Want to have a say in important issues at the university? Then stand as a candidate for the consultation bodies
Do you want to provide advice on issues of your own choosing, and help decide on important subjects within the university? If you do, then it’s time for you to stand as a candidate for a faculty or employee council. ‘Standing for election is a good way for you to join in the dialogue. We don’t just give our views on current issues, we also define the dialogue ourselves.’
Having a role in employee consultation offers the opportunity to represent student and staff interests, but also contributes to good governance. The Faculty Council does that at faculty level and the employee councils do that at the level of the central services. Jelle Oonk, Kiki Zanolie and Tanja de Bie share their experiences as chairs in the staff and student councils.
What students have to say
A number of chairs of faculty and employee councils explain what they do and why they take part in employee consultation. Jelle Oonk, a student of Physics and Astronomy, is chair of the Faculty Council of the Science Faculty. ‘In order not to lose sight of the student perspective, it’s important that students are involved in decision-making on such issues as the quality of education.’
As well as the Course and Examination Regulations, the faculty budget and approval of the faculty strategic plan, the council also raises issues itself. ‘For students, evening lectures are an important subject; we have said they should be kept to a minimum. In a little while we’ll also be looking at the range of products in the restaurants and cafés.’
Don’t put off finding out more about employee consultation
Having been a member of his programme committee, Oonk then moved on to the Faculty Council. ‘One of the reasons for becoming a member of the council is that you learn such a lot from it. You get to look behind the scenes and help the university move forward a bit. I also think it’s important to have a diverse group of representatives. You can represent the faculty more effectively if staff and students from different corners of the faculty participate in the council.’
Oonk has a tip for readers who are interested in the Faculty Council: ‘Don’t put off finding out more about employee consultation. Talk to someone from the council or go for coffee together. Especially if your institute or study programme isn’t represented, it’s really worthwhile standing as a candidate.’
Student and staff representation in challenging times
Kiki Zanolie is associate professor at the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University, and is chair of the Faculty Council of Social and Behavioural Sciences. ‘I’d heard of the Faculty Council but never looked into it. I discovered that it was a good match for me because I think it’s important for my voice and that of my colleagues to be heard. I was also interested in how the organisation works.’
For Zanolie, it was the issue of pressure of work that prompted her to stand as a candidate. ‘I wanted to understand where this problem comes from and how we could include perspectives from the work floor to address pressure of work. As a member of the council, it’s your job to make sure that these different perspectives are actually heard.’
Standing as a candidate is a good way for you to contribute to the dialogue. We don’t just give our views on current issues, we also define the dialogue ourselves.
Zanolie stresses the importance of employee consultation in times of cutbacks. ‘We are clearly facing some enormous challenges, which makes it more important than ever to talk constructively to one another. Standing as a candidate is a good way for you to contribute to the dialogue. I would call on managers, employee consultation bodies, colleagues and students to stay in discussion with one another in this challenging period: this is something we have to do together.’
In conversation with colleagues
Tanja de Bie is a senior policy adviser and chair of the Employee Council of the Leiden Learning & Innovation Centre (LLInC). ‘When I was a student, I was already a member of the programme committee, so this kind of employee consultation already appealed to me. I decided to stand as a candidate because I wanted to be involved at participatory level in the reorganisation that was imminent at that time. We then started a tense process that included a lot of conversations. We were also closely involved in setting up the LLInC.’
As LLInC has its own employee council, the contact with colleagues has intensified. ‘Colleagues know how to find us. We have our own email box, we carry out Pulse Surveys and have consultation hours. In short, we are constantly in discussion with the people we represent. That makes us more effective and we get things done more easily.’
According to de Bie, there are a number of different reasons for standing for election. ‘If you by nature care about your colleagues and you want to stand up for them, being a member of an employee council is the place to be. But this is also the place for you if you want to learn about the organisation or get particular things done. The work ranges from approving budgets to very practical things. You can have a say in issues that have a major impact on people. For me that’s the beauty of this work.’
About the student and staff participation
The participation bodies represent student and staff interests. A number of bodies at the University have the right to consent and advise—the Faculty Councils on faculty matters and the University Council on University matters, for instance. Other bodies with these powers are the Local Consultative Body, the Employee Councils and the Programme Committees. The members of the various participation bodies are democratically elected. This happens during the university elections.