Fewer first-year diplomas in one year

TU Delft’s BSc programmes use a first-year diploma (propedeuse) system, whereby first-year students must earn a certain number of course credits in order to progress to their second-year of study. But from 2005 to 2007, only an average of 17 percent of the university’s first-year BSc students managed to earn enough credits to receive their first-year diplomas, according to recently released figures. Students in the applied sciences programmes performed better than students in engineering or design-based programmes. An average of one in four students following the applied mathematics and sciences programmes, and life science & technology, earned their first-year diplomas in one year (or ‘p-in-1’ for short), yet these students were high achievers compared to the first-year students studying maritime engineering (one out of 25 students pass rate) and architecture (one out of 12). Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management students scored 14 percent, three percentage points below the average for all TU Delft first-year BSc students. But according to Els van Daalen, director of education at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM), students at this faculty are involved in more extracurricular activities: “They enjoy participating in commissions and organising things.”

To progress from one year to the next at the TPM faculty, students should earn an average of 45 or more course credits per year. For first-year students, the average was 35 course credits per year. One method introduced to help TPM students perform better is the ‘TB-week’, whereby, in the first week of the academic year, the students are given a summary review of all the courses they will study throughout the entire year. Van Daalen: “This gives them a better overview of their entire educational programme. Whereas students know what physics and mathematics involve, at the TPM faculty it is less self-evident what certain courses entail.”

At the end of TB-week, students fill out forms, explaining what they had learned and how they intend to approach their studies. “If students later receive a negative academic evaluation, this form can then play a role,” Van Daalen explains, while adding that TPM’s teachers now place greater emphasis on practical coursework. “When studying mathematics, it’s normal, for instance, for students to work on equations.” This is also perhaps why physics students perform better. “If you don’t like physics, you wouldn’t come to study at this faculty,” says Rob Mudde, director of education at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (AS).

The AS faculty achieved a first-year diploma rate of 27 percent – the same as last year, but excluding students who quit their studies or switched to other programmes. “Even if you have model students, you won’t achieve a 100 percent p-in-1 rate,” Mudde says, while adding that he believes other Dutch universities have around 30 percent p-in-1 rates.

Five years ago the AS faculty introduced various new educational methods, while also giving more attention to individual students. Long, dull lectures in large lecture halls were replaced by theoretical subjects taught in smaller academic blocks and course work performed by small groups of students. Mudde: “The pass rates for introductory physics courses rose from 40 to 70 percent.” AS staff members also meet with each student four times per year to find out how they’re progressing in their studies. “We come across students who are satisfied that they already have ten course credits in April,” Mudde says, “but we want them to understand that they must remain realistic about their study progression.”  

OC Focus is een expertise- en adviescentrum voor alle docenten, directeuren onderwijs en opleidingsdirecteuren van de TU. Vorig jaar april werd het ondergebracht bij de dienst Onderwijs & Studentenzaken (O&S). Daarvoor hoorde het bij de faculteit Techniek, Bestuur en Management (TBM).

In de door de directie van O&S en het hoofd van OC Focus geschreven evaluatie staat dat de overgang succesvol is verlopen, de bekendheid van het centrum bij faculteiten is gegroeid en de medewerkers tevreden zijn.

De ondernemingsraad noemt dat geen evaluatie. “Dit stuk is meer: ‘Kijk es wat we doen. We zijn heel goed’”, zegt Joanna Daudt van de fractie Democratisch Beleid. “Wat is het effect, wat zijn de kosten en wat zijn de opbrengsten?”

Daudt vindt dat de conclusie dat de overgang succesvol is verlopen elders moet worden getrokken. “Je moet de mensen op de faculteiten bellen. Zijn de mensen aan wie je diensten verleent ook tevreden? Er is geen onderbouwing.”

Directeur O&S Anka Mulder zegt dat er wel cijfers in de evaluatie zijn te vinden over de groei van de vraag naar ondersteuning. “Er zijn meer adviezen gegeven, meer docenten volgen de basiskwalificatie onderwijs en meer docenten maken gebruik van ander aanbod.”

Ook is volgens Mulder gesproken met onder andere directeuren onderwijs. “Er is nog geen uitgebreid tevredenheidsonderzoek gedaan. Dat klopt. Daar hebben wij zelf ook behoefte aan.”