Deans should have the power to ensure a course is offered. It would be highly irregular for the dean to change the graduation requirements.

@AnonymousPhysicist, sorry, but I've had it happen. It is actually easier than assuring a specific course is offered in some cases. Faculty quit, stuff happens.

@AnonymousPhysicist: How in the world can a Dean ensure a course is offered? If the only faculty member qualified to teach the course gets cancer, what can the Dean do? OTOH, requirements get waived or substituted (with the approval of the faculty) all the time.

@AlexanderWoo The dean has the power to hire someone. Approval of the faculty is key.

@AnonymousPhysicist: At the vast majority of US universities, the Dean does not have the money to hire anyone.

@AlexanderWoo And if they did, they would have already hired someone, regardless of whether this particular course needed an instructor.

@AlexanderWoo I knew you'd say that. The dean has a fixed budget. They can stop spending on one thing to fund another thing. I did not say that would necessarily be the right course of action.

@BryanKrause Adjuncts are not hired in April for courses starting in September. Maybe in June.

@AnonymousPhysicist: About half of the years, more than 100% of the budget for my department is already allocated towards paying the salaries of people who cannot be dismissed. (Either they are tenured, or they are tenure-track faculty with a contractual right to a one-year notice period.) Usually, the department receives enough donations, or someone buys out some teaching, or someone retires mid-year, but if none of those happen, we are over budget. The university is legally obligated to cover the shortfall, but obviously this is a problem if it happens too often.

@AnonymousPhysicist: We can't hire an adjunct for a specialized graduate course. Other than the person who teaches it, there is almost certainly no one qualified within 300 miles.

@AlexanderWoo You do not work at a typical institution. Most faculty are not tenure track. newfacultymajority.info/facts-about-adjuncts Also, why can't a masters in bioinformatics be taught remotely?

Most people are not in the world of elite flagship universities.

@AnonymousPhysicist: Depends on how you count - most of the money goes to TT faculty, and TT faculty are probably still teaching most of the courses. Also, most of our full-time non-tenure-track faculty also have contractual notice periods.

@AnonymousPhysicist: I'm not at an elite flagship university. I'm at a rural university that can't hire adjuncts because there are almost no people with master's degrees in the area who aren't already working for my university or the other one nearby.

@AlexanderWoo "I'm at a rural university" which happens to be ranked in the top 10% in the USA. I did check check your profile before posting.

Also, I suggest you google how many adjuncts you have.