Leading Programmes & Programme Teams

Whilst you might be managing a Department or a College/Faculty (like Agnetha or Su-lin) that runs multiple degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, or managing a single programme of study, the work associated with the necessary coordination of people and resources is often under-recognised in many institutions.

"I have previously described programme leadership as 'an underestimated undertaking' (Parkin (2017)), and that observation still holds true today. A significant mismatch exists between the low level of recognition, development and support provided and the pivotal role that good programme leadership plays in institutional performance. It is time to recognise the depth and complexity of the programme leadership role and address the leadership support needs."     Doug Parkin (2022).

Whilst most universities will provide some training for those promoted to management and leadership roles often the focus is on the 'mechanics' of management such as budgets, HR aspects, and using institutional systems. Some do provide specialist professional development in research management, but considerably fewer offer training in leading in teaching and learning. This is a deficit that is beginning to be addressed and there are interesting and useful examples of work being done in the UK in the recently published collection edited by Jenny Lawrence, Sue Morón-Garia and Rowena Senior Links to an external site.. 

Parkin (2022) lists four overlapping yet distinct dimensions:

    • Relational leadership (the mentor)
    • Embodied and ethical leadership (the champion)
    • Enabling leadership (the enabler)
    • Administrative leadership (the organiser)

He points to the connections with the extant literature on leadership in general (and goes into this in more depth in his earlier book "Leading Learning and Teaching in Higher Education" Links to an external site., Parkin (2016)) but, as with Lawrence's introduction to the collection, emphasises the need for professional development to recognise the distinctive context of academic leadership, where structures, processes, and mission are quite different from what might be seen in commercial enterprises, or even other forms of public service organisation.  Of the leadership styles that are identified in the management literature, the closest to what is required in the academic context are those which are authentic,  facilitate distributed responsibility, and which 'show a concern for people' (Milburn (2010), in Moore (2022)).  Academic leaders need to work with many different constituencies and individuals with particularly strong relationships required with: (a) those who teach on the programme(s); (b) those who support (and influence) the programme(s); (c) other programme leaders; (d) students (and alumni).  Successfully managing all of these requires high levels of awareness of needs and perceptions from the different viewpoints and the ability to generate and sustain 'buy in', particularly for any proposed change, 

This is not easy, and all the more reason to recognise the value of mutual support of colleagues, reflective practice, and a strong understanding of the particularities of the subject discipline and institutional cultures.

Agnetha's desire to optimise the use of technologies in her department and in the courses it offers, represents a change from previous practice. As we heard, her staff have differing views and a range of digital competencies. Indeed, her first challenge is actually ascertaining those competencies and attitudes before she can identify potential ways forward. This is why it has been important for her to enhance her own understanding of what's possible, current trends, key findings from research and hopefully what we've covered in this course, using DigCompEdu as scaffolding for her own professional development has been useful. Being confident in her understanding (and knowing its limits) is key to her leadership actions being seen as rooted in authenticity, rather than simply following an external (to the department/discipline) policy directive in which neither she or her colleagues might feel invested. 

Su-lin faces similar issues, with the added complexity of multiple departments and disciplines, but with the intrinsic strength (if she recognises it as such) of a supportive and collegial network of departmental leaders. 

Older universities in particular, can be very hierarchical and have strong delineation of job categories, such that when speaking of a 'programme team' the default is to only think of the academic staff who teach on the programme. A more enlightened (and realistic) perspective recognises the other contributors to the organisation, delivery, and success of any academic programme and this includes administrative staff, technicians, laboratory demonstrators, learning technologists, librarians, and student support services. Organisations such as the Open University established such multi-skilled teams for the design of new courses, but this is not the norm in most universities and if others are involved it is often after the design phase.

 

Reflection

Do you have management responsibility in your current role? If so, what categories of staff do you have responsibility for? Does it include administrative and professional colleagues as well as academics?  

How comfortable are you with the relational aspects of leading a team? Is this something that you feel comes naturally, or does it cause some degree of stress? Have you had previous experience of managing or leading a team?

What kinds of leadership have you experienced in the past, i.e. from those who were your managers or department heads?

 

 

References and further information

Lawrence, J., Moron-Garcia, S., Senior, R. (2022). "Supporting Course and Programme Leaders in Higher Education: Practical Wisdom for Leaders, Educational Developers and Programme Leaders". https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003127413 Links to an external site.  

Moore,S., (2022). " Empowering programme leaders: Developing relational academic leadership", in Lawrence, J., Moron-Garcia, S., Senior, R. (2022).

Parkin, D. (2016). "Leading Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: The key guide to designing and delivering courses" (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203817599 Links to an external site. 

Photos and images by Mapbox Links to an external site. , Anna Samoylova Links to an external site., Redd Francisco Links to an external site. , Helena Lopes Links to an external site. on Unsplash Links to an external site. and DALL-E 2