{"id":112327,"date":"2020-04-09T16:52:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T14:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=112327"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:53","slug":"participatory-bodies-compromised-notification-after-the-fact-makes-sense-now-but-things-cant-stay-that-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/04\/09\/participatory-bodies-compromised-notification-after-the-fact-makes-sense-now-but-things-cant-stay-that-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Participatory bodies in defense: ‘Notification after the fact makes sense now, but things can\u2019t stay that way’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suddenly buildings had to be shuttered, and exams had to be taken online. In these extraordinary times, the people in charge of this university don’t always have much time to make their decisions. Hans van den Berg, the chair of the University Council, understands this only too well, so he is not surprised that EUR\u2019s Executive Board sometimes doesn\u2019t submit the emergency measures it adopts to the Council until after the fact. \u201cBut this situation isn\u2019t going anywhere any time soon, and we can\u2019t stay in this crisis mode all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hans van den Berg, chair of the University Council.<\/span><\/p>

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These are complicated times for the university\u2019s staff and student representative bodies. Like everyone else, the members of the University Council have been banned from convening on campus, having to discuss matters by means of video calls instead. The 24 members of the council have a publicly accessible meeting every fortnight to discuss matters.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hearing the news through EM<\/em>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

But having informal meetings is hard these days. \u201cWe had to learn about coronavirus-related measures from EM<\/em>,\u201d says Van den Berg. \u201cWe\u2019ve broached that subject with the Board, because the University Council plays an important part, even in times of crisis. The Council provides the university\u2019s checks and balances. For instance, it provides new insights and voices the concerns of the academic community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board has acknowledged this and is seeking to improve the situation. We now have weekly meetings between a few councillors and the Board. Three members are allowed to listen in on the deans\u2019 meetings and the meetings between the faculties\u2019 managers so that the Council can keep abreast of what is being discussed there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018What constitutes regular these days?\u2019<\/h2>

While Van den Berg praises the Board for makings these arrangements, he does still have a few niggling concerns, as the Executive Board has a policy of sharing coronavirus-related measures with the Council after the fact. \u2018Regular\u2019 subjects must be submitted to the Council the regular way (i.e., before the measures are implemented), but then again, what constitutes regular these days? \u201cLet\u2019s say, student enrolment figures for next year. These are being affected by the coronavirus crisis. Let\u2019s say, heavy workloads. Those are getting even heavier because of the coronavirus crisis. So what isn\u2019t coronavirus-related these days? It\u2019s hard to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van den Berg feels that the present situation is unsustainable. \u201cRight now it makes sense for us to be notified after the fact. I wouldn\u2019t want the Council\u2019s involvement to delay any urgent decisions. But we can\u2019t stay in crisis mode all the time. In the longer term, we will have to be more actively involved, with regard to coronavirus-related measures, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The University Council hopes to discuss the impact of the coronavirus crisis on participatory bodies with the Executive Board next week.<\/p>\n\n\t

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