Curriculum information models in health professions education in Australia: an innovative approach to efficient curriculum design, development, and maintenance.

Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in attention to the overall accountability of higher education in Australia, and this is expected to continue. Increased accountability has led to the need for more explicitly documented curricula. The curricula from ten health-related disciplines developed over the last five years in Australia were the basis of this study. Curriculum information modeling is an approach that allows for the dynamic nature of curricula since elements and their linkages can be moved about and reconnected into meaningful patterns. In addition, the models give disciplines and institutions the ability to effectively monitor curricula and draw comparisons in a more unified manner. Curriculum information models are an efficient innovation in the design and management of curricula in higher education and particularly in the health care disciplines. They rest on the principles of reusable elements and linkages independent of content that were first used in the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings. The translation of this approach to the higher education sector provides a higher level of interoperability of resources and a clearer pathway for content design within a curriculum.