UCR teachers' dismissal postponed to allow semester to be completed

Twenty-one teachers and staff members of University College Roosevelt were dismissed last week. They were told that they would be made redundant as of March, which caused unrest among the students in Middelburg. They fear they will not be able to finish their semester because the people teaching the courses they are taking will leave. Now UCR has sent those teachers an email stating that their dismissal has been postponed until June 1. The other employees were dismissed with immediate effect on March 1. They are no longer welcome in the building.

Bewildered
The teachers are shocked. Arjan van Dixhoorn, Professor by Special Appointment of the History of Zeeland, is alternating between astonishment and disbelief. "The way UCR has tackled this reorganisation evidences their incompetence. We, as academic staff, were not involved in the plans at all."

"All employees had a brief meeting with the board in February. Twenty-one employees (of whom about 15 were teachers) were told that they would be dismissed as of March 1. I was one of them. They gave us a note explaining the dismissal procedure. The idea was that our 'dismissal period' would start on March 1. From that moment on, we would be exempt from work for three months. After that, UCR would give us three months' notice, so we would be paid for six months after being fired. You can continue working if you want, but many teachers were not keen on that. How can you still be motivated to educate students when you have been thrown out on the street so rudely? Then, this weekend, I received an email from UCR stating that my dismissal has been postponed until June, probably because they couldn't find any replacement teachers."

Van Dixhoorn has serious doubts about the entire reorganisation. "UCR has an excellent reputation. Our alumni are accepted into all the top institutions in the world. If you look at the facts and figures on the UCR website, they do not match the reasons the board cites for the reorganisation. For example, the number of students is said to be declining rapidly, but we have 540 students and the average over the past few years has been around 550."

He also points out that the Dutch accreditation organisation NVAO gave UCR a good assessment last summer. "Now they are going to change the programme. What does that mean for the assessment? I don't think NVAO will be happy if UCR suddenly gets a whole new educational programme than the one they assessed."

Van Dixhoorn observes that the most experienced teachers, often professors, are the ones being dismissed. "They argue that UCR is top-heavy, but I doubt that. UCR employs top academics and the professors also bring in additional money with their PhDs. Each PhD earns UCR 90,000 euros. I have supervised three doctoral candidates myself in recent years."

Much uncertainty
According to spokesperson Marieke van de Laar, the UCR board has already shown that the reorganisation is necessary to keep the organisation financially afloat. She acknowledges that doctoral fees are an additional source of income, but that is a drop in the ocean considering UCR's problems. The visiting committee was positive about the innovations to come, such as the introduction of a personal portfolio. The assessment was about the existing Liberal Arts & Sciences education, which UCR will continue to offer, only with a modified curriculum.

According to her, UCR sent the latest email to teachers because students were worried about this semester. "We have postponed the dismissal so that teachers can finish the semester by June 1." Van de Laar says that the board will soon come up with a detailed staffing plan.

Last Friday, UCR had an online meeting with the students to discuss details about the current semester. A meeting in person will take place next Wednesday, in which the board will explain their plans and why they feel they are necessary. On Wednesday afternoon, they will meet with the teachers who will continue to discuss the details of the educational programme for next year.

 UU's role
A report on the higher education news site Science Guide mentions a meeting of the Middelburg municipal council. Kel Schoenmakers, a member of the student council, criticised Utrecht University, claiming that the university is the instigator of the cost-cutting operation but remains invisible in the reorganisation process.

Schoenmakers clarified this statement to DUB. He says that the UCR Supervisory Board is the one carrying out the reorganisation, not UU. However, according to him, UU is represented on the Supervisory Board, so he believes UU must also be held accountable for the course of events.

Van de Laar states that the information published by Science Guide is incorrect. "We did not work on behalf of Utrecht University and did not communicate this. We consulted with UU and the university advised us about the plans." Formally, UCR is a UU programme, so UU is responsible for the quality of its education.

Van Dixhoorn says he sent rector Henk Kummeling an email in which he holds UU responsible for the state of affairs. He thinks the negative articles about UCR will be bad for UU's reputation. "We have highly motivated students here. You can't just dismiss them. Alumni have already started a campaign to preserve UCR's old style."