NTNU students are paying for their own lecturer
Students taking Clinical Psychology have hired their own lecturer because they think the Department of Psychology’s lecture plan is not sufficient.
Tekst: Marte Borhaug, Stian Mathisen
The number of lectures for «Biological Psychology – Theory and Method» was severely reduced and the semester start had been postponed.
Earlier this semester Under Dusken wrote about these students and their complaints to the Department. Now the 24 students have found a lecturer by themselves.
– We don’t feel that the lectures we were promised fully cover what they are supposed to. Because of this we decided to rent a lecturer. We want him to cover six subjects from the syllabus which we feel aren’t covered sufficiently. As of now we have agreed on one lecture, says psychology student Nils Jørgen Selbekk.
Understands the frustration
The Department of Psychology is working on a sufficient offer in the course.
– It’s too late to talk about this now, Selbekk says.
Department leader Hroar Klempe does not understand why the students are hiring a lecturer on their own.
– I wonder if the students are fully aware of what we’re offering them. I get that they are frustrated, but they have to believe us when we say that we are fixing this issue. We are building up an offer after an accident, says Klempe.
– Care to elaborate?
– No, this is an internal matter at the Department. But we are scraping our resources together in top speed.
He tells us that they are working fast to ready the course plan offer.
– It’s not fully decided how it will turn out yet, but it will be an ad hoc solution because the situation is the way it is. We’re doing what we can, and we are talking about high competence on an international level, says Klempe.
Director of studies supports the students
The course which has 15 study points only has a 400 page syllabus, because the original plan was to have 400 hours of lab work.
– Will it become difficult to go through all those hours with lab work now?
– Yes, and that’s an understatement, says the Department leader.
– Will you reimburse the students’ expenses regarding the lecturer?
– No, we will not.
Director of studies, Anne Rossvoll, thinks that it is about time the Department did something about this.
– I’ve noticed that the Department is dealing with this, and they should. The students have a claim on teaching, and the Department must give them what they demand, she says.
