What happened with my vote?

The academic year has started again and the faction of Lijst Calimero has started fulfilling its obligations in the university council. But how does this council work, and who else has a say in the quality of education at the University of Groningen? (UG) In this article, we will bring order in the chaos and explain to you what it’s all about.

University Council

The board of directors is in direct charge of the university. They decide on university wide policy and try to create a cohesive policy for the different faculties. To advise and check on the board of directors, it is decided by law that every university has a co-determination council. In Groningen this is the University Council, consisting of twelve student members and twelve personnel members.

Five out of these twelve places are filled by members of Lijst Calimero. Each year, the students in the council are elected. In May the students campaign to ensure their spot in the council. This is different for the personnel faction: they have elections every two years.

Just like the topics discussed by the board of directors, the university council mainly discusses matters relevant for the university as an entity. Examples are study environment, but also the budget of the university. The council has the right to consent on certain topics, like the main parts of the budget or the rules regarding the binding study advice. On other matters, the council can only give their advice. Next to that, the university has the tradition of the Harmony Model. This means that the board discusses almost everything with the council, thereby creating space for the council to give its opinion, even though the subject might not fall within the mandate of the council.  

The Faculty Councils

The University of Groningen consists of ten different faculties. They all have their own policy and faculty board. To advise and check on the faculty board, each faculty also has a co-determination council. This is called the Faculty Council.

The number of seats in the faculty council depends on the size of the faculty. For example, the Faculty Council of Arts consists of nine students and nine personnel members. The councils discuss matters relevant to their faculty, like study places besides the university library, the courses offered and the budget of the faculty.

The faculty council mainly advises to the faculty board. However, they do have the right of consent in two cases. These are the faculty regulations, in which the organisation of the faculty is stated, and some parts of the Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER, OER in Dutch), in which the main rules of every program are determined.

The Programme Committee

Besides the university as a whole and the comprising faculties, students also have a say in their own programme. This takes place in the programme committees. There the students and teachers discuss and evaluate the courses, the programme and possible changes to those in the future.

In the past the programme committees could only give advice, but since the first of september they are an official co-determination council by law. This means they have the right of consent on parts of the TER and are entitled to training and support. Because of this, students have more influence than ever on their own education.

Supervisory Board

Besides the board and the different councils, there is one last group of people that keep a close eye on the university: the Supervisory Board. They monitor everything from separate programmes to the board of directors itself. Members of the supervisory board are appointed by the Minister of Education. One member is proposed specifically by the university council to represent the interests of the students and staff.

So, there is participation on three different levels in the decision making process about the education offered by the University of Groningen. Next to that, there is the supervisory board, to check whether everything goes according to the rules. If you have any more questions about co-determination or what we do as a faction, don’t hesitate and let us know! You can always reach us via our email address contact@lijstcalimero.nl or our Facebook page, but you are also welcome to drop by at our office!