Today we are visiting the University of Ghent. It was founded in 1878. Belgium has two main languages...Flemish (a form of Dutch) in the north and French in the south. In Ghent (which is located in the north) the main language is Flemish though many citizens speak French as well. English is also widely spoken. At U Ghent, Dutch became the official language of instruction in 1930.
There are 4 universities in Ghent enrolling more than 66,000 students, being served/taught by 10,000 staff, and offering more than 340 bachelors degrees. U Ghent has the majority of those numbers with 34,000 students and over 7,000 staff.
At U Ghent they have 9,000 new students each year and award 9,000 'qualifications' as well. There are 18 degrees of study and 44 bachelors courses, 88 masters, and 34 advanced masters doctoral studies (across 5 doctoral schools). They are one of the few veterinary medicine schools in Belgium.
While at U Ghent we were shown to an extremely nice lecture room with four projectors around the room. Each seat had a microphone (that we did not use). Four staff members from U Ghent spoke to us about their policies, students, governance, finances, and nuances.
Some of the highlights of their lectures:
-University governed by a 'Rector' and 'Vice Rector' that serve four year terms. The candidates for these positions come from the faculty and are elected by the faculty.
-There is a Board of Governors with 38 members that meet monthly. Students do make up two seats of the board. They rule on big policy issues and tenure.
-Executive Committee also has some presence but don't meet often. This includes Rector, Vice Rector, a non-voting government official, and two other committee members.
-'Tuesday Meeting Group' -same as Executive Committee (except no government official) and directors of both education and research.
-Student services at U Ghent funded by government and intended of Belgium students and international students are not served. Cafeteria and sports/recreational center can be used by international students.
-Slogan of U Ghent: A creative community for a changing world.
Next speaker was Chief Administrator of Logistics. He was in charge of finances, buildings, and infrastructure.
-All students have an 'account' with 140 credits. Students 'spend' 60 credits per year on courses. They are refunded for each credit they pass. If they 'run out' of credits they may not return or may have to pay significant extra fees.
-We also talked about curriculum that students take for their degree. The impression we were given is that courses are primarily related to their major and there is no 'core curriculum'.
At left, two of the cohort attempt to figure out one of the many slides with charts and formulas. I think that we need a flow chart!
The next speaker was from the Department of Educational Affairs.
-Anticipate 20% growth in students for fall 2013.
-How? Because Flemish Belgium is 'integrating' universities with university colleges (see previous posts for explanation of differences).
-Why? Match dichotomy of two institutes (time taken to graduate).
Increase quality in programs.
More rational distribution of resources. There are 6 Universities and 21 University Colleges in Flemish portion of Belgium. The six Universities will absorb the 21 UC...based primarily on geographic location but institute type also strongly considered (Catholic UC absorbed by a Catholic University).
Fair appreciation of diplomas. The everyday perception is that UC < C but Flemish Belgium wants to change that.
Not a physical integration. Just removing some duplication of resources.
After these discussions we toured campus and even got to visit the top floor of a building that is being renovated. One of our speakers had talked about how challenging it is for colleges to do fundraising among alumni. With such a high tax rate and the structure of college selection there seems to be little college spirit. I am sure the absence of intercollegiate athletics also contributes to the lack of school spirit. Funds were being raised for the stairs in this building. Alumni were asked to donate 250 Euro for 1 stair. Though I am unsure how many stairs were in the building it was around 20 stories high. Two of my cohort walked to the top while the rest of us took the elevator. The picture below is from the top floor. It offered great view of the city of Ghent.
After our wonderful day on campus we visited the campus bookstore which was much smaller in scale and selection than you would find on any US campus. While there we decided, as a cohort, to each donate money to sponsor a stair. So if you visit University of Ghent you will find our name on one of the stairs. We thought it was a nice way to show our appreciation for the tour.
One of the most interesting items to me was the consolidation of the colleges. I don't fully understand the differences in University and University College and how a students selects one and I think this merger will help with some of the confusion. I agree that duplication of services is a valuable concept for the government to examine since education is relatively free. As the state of Mississippi considers college mergers (and Georgia just completed some) there are challenges in the US that do not exist abroad. In the US there is much more school loyalty and alumni pride. The presence of sports teams also add to the confusion as US schools consider mergers.
The other concept that I enjoyed was the 'account' with a limited number of credits that are replaced with successful completion of classes. This certainly keeps students on track. With a finite amount of financial aid the US does have a form of this but with free education I am sure the government wants to ensure the students are taking courses seriously and this appears to be a sound concept.
The unofficial mascot of U Ghent was 'Stunt Brain'. It was the first time that we had seen a mascot so coming from the land of Bulldogs, Commodores, and Crimson Elephants we were all excited. The picture we were shown had a 'real' mascot in costume with the Rector. I was not able to find that picture but did find a comic drawing of him. Little was shared about him during the presentation but my research has found that he was used in a capital campaign for one year.
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