4 que la existencia de un determinado patrón de comportamiento en la relación de causalidad

The ‘mother or father of the programme’

The assessment committee was charmed by the enthusiasm and very impressed by the dedication with which the academic and administrative staff support the various study programmes, which it has examined. Many of the students expressed during their meetings with the assessment committee their high esteem for their ‘mother or father of the programme’. Their appreciation for the efforts at the support and organisational level of the study programme to accommodate and support students as much as possible was manifest. All of the study programmes

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have such figures and these people were highly praised by each group of students and alumni which the assessment committee met. The various Faculties should realise that such figures are especially important for the quality and success of (in particular) international study programmes.

Dedication and level of staff overall

The assessment committee was particularly impressed by the personal dedication of all the staff (especially the founding fathers of the study programmes, but also the teaching staff and support staff). Their heart is very much in their work, even for study programmes which have been running for many years. The study programme was taught often by some of the leading authorities in their fields, which helps to ensure that the Advanced Master’s study programmes in Flanders rightly enjoyed a distinguished international reputation. The overall standard of Advanced Master’s education in Law in Flanders is very good, and indeed some study programmes are unique or unrivalled in Europe. Moreover, many of the staff are at the forefront of legal research in their fields.

Some of the study programmes are very reliant on the efforts of teaching staff that have full or part time tenure in the general Dutch language Bachelor or Initial Master’s study programmes in Law. Most of them, in addition have a busy professional life in the legal world. This can lead to too much work load being placed on the shoulders of the teaching staff. The Law Faculties might wish to consider approaching an integrated quality assurance policy that also considers the possible effects their different programmes have for each other.

Promotion of academic staff

It appears to the assessment committee that in Flanders, there are formal obstacles resulting in there being relatively little opportunity for eager, high quality academic staff to attain advancement in their academic status commensurate with the level of advancement, which they could expect, in view of their distinction, in other countries (such as the United Kingdom). The assessment committee feels that the issue of careers should be addressed both by the study programmes and by the Flemish Universities as a whole. The mere entitlement for a teacher in charge of a course to use the title of professor, even when he/she does not have a chair but the status of a lecturer or senior lecturer, is no substitute for proper reflection of the academic standing of staff in terms of their appointment. It would be a shame if good persons were poached to go elsewhere, largely because of the rigid system which seems to be applied in Flemish universities. While some comments were made to the effect that there did not seem to be a demand on the part of staff for speedier promotion, and that the more ‘meat market’ tendencies seen in the United Kingdom, in particular, do not appear to have manifested themselves yet in Flanders, the assessment committee feels that it is inappropriate not to reward

adequately, those whose academic profile, considered internationally, would indicate that they should have a higher status appointment.

Didactic qualities

Very occasionally, it appears that in some very good study programmes, when the weakest link is identified in the academic competences of one of the tenured staff, the programme directors have relatively little or no authority or power to address that issue. Most study programmes have procedures in place that include a talk with the Dean or the programme directors, or both, remedial methodological courses, etc, but sometimes it appears that relatively little change results. The assessment committee requests that the higher echelons of the universities should address this issue more structurally; they should devise and take measures to cope with situations where these deficiencies have a negative influence on the quality of the study programmes which are offered.

Successors to the ‘founding fathers’

Much of the strength of some of the study programmes assessed relies heavily on the high qualities of the founding fathers of the study programmes, who carry much of the weight of the study programme on their shoulders. In some cases, this might be a weakness with regard to the succession and continuity of the study programme, particularly for those study programmes where the founding father is due to retire within a relatively short period. The assessment committee considers that it is essential that good successors to the founding fathers of the study programmes should be sought and found in time to ensure an orderly succession; perhaps by means of a ‘roof tile’ or coadjutor construction, whereby the successor takes up his or her appointment before the founding father retires, in order to be able to take over the management of the study programme in a manner which ensures appropriate continuity. If this is not feasible, formal structures should be in place to support the study programme and to uphold its quality until the successor is operational: too heavy reliance on informal contacts is dangerous at moments when the retirement of the anchor figures is impending.