Reviewing and developing course descriptions to comply with accreditation requirements

Engineering degree programmes at the University of Botswana (UB) have been offered for about two decades. During this period, the programmes were reviewed and modified in response to employers' needs and also to incorporate modern developments in ICT and digital technology. The programmes are now to be presented for accreditation by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). Discussed in this article is the process of designing and developing a course outline that would fit the requirements of accrediting bodies. The pedagogical model, which describes the process of developing courses, is presented. Elements of the model are described in relation to Bloom's revised taxonomy. As a starting point for designing a course template, the requirements of accrediting bodies (ABET, ECSA) on course outline was used in this article. A typical course template is presented. Finally, the model can also be used for developing a new programme as the pedagogical framework covers more general aspects than the course design.