Furious over cuts in education
24 students taking Clinical Psychology this fall are taking a course that doesn’t have any lecturers.
The number of lectures for “Biological Psychology – Theory and Method” was severely reduced and the semester start had been postponed.
– At the information meeting we were told that there were no lecturers. Later we found out that only three lectures would take place in the course, and that we could possibly attend three lectures in another course. In total, that is six lectures in half a year, says psychology student Nils Jørgen Selbekk.
Future patients will suffer
The students have complained to the Department of Psychology, because they feel that offering only six lectures is unacceptable.
– The education isn’t sufficient, which is a problem for us, psychology as a profession, others working with psychological treatment and, of course, the patients. Future patients trust us to have the right education, Selbekk says.
The department says that they’re not lowering the bar; they’re just adjusting themselves to the other departments. The students are reacting to this. The statistics of the departments in Bergen, Tromsø and Oslo show that NTNU ranks lowest in regards to the amount of teaching done per credit in the course Biological Psychology – Theory and Method.’ The timetable says that the students are supposed to get 102 hours of lectures, in reality they get only 12 combined.
– They’ve been a bit too eager whilst cutting down. They think we are satisfied with a lousy offer, but we’re not, says Selbekk.
Explanation not good enough
The department says that the cuts are made to adjust to other departments. The explanation isn’t good enough for the students.
– This is a lousy excuse for trying to cover the financial situation in the department. If they didn’t sincerely think that this was the best solution, it becomes even worse than it would be if this was all due to factors such as financial issues. If economy isn’t the reason, then what is the reason for cutting down on our lectures, Selbekk wonders.
DISAGREEMENT ABOUT ECONOMIC FACTOR
At the Department of Psychology they disagree on the reason for the cut.
– No new lecturers followed financial problems. It doesn’t just affect us, but several departments at NTNU. It’s important to point out that this is not a problem, because the department in Trondheim used to offer more teaching than other cities, says assistant professor Stig Hollup, formerly responsible for Biological Psychology – Theory and Method.
Department leader Hroar Klempe has a different explanation for the matter. He denies that an economical issue is the reason for a course without a lecturer was a fact this fall.
– We used to have many guest lecturers, but we have had some reorganizing in the department, and that has made us use more of our own lecturers, he says.
Klempe thinks that the late semester start won’t affect the course content.
– The misunderstanding is that the students thought they weren’t going to get any lectures, but that is wrong. The course will just be more concentrated. I am deeply sorry for the postponement, but they will get their lectures, he says.
The director of studies, Anne Rossvoll, doesn’t want to comment on this matter, since she thinks it’s only for the department to work out.
Translation: Maria Kråkmo
