One regulation for degree programme committees, unit participation councils and the central participation council.
- Degree programme committees are to receive right of consent, just like unit participation councils and the central participation council.
- There will be one joint regulation for all three bodies
Degree programme committees (DPCs) consist of teachers and students who speak with division directors and degree programme managers on the matter of content in education. So far, they have only had an advisory role with regards to education and exams regulations (OER). DPCs complained regularly that managers were ignoring their advice or refused to give insight in decisions. Due to a national law amendment the committees will receive the right of consent. This means that a DPC can say ‘no’ to a new regulation. The manager then needs to look for the conditions that would get a DPC to adjust their disapproval.
With the right of consent the DPCs are, in every way, going to become participation bodies just like participation councils, they will work in the same way as the unit participation council and the central participation council. This is why the board of administrators has voiced a desire for there to be one joint Participation Regulation and -Facilities for all the bodies involved. Last week a proposition was discussed with the central participation council in which, for example, the length of time a student may be a DPC member is suggested to be lengthened from one year to two years and the DPC membership time for employees are proposed to go from four to six years. Another big change for the committees is that the different study programmes are going to hold elections for the vacant seats in the DPCs. Windesheim has about twenty joint DPCs which need a minimum of three student members and three staff members, which is why finding candidates is going to be a big task in the coming year.
There will be a few modifications in the new regulation which concern not only the DPCs, but also the central and unit participation councils, such as the enforced duty to provide information for directors and the executive board. Before this, they only needed to give out information which they considered necessary for the different participation councils. Now, this is turned around: the various participation councils now receive all the information which they themselves consider necessary to fulfil their duties.
Furthermore, a permanent seat for an employee from Windesheim Flevoland will be set in the central participation council. This is at the request of the central participation council. (EM)
