© Sven Menschel
A while ago, at the end of my first year here, one of my closest friends from my programme told me they were looking for new student members for the study programme committee. I had never heard anything about that before. ‘Wait, the study what?’ was my very first reaction. It probably depends on the programme, or even the study year, but I had never gotten the chance to hear or read about the SPC before that occasion.
Well, long story short, after some months of getting informed and getting involved, I eventually became part of it. And had the very first meeting a couple of weeks ago.
Specific topics
But yes, okay, what is this study programme committee, you may ask. It’s a committee that discusses specific topics regarding a study programme (master’s or bachelor’s), including strengths and weaknesses, mandatory courses, evaluations, requirements and so on and so forth. More or less every two months.
This is a great place to bring up your thoughts, doubts, tips and ideas about your study programme.
The committee is composed of a wide variety of teachers from the chair groups directly involved in the programmes, and – surprise – also quite a few students’ representatives! This is a great place to bring up your thoughts, doubts, tips and ideas about your study programme. And, as you may have experienced, here in Wageningen, our perspective is often seriously taken into account, and students’ input is considered quite valuable.
Waste of information
I thought it is quite a waste that this bit of information is not that easy to find or bump into randomly. A lot of students simply don’t know where some issues should be addressed or ideas proposed. And the SPC is definitely one of those places!
So, if you have anything you’d like to see change or improve in your bachelor’s or master’s programme, reach out to the student members and your point is going to be taken care of. Study Programme Committee student members also have quite a fast turnover, as you can imagine: you may even have the chance to be one of them, if you fancy a spot in the board room. 😉
Donatella Gasparro is a master’s student in Organic Agriculture; she hails from Italy.
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