Course Coordinator as Academic Leader

The Team!

Program Overview Value your feedback!

Group Demographics 53% are UG coordinators, 30% PG, and 17% both UG and PG 47.8% have courses at regional campuses and 8.7% offshore The number of locations varies from 1-9 The majority of you (43.5%) have been CCs for > 25 months, 26% for < 1 year and 30.5% for months

Pre-Participant Survey—Leadership

Academic Leadership: Different From General Leadership? Requires greater consultation and more detailed explanation to convince academics (and students) that change is worthwhile and beneficial Academics—assuming I am leading a team—are used to being very autonomous and have great expertise in many areas Requires more collaborative and considerate approach—low “boss” mentality, rather leading co-workers and colleagues The same principles apply to leadership in all organisations. But they differ very much in their application to different environments Not sure/ Don’t know but would like to find out Have to deal with well educated people

What You Want From the Program Enhance leadership skills in a changing environment Understanding academic leadership Assistance in managing staff and students Tips on balancing teaching, research and administrative loads Clearer understanding of role and the university’s expectations Different perspectives on CC role and how others do it

Discussion 3 things about your role which are great 3 things which grate!

Things which are great! Autonomy Pastoral role—assisting students achieve their goals Stimulating Satisfying—when you have a “win” Potential for continuous improvement Having a “big picture” view Diversity of students/issues Role modelling (including the profession) Teaching Staff development

Things which grate! Never stops Multi-tasking (stimulating and exhausting) Cumbersome systems Complexity of hierarchies and administrative processes CCs not being budget managers Frustration—responsibility but no line authority CCs not budget managers Decisions not being made in a timely fashion Urgency of deadlines Managing standards and consistency in different locations Colleagues who don’t deliver (academics and professional staff)

Leadership succession crisis Focus on effective change management & implementation Excellent leadership needed at all levels to remain competitive

Course Coordinators Least well recognised for their roles in determining whether change occurs “… are critical to engage with change agenda as they focus efforts and assist staff to learn how to make desired change work in practice” (Scott et al pxvii)

10 most important influences Decreased government funding Balancing work and family life Managing pressure for continuous change Slow admin processes Handling unexpected events Finding & retaining high quality staff Pressure to generate new income Rapid changes in technology Dealing with local university cultures Greater government reporting/scrutiny

Areas of Work Focus for CC’s Working on student matters Developing learning programs Reviewing teaching activities Identifying new opportunities Managing other staff Participating in meetings Managing relationships with senior staff Scholarly research Responding to ad hoc requests Strategic planning

Leadership Capability Framework Scott (2008) Capability Competency Personal Inter- Personal Cognitive Generic Role specific Capabilities that count!

Leadership Capability Scales & Items Personal –Self regulation (considered decisions, knowing self, work/life balance, calm under pressure) –Decisiveness (take hard decisions, tolerate ambiguity, values/ethical) –Commitment (energy & passion, perseverance) Interpersonal –Influencing (peers & up, motivating, networking, feedback) –Empathising (transparent & honest, cultural competence) Cognitive –Diagnosis (underlying causes, recognising patterns, identify from mass of information) –Strategy (see & act on opportunities, creative, best way to respond, priorities) –Flexibility & responsiveness (adjusting, sense of learning, no fixed answers) Competency –Learning & teaching –University operations –Self-organisation skills

Program Philosophy and Learning Experiences Theoretical framework Experiential learning –case/problem-based “Toolkit” 360 degree feedback iCVF Peer coaching/ self-reflection/ journaling Online resources Workbook folder

Program Overview Course Coordinator as Academic Leader Academic Leadership for Excellent Curriculum Course Review Developing Academic Leadership Capacity x2 (iCVF) Building the Course Team Communicating with Emotional Intelligence Building Performance Managing Change & Resistance Developing Key Relationships

Next Session! Academic Leadership for Excellent Curriculum –focus on assessment