HOW DOES THE UNIVERSITY WORK?
Interdisciplinary research course. Utrecht University. Faculty of Social Sciences
Level: 1
ECTS-points: between 1 and 7,5 depending on effort by student.
Period: 09-02-2011 to 04-05-2011. Time-slot: Wednesday evenings
Schedule/location: to be announced
Language: Engels (Dutch if no non-dutch speakers)
Contact person: Dr. Fabiola Jara Gomez. F.JaraGomez@uu.nl
Professors: Fabiola Jara Gomez, Jos Scheren, student assistants.
Subscription: through subscription form below, open for students and non-students. Subscription open from November 23 to December 12.
Content:
How does the university work and why does it work the way it does? To answer these questions the various stakeholders of the university will be taken into consideration such as students, university staff, management layers, as well as external actors such as the government, the private sector and the economy and society in general.
Increasingly, the “knowledge economy” is emphasized by policy makers as the main goal of the University. Science should, it is said, come out of it’s “ivory tower” and work on “valorization” of scientific knowledge for ‘third parties’ such as the private sector. In this process students and professors at the university have less and less influence in the way in which the knowledge they produce is valorized; testing, financing and programming seems to lie increasingly in the hands of diverse management layers. At the same time students and university staff experience ever increasing precarious work conditions, which have only been exacerbated by the economic crisis. How these and other developments determine the functioning of the university is the subject of this research course.
To answer the main research question pose a number of sub questions:
- What layers of management exist at the university? How do they work and where did they come from?
- How is knowledge measured in the university and by whom?
- What considerations play a role in determining the content, form and length of university education? How, and to what extent are students involved in this process?
- How do students experience studying at the university? How do they provide for their livelihood? How do they live? Similar questions can also be directed to teachers, administrative staff, security services, cleaners, amongst others.
- In what way is the functioning of the university shaped by the economy? How are the effects of the economic crisis becoming visible in the university?
Work format
In this course we will answer these questions by doing individual or group research. Students can work on a research project of choice during the course of 13 weeks with regular meetings and feedback moments from professors and other students. Attention is given to academic and research skills such as explorative qualitative research techniques; open and in-depth interviews and (participatory) observation. In reporting on the results of their research students are encouraged to make use of audio/visual in addition to written material.
In this course a high degree of participation of the student is made possible and expected during feedback moments (peer feedback) as well as in determining the content and program of the course.
Testing / Assessment:
This course is given at Bachelor level 1. Students can receive up to 7.5 ECTS.
The course is closed with a final assignment in the form of a written or audio/visual report of the research. In the last plenary tutorial, these results will be presented.
The evaluation of the work and effort takes place during the course at different times by the students and teachers together. The final result is determined on the basis of this interim evaluation and the academic and scientific quality of the final project.
Recommended materials:
To be announced. Diverse materials that students find themselves and bring to the tutorials.
