Prepare for trouble.
Faculty members will wonder if your program will cut into their turf, department heads might worry that your needs might limit resources (such as teaching assistants) for them, and deans will be on guard for territorial struggles. “Sometimes there’s a misconception that doing something interdisciplinary represents a reshuffling of resources,” says Donnie Horner, provost at Jacksonville University. “You have to talk to people and make sure you don’t move too fast.”
Bring participants along slowly.
It may take time to persuade them, but professors will appreciate opportunities to teach in new programs, and administrators will be happy to hear if your program will bring in more students while not costing them additional money, Mr. Horner says.
Don’t force people outside their areas of expertise.
“Talk with faculty beforehand about what they’re comfortable doing,” says Christine Sapienza, dean of the College of Healthcare Sciences at Jacksonville. That goes for their compensation and tenure credits as well.
Colleges are making law, business, and other career-focused programs more interdisciplinary
Change how you think.
As she worked to sway administrators and faculty members at Northwestern University to back a new master-of-science-in-law program, Leslie Oster, a clinical associate professor of law, realized that she’d have to move beyond her own training. “As a lawyer, I’ve always tried to persuade people,” she says. “But I had to do more than that. I had to be flexible and think more like an entrepreneur.”
Develop a strong curriculum.
“Don’t make students feel like guinea pigs,” says Ms. Oster. “Know what you want the program to be early on.” Mr. Horner adds: “Never dilute your core courses. You can’t turn your curriculum into the flavor of the month.”
Be ready to change.
“Despite all the analysis or planning you pour into your program, this isn’t without risk,” says Mr. Horner. “You have to be able to change on the fly.”
Keep moving forward.
Even if you’re nimble, you’ll need to stick with a lot of what you started with, says Ms. Oster. “Our attitude was, ‘We’re going to build it.’ Once people see that what you have works, they’ll come around. It takes a lot of the risk out of it for them.”
