Tuning: What is tuning, and why would we want to do it?
Background
Tuning is a faculty-driven process that seeks to define and demystify degree programs. This reflective and forward-thinking process also seeks to improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. In tuning, faculty gather to:
• develop an “introduction to the discipline” that is written in layman’s terms, and to describe how the coursework in the discipline fits into other degree programs and into other areas of study.
• enumerate occupations and types of employment that are available for persons holding the various levels of degrees in the discipline.
• define the degree in terms of what is learned by students and what students do to demonstrate these outcomes—as opposed to defining the degree in terms of courses and credit hours. There are two types of competencies (and associated learning outcomes) developed: discipline-specific competencies and generic competencies. Generic competencies are those things that are learned in courses taught in the discipline that are not specific to the discipline.
Surveys of stakeholders (faculty, students, alumni, employers, professional schools, etc.) are performed to see how well these proposed competencies align with the needs of the various stakeholders and to see how well the degree programs are doing in accomplishing these goals. In a cyclical process, curricula and teaching methods are revised in order to improve the quality of the learning that is achieved. In the business world, this might be described as continuous quality improvement.
Potential benefits are that students (and parents of prospective students) will be able to better understand and navigate the higher education system—thus leading to improvements in persistence and success. There are implications for transfer of credits between institutions. There are also implications for how society and potential employers view students who have completed particular degree programs. Tuning is often described as a way to improve the “transparency” of the higher education system.
Tuning: the metaphors
Tuning fork: We need to agree on a key in order to play music together. Degree programs should have shared reference points (the key) that are common between institutions, but creativity in how the outcomes are attained is allowed and encouraged (just as it is when playing jazz).
Automotive: We can view higher education as a “finely tuned” machine, where institutions and programs are “in tune” with the needs of society and the customers of higher education. The machine should run smoothly and efficiently, or it is in need of a “tune up.”
Self-tuning systems: Computer software, aerospace and telecommunications industries work with self-tuning systems where dynamic modification of parameters occurs to optimize efficiency and to maintain robustness. These systems deal with the following four parameters: expectations, measurements, analyses and actions—all of which have parallels in higher education.
Some Tuning Links
Tuning Educational Structures in Europe
AAC&U article: “Tuning” the Disciplines (by Norman Jones)
National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) article: What is Tuning?
Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) book: Tuning Educational Structures – A Guide to the Process