Prague Journal

Thursday, January 20, 2005.

The day didn’t start out rainy, but by the time Rick and I left the house this afternoon there was continuous rain until well after we returned home after dinner.
I originally had two meetings scheduled this afternoon at VŠE (University of Economics, Prague, my host institution), one with the Vice Dean for International Students and the Vice Rector for International and Public Relations. The Vice Dean had called yesterday to cancel because of a conflict, so the Vice Rector changed her appointment time with me to earlier in the afternoon. This morning, the Vice Dean’s meeting was cancelled, so he was not happy about having canceled my meeting with him (nor was I, but I hope we will meet on another occasion to talk about exchange programs for students), which resulted in my schedule change with the Vice Rector.
I had met Slava Hořejší, the Vice Rector for International and Public Relations, at the Fulbright reception in September, and I was pleased to be able to talk with her again. VŠE is the only university with both a female Rector (equivalent to Chancellor or President) and Vice-Rector (although there are five Vice-Rectors; the other four are men). This will undoubtedly change in another year when the term for the Rector and Vice Rector expires and a new Rector will be elected. Rectors serve three years and can only be re-elected once (by the university-wide academic senate) and this is the Rector’s fifth year. The Vice Rectors are appointed by the Rector, but new Rectors usually choose new Vice Rectors. Slava, who is also in her fifth year, is eager to step down since the job of a Vice Rector is quite demanding. She still teaches two courses, which adds to her time constraints. Since she enjoys her teaching – her field is microeconomics – she will be quite happy to be back in the classroom full time and to resume her research.
I was interested to find out that Slava did not think it unusual for the University of Economics, Prague, to have a woman Vice Rector, nor was it unusual to have a woman Rector. Before the 1989 revolution, VŠE was dominated by women – approximately 75% of faculty and students were women – since economics, accounting and financial management were not appreciated or sought by men. Now more men are interested in these subjects since they are financially attractive, so VŠE is roughly 50/50 men and women, both faculty and students. Faculty have the opportunity to enrich their salaries by applying for research grants, some of which are administered by the Ministry of Education, and others come from within the university.
I had been offered a position as a visiting Professor here, to teach a course this spring, but I had turned it down, largely because I didn’t want the time constraints to interfere with my ability to schedule interviews or travel, but also because I had it in my mind that I would be burdened by grading – and I wasn’t sure what that would look like or how I would handle student grades. I now understand the system a bit better. There are two kinds of courses, some are offered “for credit” which is basically pass/fail, and others for a grade, which is solely determined by a final exam. In either case, while faculty may give written feedback to their students during the term, teachers are not expected to diligently evaluate and comment on any projects or homework they may assign. On the other hand, the month of exams is a real bear, since most instructors build in oral exams as part of the written exam process to give marginal students a “second chance” to pass their course. In addition, faculty also administer and grade state qualifying exams (“school leaving” exams, which are required for graduation) as well, which are a combination of T/F, short-answer, and essay problem-solving questions. Approximately one-third of the students do not pass the state exams the first time they take them.

posted by JWinn @ 10:32 PM