Uni. Amsterdam radically changes Humanities college

Dean Frank van Vree of the University of Amsterdam yesterday announced that the Faculty of Humanities will be thoroughly reorganized. The faculty has to deal with a budget shortfall, which means that the courses will have to be reevaluated. "We have to increase the efficiency", says Mas Fopma, communications adviser of the faculty. The Faculty of Humanities has been struggling with a declining number of students for several years, which has implications for the funding of the Board of Governors. The letter sent by Dean Van Vree to the lecturers of the faculty describes two initial scenarios for the Bachelor. In the first scenario all bachelors will be brought together in a sort of liberal arts college that has the same foundation course for all students. From there students can specialize. The second alternative builds on the current Bachelor's system, but has a broader foundation course. This scenario would be somewhat less drastic. The Master courses will also be reorganized. According to Van Vree, they need to be more efficient, but also more attractive to attract more students. There are a number courses in the master phase that are no longer profitable, but plans are being devised to save these courses. "Think of a collaboration with the VU or the Utrecht University. That may be fine." says Fopma. Fopma stresses that although the courses will be merged, no courses will disappear. "Especially in the first year phase students of the entire faculty now sometimes sit together. This may happen more. We do not know exactly how we are going to solve this, but it is not the intention that courses disappear." Students of the faculty have created a protest group against these measures on Facebook called Humanities Rally. Fopma says that they will definitely sit down to discuss the measures with the students. "But it could also be that part of the protest arises from uncertainty about what to expect." The Facebook page of the student protest has more than two thousand likes. Tivadar Vervoort of Humanities Rally is unhappy about how the Board of Governors is dealing with the impending cuts. "From the piece that appeared yesterday it is clear that the plans are at an advance stage, while neither the students nor the lecturers have been consulted" says Vervoort. "We want the entire academic community to have enough time to come up with an alternative solution." De Vree emphasizes that this is not a definite plan. "I can imagine that students are concerned, but it is a discussion. The discussion will also be held with the student council."