The faculty council at the Faculty of Arts has criticised the attitude of the faculty board regarding the introduction of faculty-wide courses and demands more involvement. The board feels the council is being particularly distrustful.
The Faculty of Arts wants to introduce eight faculty-wide courses worth 10 ECTS in the first and second years of the bachelor programme to save money and reduce workload.
This decision had been postponed earlier because the faculty council didn’t think the justification was sufficient, and they criticised the speed with which it was being implemented. Now, the council wants more input into the entire process and to be kept better informed.
‘Tidbits of information’
At the moment, the council can only informally advise on the process, and they are kept updated with ‘tidbits of information,’ the criticism states. Several council members believe that this is insufficient.
‘I feel like we’ve been led into this,’ says faculty council member Femke Kramer. ‘On some points, the board has acknowledged that things didn’t go smoothly. But afterward, not much has improved.’
Geromé Wouters added, ‘It seems as though the faculty board hasn’t learned from the things we’ve verbally said we want done differently.’
Fixed intervals
The council now wants to be informed in writing and at fixed intervals. They also want to be able to provide feedback and to involve the different programmes within the faculty, including through programme committees. The council also wants a staff member to be added to the working group on the reforms, in addition to the current student member.
The criticism is causing more irritation within the faculty board. According to Sander van den Bos, deputy managing director, the faculty council and academic community are indeed being heard. ‘Just because we don’t literally follow what they recommended doesn’t mean it hasn’t been heard.’
Lack of trust
According to Van den Bos, there is a lack of trust between the council and the board regarding the reforms. A more formal structure, involving written exchanges, would only widen that gap, he says. ‘It won’t be a collaborative process anymore.’
Still, the board agrees to formal feedback sessions with the council leading up to each meeting. However, there will not be a full faculty meeting with the board. ‘We’ve already set up a different process for that,’ says dean Thony Visser. ‘But we can hold information sessions.’
A staff member will also be added to the working group on the education reforms.