The course on Archeology will have a numerus fixus as of the start of the next academic year, partly to prevent the job market from becoming saturated in the long term. “The crisis also hits archeology.”
.jpg)
Photograph: USACE Europe District
As of the next academic year, there will be room for 75 first-year students. This year, the course started with 79 students, of whom approximately 65 are left. The course is popular, but there is a limit to the need for archeologists. “Archeology is strongly related to the building industry”, Pim Alders, course coordinator, explains. “If little construction takes place, like now, this has its influence on archeology.”
Additionally, the course cannot handle more than 75 new students from an organisational perspective. If the group were much bigger, the small-scale education would be at issue. Also, it would be almost impossible to arrange positions of clinical affiliation for everyone. Alders: “And the clinical affiliations in the professional field are the force of our course, especially with regard to university studies.”
Risks
So, a numerus fixus could not be avoided. Although setting a maximum number of students also entails risks. “The numerus fixus at Saxion may be a sign for other universities of applied sciences to set up a comparable course.”
Alders is convinced that it is the right decision. “If we train to many students, there will be unemployed archeologists later. Something like that spreads like wildfire. And, of course, we want the course to be able to continue to exist in the future, too."