The lecturers’ meeting of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies on June 26 focused on the hours model for course-based teaching. What are the main changes? We asked Frank van Caspel, who developed the model for the faculty. We spoke with Frank in his office on the 16th floor: “They concern the way grading time for exams is calculated, but there are also several smaller adjustments. The model, a calculation tool, and the breakdown for each course can be found on the faculty documents page.”
All lecturers are strongly encouraged to check how many hours they will receive for their courses next year and to use that as a guideline when designing their teaching, especially with regard to assessment. Frank: “If you need help designing an assessment that both aligns with your course learning objectives and can be graded within a reasonable time, please contact the TIP (Teacher Information Point, ed.). Erik can assist you, for example with suggestions for setting up a digital exam.”
The meeting also addressed how the model exposes certain frictions in the faculty’s way of working, such as the fact that taking over an existing course often means, in practice, designing an entirely new course, while no additional hours are allocated for that. It was also discussed how this hours model fits into broader policy on lecturers’ time allocation, and that there is certainly still work to be done in that area.
All thoughts and input on this are very welcome and can be sent to Frank van Caspel.