‘Too little compensation and participation from FSE for UMCG teachers’

UMCG lecturers who also teach at FSE are not sufficiently compensated and are not included in the decisions made by the science faculty.

This is stated by the education and research council of the UMCG. UMCG teachers have been responsible for part of the education at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) for years.

This includes the majority of education in the FSE master’s program in biomedical sciences, with a capacity of two hundred students. They also contribute to the bachelor’s degrees in life science and technology and biomedical technology.

Compensation

The teachers are not always sufficiently compensated for these activities, in some cases up to 0.4 FTE per teacher. The reimbursement also sometimes does not reach the right place and things go wrong on both sides when processing the time registration because forms are incompletely completed, says councilor Frank Kruyt.

‘There is talk about historical agreements between the RUG and the UMCG that were made when the two parties separated, but when asked, no one knows what these agreements are,’ says Kruyt.

Research projects

In addition, the council calls the coordination with the RUG regarding research projects ‘insufficient.’ There are not 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 that space, but are now in danger of disappearing. The council states that teachers are confronted with unilateral decisions on this point.

Secretariat

To clarify matters surrounding participation and compensation, the council asked written questions to the Faculty Board of Medical Sciences. In addition, the council wonders whether the UMCG could not become the secretary of the FSE master’s degree in biomedical sciences, since as far as they are concerned the focus of the training lies with the UMCG.

Marieke Schuurmans, pro-dean of education at the UMCG, said during the council that the questions have already been submitted to ‘someone who sits between the two faculties.’ That response has ‘not yet been fully processed’, but in any case the time registration can be improved.

Schuurmans will return to the other points later. The future prospects for the joint courses are also being discussed in an administrative consultation between the UMCG and the university. That is scheduled for April.