UMCG lecturers who also teach at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) are not adequately compensated and are not consulted in the decisions made there.
So says the Education and Research Council of UMCG. Lecturers from the UMCG have been responsible for part of the education at the FSE for years.
Among other things, they provide the majority of the education in the FSE master programme in biomedical sciences, which can have up to two hundred students. They also contribute to the bachelor programmes in life science and technology and biomedical technology.
Compensation
The lecturers are not always adequately compensated for these activities, even though each lecturer works up to 0.4 FTE. On top of that, sometimes the compensation does not end up in the right place, and there are errors on both sides in processing the hours registration because forms are not filled in completely, says council member Frank Kruyt.
‘Supposedly, there are historical agreements between the UG and UMCG that were made when the two parties were separated, but when asked, nobody knows what these agreements are’, says Kruyt.
Research projects
In addition, the council mentions that the coordination with regard to research projects with the UG is ‘insufficient’. There aren’t always enough supervisors available for practical guidance during research projects.
There is also a lack of space in UMCG laboratories for larger groups during student projects. Project laboratories at the university do offer this space but are now at risk of disappearing. The council states that lecturers are being confronted with unilateral decisions on this matter.
Lead authority
To clarify matters concerning involvement and compensation, the council posed written questions to the faculty board of Medical Sciences. Additionally, the council wonders if the UMCG could become the lead authority of the FSE master programme in biomedical sciences, as they believe the focus of the programme lies with the UMCG.
Marieke Schuurmans, pro-dean of education at the UMCG, said during the council meeting that the questions have already been forwarded to ‘someone connected to both faculties’. This response has ‘not yet been fully processed’, but at least the hours registration can be improved.
Schuurmans will address the remaining issues later. Additionally, the future perspective for joint programmes will be discussed in a managerial meeting between the UMCG and the university. This meeting is scheduled to take place later this month.