The committee, which is led by education director Arnold Bregt, was formed this year to advise the Executive Board on the university’s evaluations policy. One of the things the committee will look at is Tenure Track, which critics say overvalues research productivity and pays too little attention to academic services and leadership.
Over recent months, the committee has asked staff which aspects of the current evaluation system are good, and which ones could be improved on. Five main themes were distilled from the responses, which are now being used as the basis of survey questions.
Which qualities, apart from publications, should the university evaluate and reward?
So how?
One question asked in the survey is which staff qualities, apart from publications, should the university evaluate and reward. The committee also wants to know whether and how scientific groups and academic leadership should be appreciated. All Dutch universities are currently considering how they want to recognize and reward their staff in future. The Universities Association VSNU published a position paper a year ago called ‘Room for everyone’s talent: towards a new balance in the recognition and rewards of academics.’ The universities indicate in this document that they want to recognize and reward the work of their academic staff in a broader fashion. Each university will adopt its own approach to this, but in consultation with each other through the VSNU.