As a Programme Director, how can you get teachers on board in your programme to teach their course that fits your programme (and PILOs)?
Many teachers are also researchers, and thus are very enthusiastic about their specific research topic. Many would love to teach a course about that topic, as it is very important. However, such a topic does not always fit very well in your programme. How can you handle a situation when a teacher comes to you and says they would like to teach a course on their specific topic? Especially when they just received a grant for their research, this is an indication that the research topic has potential.
What often does not work?
Just telling the teacher that this topic does not fit the PILOs and thus cannot be included in the programme is not always convincing. The counter argument can then be that an elective could be an option. Saying that you do not have money for such a course often is less convincing as well, as most teachers are not interested in the money involved in education. And if their department head does think about the finances, the teacher could well argue that this is such an interesting topic that most likely many students will choose for it. And as it is new, you cannot say in advance whether that is true or not.
What could work?
What does help is involving the teacher in your perspective on a course as part of the programme and on the consequences for the teacher. If a course is offered, the teacher must be available when the course is scheduled and students have signed up. This also is valid when the teachers is sick. So if a teacher proposes a topic on a very special course, it will be very difficult to find a replacement teacher in case of illness; has the teacher thought about that?
If a course is discontinued (eg. because insufficient students have signed up, or the teacher is on sabbatical next year), the students are entitled to two resits for the exam. Has the teacher thought about how to organise that? Especially when the teacher has plans for going abroad on exchange in relation to their research. And of course, you should always ask the teacher how this new course is in line with the PILOs of the programme, whether it is for the Bachelor or for the Master programme.
In this way you make the teacher the real owner of the course and thus fully responsible for their course, and let them think about the broader consequences of offering a course that fits the programme, not only this year but also for the longer term. That might make the teacher reconsider their offer for a new course.
Special thanks to Veronica Junjan for the idea on this suggestion.