Head of studies
The head of studies shall:
- Follow up the Department of Political Science (ISV)’s annual plans for the education provided by the Department
- Convene and chair the meetings of the programme council for the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in political science and the master’s programme in peace and conflict studies (PECOS)
- Prepare items of business for the programme council together with the secretary of the programme council
- Liaise between the study administration and the academic staff by conveying the administration’s needs to the academic staff and the needs of the academic staff to the administration
- Ensure that the programme council’s decisions are implemented, in collaboration with the programme coordinator
- Participate in the creation and follow-up of the quality system, in dialogue with the programme council and the administration
- Follow up on individual cases pertaining to academic issues
- Head development projects relating to academic issues, e.g. linked to quality assurance, review of a course of study, programme development, etc.
- Be an academic representative in the admissions committee for the master’s programmes
- Participate in faculty bodies on issues pertaining to studies
- Act as a leader in processes to ensure a good learning environment at the Department of Political Science (ISV) in collaboration with the administration and the academic staff
- Support the other heads of programme at the Department of Political Science (ISV) in their work
- Keep the head of department informed about important matters related to teaching on an ongoing basis
- In addition, the head of studies shall be encouraged to take the University of Oslo’s education leadership programme
Head of programme
Heads of programme are appointed by the head of department. The head of programme is responsible for ensuring the overall content of the programme of study. The tasks of the heads of programme are largely related to the day-to-day running of the programmes. The heads of programme work closely with the people responsible for the individual courses included in the course of study. The head of programme makes decisions in individual cases, unless they are of an extraordinary nature or relate to a matter of principle, and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the programme of study. The head of programme and the chair of the programme council can, but do not have to, be the same person. The head of programme does not have any own resources.
The head of programme is the public academic face of the programme and shall:
- Convene and chair the meetings of the programme council (if the head of programme is also chair of the programme council)
- Implement the programme council’s decisions
- Ensure that the programme description and information for students are available on time
- Chair orientation meetings
- Have first contact with the students, including student consultation time at least once a week, as well as receiving written inquiries from students
- Conduct evaluations of the programme
- Deal with matters related to inclusion of external education and exemption from courses in the programme, in accordance with guidelines laid down by the programme council, or delegate this task to a relevant academic employee
- Initiate and quality assure programme-specific measures to ensure a sense of belonging among the students and prevent drop-out from the programme
- Participate in teaching and assessment
- Participate in faculty bodies on issues pertaining to studies
- Keep the head of department informed about important matters related to teaching on an ongoing basis
- In addition, the head of programme shall be encouraged to take the University of Oslo’s education leadership programme
Area supervisor
The teaching areas determine for themselves who is going to be the area supervisor. The area supervisors’ term of office usually follows the elected department management’s term of office. The area supervisor represents one of the department’s teaching areas in the work on planning and implementing the BA and MA teaching within their area.
The area supervisor shall:
- Sit on the programme council for political science study programmes
- Be responsible for the cohesiveness of the education offered by the Department together with the other members of the programme council
- Head the teaching planning for the area. This involves:
- Planning the courses offered for their area in collaboration with teachers or course convenor
- Being a contact person for course convenor in connection with planning and discontinuing courses
- Keeping track of the Department of Political Science (ISV)’s routines and the programme council’s deadlines for teaching planning, including checking that the final teaching plan is adopted at the programme council’s first meeting of the semester before the teaching starts
- Being in charge of ensuring that any changes to the courses the section offers are reported to the secretary of the programme council within the stipulated deadlines, including changes to the name, learning outcomes, language and form of examination of individual courses
- Finding an academic supervisor for master’s students who have not found one themselves
- Taking responsibility for the section’s contribution to the Tuesday seminars / teaching forum or delegating this task to another employee in the same area
- Leading all matters of an academic nature related to BA and MA teaching in the area
- Sitting on the assessment committee for PhD positions funded through the basic funding that have a deadline for applications in September
Course convenor
Course convenor are responsible for planning, coordinating, implementing and developing their own courses
The course convenorsemin must:
- Be responsible for the day-to-day running of their own courses and be an academic point of contact for students on the courses
- Be responsible for writing or amending the course description in accordance with the programme council’s guidelines and deadlines in collaboration with the area supervisor
- Clear the use of external teachers beyond one double hour per course with the head of department
- Follow up the work on the lecture / seminar plan, syllabus and examination, including the assignment text, briefing and assisting examiners, suggesting examiners and writing explanations of grades within the stipulated deadlines
- Ensure that examination question papers and guides for examiners are quality assured by at least one academic employee and are coordinated with all the lecturers and seminar leaders on the course
- Create the Canvas room for the course
- Report to the area supervisor about wishes and plans related to own courses
- Report to the student adviser on use of external teaching resources / lecturers
- Be responsible for the academic content of course evaluations in collaboration with the student adviser
- Be a contact point for the administration for their course