The assessor’s working week
Let’s take a look behind the scenes of the Faculty Board. Our assessor, Hannah Saberi, shares her typical working week.
As the assessor, there's never a dull week! I’m either in meetings, checking my emails or having coffee with groups of students from study associations or assessors from other faculties. I sometimes attend lunches and receptions to have more informal conversations. And all of this is packed into my 25-hour working week. The rest of the time, I’m either studying or working on my thesis. Here are a few highlights from my typical working week.
Monday 10.00 to 12.00: Faculty Council meeting and official unveiling of timeline in Faculty Room at Academy Building
Roughly every six weeks, a meeting of the Faculty Council is held where the Council (comprising seven members of staff and seven students) advises the Faculty Board on all faculty-level matters. These meetings take place in the Faculty Room at the Academy Building. Following the meeting on 11 March, the new timeline was officially unveiled on the wall of this room.
Monday 13.00 to 15.00: checking emails and to-do list
The assessor has lots of minor tasks. I have a to-do list to help me keep track of everything. In between meetings, I’m in my office checking my emails and going through the to-do list. I also have time to think about other important things such as updating the Instagram page @assessorlaw. A nice cappuccino helps with all this!
Tuesday 10.00 to 12.30: Faculty Board meeting
The Faculty Board meets regularly to discuss important matters such as teaching, research and the faculty’s organisation. The assessor is a fully-fledged member on the Faculty Board, so I always attend these meetings so that I can actively representing students’ interests. This is my favourite meeting because it’s a bit more personal.
Tuesday 16.00 to 18.00: ‘Reverse’ CoBo
The assessor regularly meets with the faculty’s study associations. This year, a ‘reverse’ faculty CoBo (Board Drinks) was organised for the first time, where the Faculty Board invited the boards of study associations for drinks in order to get to know each other. It was always the other way round. This event went really well, which I was pleased about because I’d initiated it myself. Hopefully a new tradition has been born!
Thursday 12.00 to 13.00: lunch with assessors from other faculties
Once a month, there's a LAssO (Leiden Assessors Meeting) meeting involving the assessors from all seven Leiden University faculties. We meet to discuss university-wide topics such as student well-being and sustainability. After the meeting, there’s time to catch up informally over lunch or drinks.
Thursday 14.00 to 15.00: Complaints Committee meeting
The assessor and the Head of Education and Student Affairs are both members of the faculty's Complaints Committee. We meet regularly to discuss how to solve complaints submitted by students. If necessary, we also invite the students concerned to join us for a meeting. We’re currently working on updating the faculty’s complaints regulations.