Rector topples deans

Improved democracy was the Rector’s flagship during the election campaign. He now topples the academic committee and several faculties.

Eivind Vad Petersson Eivind Vad Petersson
Mari Hagen Mari Hagen (foto)
Egil Ellenes Egil Ellenes
Publisert

This is the issue in question:

  • SFB-students are international Bachelor students who are accepted at UiO outside of Samordna Opptak (the Norwegian equivalent of UCAS).
  • The Senate holds that admission and accomplishment of Norwegian courses cost too much for the arrangement to continue. They feel that these students should go through Samordna Opptak, in which case students have to document Norwegian skills.
  • The Student Parliament holds that SFB-students serve as a social bridge between Norwegian and international students because they learn Norwegian at UiO and stay in Norway for long periods of time.
  • This issue has been subject to faculty hearings. The faculties are divided in this issue, which has appeared on the agenda four times in the academic committee.
  • The last academic committee meeting, led by Deputy Rector Inga Bostad, decided to postpone the issue to 2007 with seven against six votes. Bostad supports Ellingsrud in this issue.
  • The majority, however, felt that the resources saved did not exceed the negative message that is sent by closing down on SFB and thus asked for further considerations.
  • This issue is pending final decision by the Senate on 11 May.

The consequences of excluding so-called SFB-students, self-providing Bachelor students, are subject to further consideration before an exclusion can possibly be decided. This issue may be resumed next spring at the earliest. This was decided by the academic committee, which comprises several deans and student representatives, in a late April meeting.

Nevertheless, Geir Ellingsrud, Rector at the University of Oslo (UiO), wants to make the decision straightaway. Several deans now react to his decision:

– I am astonished by the fact that they choose to disregard the majority in the academic committee on an issue of such stellar symbolic significance to UiO as a university of solidarity, Trygve Wyller, academic dean at the Faculty of Theology, says.

It is very rare that the academic committee is sidelined like this. As far as Universitas is concerned, this has not happened before during the three years that the committee has existed. Several faculties have through hearing statements fronted better review of this issue prior to decision-making. Among these are the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Law.

Academic dean at the Faculty of Law, Finn Arnesen, admits that the academic committee generally provides a guideline, and thus the Rector is not obligated to submit to its decisions.

– However, it is always wise to listen to a piece of advice, Arnesen says.

During the Rector Election campaign, Ellingsrud came across as a sound defender of grassroots democracy at UiO. He was back then critical towards centralisation of power and concerned with listening to the man in the street, in this case the faculties and the departments. Ellingsrud reports to Universitas that this is a difficult issue, which has been of much dispute in his office. He nevertheless stands by the decision of his office not to listen to the recommendations of the academic committee.

– The academic committee provides guidelines and was furthermore split right down the middle on this issue, Ellingsrud says.

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