Great that you have taken on the position of a Programme Director. It is a very important role for UT, as you will take the lead in making sure our students continue to get the best education possible.
In most cases you will be in charge of an existing programme with an established curriculum and educational vision. When you have previously taught in the programme, you are already familiar with parts of the curriculum and many of the colleagues involved. Your new role, however, requires a programme-wide perspective.
The first month is mostly about understanding your responsibilities, identifying current priorities, building relationships with key stakeholders, and developing an overview of the processes and structures that support the programme.
Your first day: orientation and understanding your new role
Focus on clarifying expectations and identifying key contacts.
Goal
Gain clarity about what is expected of you in your new role, where your responsibilities begin and end, and who can support you.
Suggested actions
- Skim the Programme Director Toolbox
- Meet with the Vice-Dean of Education: discuss expectations, responsibilities, and priorities
- Meet with the Programme Coordinator to get to know them, their role, and their experiences of and ideas for the programme.
- Familiarise yourself with the most important meetings in which you have a role (ask your predecessor).
Your first week: building an overview and a programme perspective
You may already know the programme well as a teacher. This week is about understanding it from a programme-wide perspective.
Goal
Develop an overview of the programme's current state, priorities, and key stakeholders.
Suggested actions
- Read the latest Programme Development Plan for your programme. You can get this from your Vice-Dean of Education.
- Meet with the Programme Coordinator to discuss current priorities and challenges in the programme, identify any urgent issues, upcoming deadlines, or ongoing challenges.
- Meet with the Chair of the Programme Committee, to discuss their role, your cooperation, current priorities and challenges in the programme. You can find more information in this video:
- Meet with the Chair of the Examination Board, to discuss their role, your cooperation, and their actions regarding quality of assessment in the programme. You can find more information in this video:
- Meet with student members of the Programme Committee and the Commissioner of Education of the Study Association, to discuss student feedback and student concerns regarding the programme.
- Meet with the BOZ-member for the programme and the Key User, to discuss the academic year cycle, the organisation and administration of the programme and student results.
- Read this page on the formal organisational structure of education at UT and an overview of the relevant bodies and departments for education.
- Check this page with a summary of all UT-wide information on educational activities, examination and administration processes.
Your first month: deepen your understanding and establish priorities
Focus on understanding the programme's strategic position and deciding where to focus your attention.
Goal
Be able to articulate the programme's strengths, challenges, priorities, and future direction.
Suggested actions
- Read the latest accreditation report of the programme. This can be found on the NVAO website.
- Meet with the Vice-Dean of Education to discuss the programme budget, available resources and faculty priorities for education.
- Meet with the Quality Assurance Coordinator of the faculty, to discuss ongoing quality assurance and improvement activities.
- Meet with key teaching staff and the educational coordinators of departments that contribute to your programme, to discuss staff capacity, workload, development needs and their ideas for improvement of the programme.
- Review this page on the formal organisational structure of education at UT and an overview of the relevant bodies and departments for education.
- Establish a meeting schedule for regular contact with teaching staff and students.
- Make a yearly schedule with recurring activities, and decide on priorities for the medium and longer term.
A Final Note
You may feel the need to master every aspect of the role immediately. This is neither necessary nor realistic. During your first month, focus on understanding the broader picture, building relationships, and identifying priorities. Hopefully this toolbox will help you to find the right information and identify relevant stakeholders when specific issues and opportunities arise.