D66: “One election week for higher education co-determination”
Why do so few students go to vote for student council elections at their university or college? Perhaps a national election week would help, D66 suggests. Minister Dijkgraaf sees potential in this, but the council itself is skeptical.
Where does the money go, are quiet rooms needed, and what are the library opening hours? Students and faculty can have a say in many issues, or at least contribute ideas.
They do so in all kinds of councils and committees, at the level of the program, faculty, and the entire institution – and there are elections for them every year. But who gets to vote? Election turnout has been eroding for years.
One week
It came up in a debate with the House of Representatives on Monday. Surely it should be possible to do better, says Lower House member Jeanet van der Laan (D66). She suggests scheduling all participation elections in one week so that students at all institutions “get a little more insight into how democracy works at their institution.”
An interesting thought, thinks Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf. “I also launched a kind of mini-campaign this year,” he replied. He did so at the start of a period with many elections, together with students, umbrella associations, and participation councils. “It was covered extensively by the media and it does feel like there are more things to come.”
Forgotten
According to D66, student organizations also think it’s a good idea. That’s right, confirms new LSVb president Elisa Weehuizen. A national election week could ensure a higher turnout. “If elections are spread out over the year, you forget more quickly,” she says.
But that does not solve the problems of the student council election, she adds. For one thing, the councils need to be better informed, including about their exact tasks. “Sometimes program committees must evaluate courses when that is not their role. That leaves little time for other matters.”
Compensation for participation committee members also remains meager. Weehuizen: “For students, it just backfires if they are paid a small amount despite having to put in a lot of time.”
A deeper problem
One national election week would also run into practical problems, says Rien Wijnhoven of LOVUM, the association of university participation councils. “It’s not a new idea and we’ve talked about it before. But in some cities, elections are in December, for example, whereas elsewhere they’re in April or June. Then you struggle with schedules and terms of office.”
Plus, it will solve little if nothing else changes, he predicts. That mini-campaign by the minister, for example, did not increase turnout, despite all the media coverage. “In some places, turnout has decreased by half; it may have only added a few percent elsewhere.”
The councils and committees need to become more visible, he believes. “That’s where they are lacking. What is on the agendas, and how does it affect the interests of students and faculty? What is the outcome? We need to show and explain that. Even students and staff who are involved in a union, for example, sometimes barely know what student council election can and cannot formally do.”
The deeper problem, he says, is that there is little support for the participation of institutions. Candidates are also usually unable to take advantage of the expertise within the institution. Wijnhoven says: “Those elections are usually not even prominently displayed on the website. You have to click through three times before you find information anywhere. It would be nice, for instance, if they had some help from the marketing and communications department.”
Guidelines
There are more plans to pull student council election out of the doldrums. Last year, the House of Representatives backed national guidelines for employee participation fees. The Chamber also said there should be training, support, and communication guidelines.
But little has been heard of this. Minister Dijkgraaf promises to inform the Lower House about the state of affairs soon.
