The new one-year master’s of Sustainable Business: Leadership Innovation and Management (SUBLIM) caused an extensive discussion last Tuesday. The stumbling block is the double degree. The master’s is a collaboration between Maastricht University and the University of York in the United Kingdom. Students can register, take classes at both universities, do a group project, or write their theses in both cities. Those who study at both institutes and nominally complete the programme, will receive a double degree. The programme has already been approved in York and was launched this academic year, but on this side of the North Sea, the plan is awaiting approval from the UM’s Executive Board and will be submitted to the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) at the beginning of October. The York students who have already started, are being taught in York by the UM, but will receive a single degree from York.
“The programme consists of 60 ECTs, but our students will receive a double degree. Will the NVAO not have a problem with that?, asked Caren Schelleman, council member on behalf of the academic staff. Annemarie van Zeijl-Rozema, initiator of SUBLIM, thinks it won’t. There is nothing about that in the NVAO rules, but she also feels that she can justify a double degree. “The extra bit is in the personal development, studying in a different country, the expertise of another university, and foreign business contacts.”
“That is too little for me for a double degree,” says Alexander Louwes, council member on behalf of the administrative and support staff (obp). “You would expect students to have to do extra work for this. A second thesis, for example.” Marc Dijk, council member on behalf of the academic staff, is not convinced either. “The experience abroad sounds more like an exchange. I could imagine NVAO being critical about this.”
“There are more double degree programmes at SBE in which a joint thesis is written,” replies Anita van Gils, director of the master’s programmes. The initial plan was for a joint degree – for which two universities give a joint diploma – instead of a double degree, but that appeared not to be possible. Among others because it could not be done together with the requirements of SBE’s prestigious Triple Crown accreditation (a mere 1 per cent of all business schools in the world has this).
Bob Joormann, council member on behalf of the administrative and support staff, is worried about the reputation of the faculty and the university. “Diploma inflation is the first word that comes to mind. If I were a recruiter and I saw that students received two degrees for 60 ECTs, I would wonder about its value. How will this affect the UM?”
The student fraction has objections of another nature. “A new programme means even more students who will have a problem finding a room,” says Kim Sommer. “This won’t do the present crisis any good.” She is also worried about the quality of the tutors. “This tremendous growth at the UM results in people sometimes teaching who are not even educated in the same field.”
“The UM is busy dealing with the rooms shortage,” replies dean Peter Møllgaard. “The market is off-balance this year. The UM is doing what it can, but it can only influence the market, it is not in charge of the reins.” In addition, Møllgaard says that next calendar year he will look critically at the number of bachelor’s and master’s studies at SBE. Sommer’s second comment remains unanswered.
Despite all the criticism and objections, the present plan for the master’s met with approval, with the exception of two votes (one against and one abstention, both from student members).