Humanities faculty council promises to inform students better

The promise was made in a memo reacting to an advisory published by the faculty council last month. The faculty council complained about the lack of financial information and the perceived haste with which the faculty is implementing budget cuts and educational reforms, which the council considered irresponsible. The council also felt that the faculty board should have involved the representative body in the decision-making process earlier and more extensively, especially considering how drastic the decisions were.

This autumn, the faculty board announced a far-reaching "transition plan" that should enable the faculty to save around 13 million euros by 2027. No less than 85 full-time jobs are at risk. The faculty hopes that redundancies can be averted and costs can be reduced "naturally". It is doubtful that they will pull that off.

The plans have since been adjusted a few times. Five programmes will lose their independence and CROHO label, Celtic will be merged with English, and Islam & Arabic will merge with Religious Studies. The faculty is still searching for a new design for its French, German and Italian programmes.

No room 
The faculty council informed the board that it will need a much more thorough financial substantiation before April when it is expected to advise on the closure of degree programmes. The faculty board says that this information will be provided in time.

The faculty board also promises to involve the council closely in the plans to make the educational programme more efficient and attractive. Programmes will soon share more courses, for example.

The faculty board agrees with the council that "one must avoid rushed work", but notes that the faculty has agreed with the Executive Board to get its finances in order within three years.

"Unfortunately, the financial frameworks do not allow for an extension of the time frame, but we can organise the process as carefully as possible, with realistic deadlines and sufficient room for consultation," the faculty board writes.

Toine Minnaert, chair of the staff delegation of the faculty council, says he's got mixed feelings about the faculty board's reply. "As a council, we indicated that we were less than pleased with the way we were involved in the initial phase of the process. It is a shame that the faculty board did not reflect on this in more detail when writing its response. But we don't want to dwell on that too long either."

"The faculty board has since involved the representative advisory body and the faculty community more explicitly in the process, and we are very happy about that. We have also noticed that they are taking more time before implementing certain steps and giving us room for customisation. The near future should reveal if the faculty board has truly understood what we were trying to achieve, namely broader support for radical changes."