©Guy Ackermans
The executive board has agreed to an independent study on the question of whether the extended daytime schedule can actually meet the growing number of students foreseen by the board. The board is also willing to shift the implementation of the new schedule to September 2018. As a result of this postponement, WUR will have to make extra investments in educational space at the Dreijen, wrote the board in a letter to the Student Staff Council.
Support
In addition, the board offers all lecturers at Wageningen support in adjusting their subject material. This adjustment is necessary because, in the new schedule, lessons will be shortened from 45 to 40 minutes. The board wants to ensure that the quality of education does not suffer from the new schedule.
Non-consecutive teaching schedules
The board has also agreed to extra education-supporting personnel. Although lecturers may have non-consecutive teaching schedules, the board wants to avoid such situations as much as possible via discussions between FB [Facilities and Services] and the participational councils.
Lunch break
In its letter, the board repeated its promise that one main lunch break per study programme can be created each week in the new schedule and that 80 percent of the students will have two long lunch breaks a week. However, the board does not want to promise that all students will have two long lunch breaks a week because that would result in too little education space with respect to the current situation.
Twelfth period
The board has also agreed that students will not have lessons until 7 pm more often than twice a week. However, the board does not want to video the eleventh and twelfth periods so students can watch them at a different time. That is too expensive, and the board also thinks that these periods are conventional in education schedules. However, the board remains an advocate of having all lectures recorded and put online. The board has agreed to an evaluation of the extended daytime schedule after two years.
Two weeks ago the Student Staff Council voted against implementing the extended daytime schedule in September 2017. They drew up a list of eight conditions that the new schedule should meet. The board has responded to these conditions in its letter. Now it’s the Student Staff Council’s turn to respond. The council will meet on Wednesday afternoon 14 June to decide whether, under these conditions, the new schedule can be implemented as of September 2018.
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University Council opposes quick implementation of extended study schedule