The new Dean-team started the meeting with introduction round and talked about their overall aims in terms of the cooperation between the students and faculty. They emphasize visibility for both students and management, change and collaboration. First meeting was mostly about getting to know each other, agree on the framework and identify the student’s expectations towards the new management and collaboration.
There is a general confusion about what kind of cases that should be brought to the table in this meeting, and what kind of cases that should be addressed in other forums, and how the reporting lines are.
MFU - highlighted their hope and excitement for the future with the new management. They are addressing a general frustration within the medicine student’s environment. They are concerned about how the feedback from the student’s evaluations are not taken into consideration. They also raised the case about grades in medicine, and their impatience about removing the grades.
Other important issues raised are about recording of lectures, and the flexibility this offers the students. Magnus replied that our interest is to optimize the learning environment for the students. Recording of lectures is an offer that is currently in place, but there are mixed feelings about it – especially related to creating a social student environment at campus. Another challenge that we face is a newly implemented requirement that all recordings need to have subtitles, and there is currently no system in place to make this an automated process.
Another issue who was raised by MFU are the travel costs related to clinical teaching outside Oslo (AHUS etc.) The students want to know why they don’t get expenses covered when they have to travel outside Oslo for teaching.
MSU – raised also the concern about grades in both medicine and nutrition, and the importance of student involvement in the process of evaluating.
EFU – underlined that there are a lot of medicine issues in this meeting. However it is also sometimes instructive to be part of.
HFU – finds it difficult to address common topics since they cover many different study programs. They often contact the student advisors or the program leader if they have issues to discuss.
The participants in the meeting agreed to have the future meetings separately - one for MFU and one for HFU and EFU. MSU will be present at both. The meetings will be held once a month instead of every two weeks. Two of the meetings in the semester will be held with all present. A plan will be worked out.