Recommendation of the Sub-Committee for Quality Control with Regard to the department of Politics and Government

Sept 5, 2012

Recommendation of the Sub-Committee for Quality Control with Regard to the Implementation of the Report of the International Evaluation Committee in the Dept. of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University

The Sub-Committee for Quality Control hereby recommends to the Council of Higher Education to accept the following decision with regard to the study program of Political Science at Ben-Gurion University:

1. The Council of Higher Education commends Ben Gurion University on the granting of new tenured positions to the Department of Politics and Government, aimed at recruiting faculty from within the core of the field of Political Science (quantitative methodological approaches, political theory and comparative politics), as was required by the International Evaluation Committee.

2. The Council takes note of the reservations expressed by members of the International Evaluation Committee with regard to the implementation of recommendations made by the committee regarding the broadening of methodologies and theoretical approaches being taught in the Department of Politics and Government.

3. In light of these reservations, the Council expresses its dissatisfaction with the fact that the department of Politics and Government did not exploit this opportunity to recruit new faculty members in order to expand upon the methodological approaches employed by faculty in the department in a way that would reflect the pluralism of the discipline, as recommended by the International Evaluation Committee. Specifically, this relates to the absence of the positivist approach in Political Science among faculty of the department. The recruitment of faculty, the majority of whom represent a sub-field within the Interpretive Approach to political research (critical theory), which is already over-represented in the department, does not follow the recommendations made by the International Evaluation Committee.

4. The Council of Higher Education has decided to establish a sub-committee that will monitor and investigate the changes that have been undertaken in the Department of Politics and Government, following the report of the International Evaluation Committee, particularly with regard to the weight given in courses taught in the department to methodology and theories of the mainstream approaches of political science. This sub-committee will be asked to submit a report to the Council of Higher Education no later December 2012.

5. In the current situation, we will not allow registration of new students to the Department of Politics and Government for the 2013-14 academic year. The Department will consider the possibility of registration of new students only after receiving the sub-committee’s report.