Penalty

I was surprised to read the following title in Delta: ‘Noem het geen langstudeerboete, zegt NSC’ (Don’t call it a long-term study penalty, says NSC. NSC stands for new social contract and is a political party, Eds.). But what should it then be called? ‘It should be an incentive to not study for too long and to complete the course within a reasonable time.’

As a student, I want to add two things to the debate. One, about the definition of the fine, and two, about managing expectations.

First, according to the Van Dale Dutch language dictionary, a boete (fine) is ‘a financial penalty for breaking the rules. Does that apply to this ‘incentive’? The infringement in this case is taking too long to finish your studies and the fine is EUR 3,000. However Nicolien van Vroonhoven (a NSC parliamentary representative, Eds.) words it, it remains a fine.

Do not expect that yet another ‘incentive’ will help students earn their degrees more quickly

My second point is about political expectation management. TU Delft has a few studies that are hard to pass. Take the Mechanical Engineering bachelor’s for example: 41% of the students earn their degree within four years but 54% do not do so (source: studiekeuze123.nl, in Dutch). This means that more than half the students in this degree programme have to pay the long-term study penalty.

This is likely to anger some students, but you can be certain that the majority of these students are not taking longer to complete their studies just for fun. Student grants, be they basic or extra grants, stop when the nominal duration of the study ends. Studying quickly becomes an expensive hobby.

So do not expect that another ‘incentive’ will help students earn their degrees more quickly. It is more likely to frighten potential students from starting degree programmes in the first place.

I therefore recommend the Cabinet to stop sugar coating things and simply say what it really is about. A fine is a fine. This would mean that we are all on the same page and can address the real issue: the long-term study penalty and its consequences on students, parents of students, and society.