aims to develop students' understanding of the legal system, the role the legal system plays in maintaining inequalities, as well as the possibilities it offers in remedying inequalities and restructuring aspects of social life.
Comment: This statement is somewhat terse, yet it does set out the benefits students might gain from studying the course.
4. From a UQ economics course.
EC110 has the aim of providing you with an understanding of Economics. This will enable you to critically evaluate articles that you read in the newspapers on economic issues, it will help you understand what effects government policies are likely to have on the economy and on various groups in society. Most importantly, it will give you insights into how the economy operates. Knowledge of economics is important because through your life you are expected to perform as productive workers, knowledgeable consumers, prudent savers and informed investors.
Comment: Like the previous example, this purpose statement is brief and obviously aimed at recruiting students to the course. It will also help to orientate students already enrolled for the course.
