Academic almanac: A practical workshop for programme leaders to plan the academic yearly cycle

Written by an educational developer at a UK university, this case study looks at a simple, systematic approach to supporting programme leaders in managing their time and realising their responsibilities. A practical planning session steers programme leaders in building a ‘gardeners' calendar’ or almanac of programme, department and institutionally specific events and activities, thus considering the specific ‘eco-system’ in which the institution functions. This allows programme leaders (PLs) to carefully consider the academic yearly cycle of programme leader activity. The case study describes the design and delivery of the workshop in which individual calendars are built, how the workshop enables PLs to understand the scope of their role, gives examples of the key events in the academic year relevant to staff and students involved in their programmes and evidences the success of this approach. Using this case study readers will be able to devise and deliver a workshop for PLs to build their own programme-specific ‘gardeners' calendar’.