Programme Excellence Project: improving student experience through curriculum and module reform

Below we summarise the findings of the Module Landscape Study (February 2026), conducted to support PEP3: Module Review. We also look at insights from the previous Curriculum Landscape Study (2024) that supported the design of the UCL Curriculum Design Principles.

A reminder of our earlier briefings can be found here:   

• PEP: Why we are doing it and how does it link to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)? 

• Programme Excellence Project (PEP) governance and partnership with faculties and departments 

• Programme Excellence Project (PEP): developing frameworks for excellence in education 

UCL Module Landscape Study: supporting module review and improvement

The UCL Module Landscape Study (February 2026) offers a comprehensive, data driven analysis of UCL’s module portfolio and module processes to support PEP3: Module Review and achievement of the overarching objectives of PEP.

Building on the earlier Curriculum Landscape Study, the Module Landscape Study brings together quantitative and qualitative evidence of how modules are designed, managed, and delivered across UCL, and students' learning experiences on modules. It provides a comprehensive picture of the module curriculum landscape up to and including the 2025/26 academic year.

The Module Landscape Study was written to support colleagues involved in PEP3 by highlighting areas of complexity and inconsistency. It also identifies opportunities for improvement to enhance student and staff experiences, streamline processes, and to ensure UCL’s curriculum is more coherent, efficient, and fit for the future. The study provided the foundation for discussions that informed the Education Committee-approved Module Operating Model (MOM) – more on this coming next week!

Colleagues are encouraged to read these studies alongside engaging with the PEP Data Dashboard. By using the insights these provide and aligning module design and delivery with the MOM principles, through PEP3B/C colleagues will have the opportunity to implement tangible improvements in module delivery, module selection, degree awarding, timetabling, and student and staff experience, from the 2027/28 academic year.

Read the Module Landscape Study (UCL login required)

A complex portfolio and mixed student experience 

The Module Landscape Study highlights the scale and complexity of UCL’s provision, comprised of around 7,800 modules, 4,400 diets and 9,000 module collections. Across this portfolio, there are highly variable approaches to module design and delivery, resulting in inconsistent experiences, administrative burden and organisational challenges for students and staff.

National Student Survey (NSS) organisation and management scores reflect this, placing UCL in the third quartile when compared to our Russell Group counterparts. You can explore UCL’s NSS organisation and management scores in further detail via the NSS dashboard on Tableau. Visit the Data & Insight SharePoint site for more on data dashboards and how to request Tableau access.

Supporting structured progression and coherent choice

We know that students value opportunities to connect learning across modules, apply prior learning, and shape their academic journey through flexible choices. Yet, we also know that structured progression and coherent choice are not currently a consistent design feature of all our degrees, not helped by our complex approaches to managing and administering modules.

The Module Landscape Study illustrates how variations in module structures and curriculum complexity can create unequal progression experiences for students, even those on the same course. In the 2024 NSS, a student commented: “On paper, the course seems very impressive; in practice, after taking the modules, [it’s] not a very coherent course.” As an example, many of our courses include the option to take over 250 modules in a single timetabled slot. Given this, students can find it overwhelming to even know what to choose!

Alongside unstructured module choice, the delivery of modules across multiple levels and to mixed cohorts of UG and PGT students can have an adverse impact on student progression and experiences of assessment. This is especially true for students from under-represented backgrounds. In 2024 the TEF panel found “high variability across subject areas and demographic groups, including students from under-represented backgrounds, and very low assessment metrics across UCL”.

Module choice at the cost of rejection

Flexibility and breadth of module choice were identified as highly valued qualities of the UCL curriculum during the Curriculum Design Principles consultation in 2024. This is enshrined in the large amount of optionality designed into many of UCL’s degrees. Yet, in practice, UCL experiences challenges in delivering this level of choice to students. The results are either significant curriculum complexity (see above) and/or student disappointment when they are unable to study their preferred modules.

Module rejection is, indeed, a significant cause of student dissatisfaction at UCL. Students normally experience module rejection because the module is full and/or the student has not met the pre-requisites, which may only come to light after they have applied. As one final-year student commented in the 2024 NSS: “The problem here is that if you cannot guarantee students a choice, why offer it in the first place?”

Students' poor experiences of module registration frustrations are often increased due to different and untransparent approaches to module registration by departments. All this results in a general sense of unfairness around module choice.

To illustrate the scale of the issue, in 2025/26, 13.7% of UG and PGT students experienced at least one module rejection. Likelihood of module rejection varies across faculties, from 35.2% of students in some areas to 4.2% in others. This highlights a gap between available and achievable choice across the institution.

Undergraduate and affiliate students are particularly impacted with rejection rates exceeding 50% in all but three faculties. We should be mindful that fee-paying affiliate student numbers have decreased by 55% over the last decade, partly due to partner institutions deterring their students from applying due to module registration issues.

Working together to improve the student experience

Improving the student experience requires sustained, institution-wide collaboration between faculties, departments, and professional services. The work undertaken so far in PEP represents a significant step towards this goal.

As PEP3 progresses, attention will focus on supporting faculties and departments to refine and implement curricula for the 2027/28 academic year and beyond.

Both landscape studies show that UCL’s curriculum offers exceptional breadth and intellectual depth, but its complexity can obscure this value. By simplifying structures, strengthening coherence, and placing the student experience at the centre of design, PEP aims to ensure every student benefits from a course that is clear, structured, and academically excellent. 

In next week’s briefing, we will look at how the Module Operating Model will provide the framework to support this aim.