EUR to start trialling exclusive study spaces during exam period ‘soon’

Erasmus University’s Executive Board has decided that the university will soon start trialling study spots that can only be occupied by people who hold valid EUR student ID cards.

Last Thursday, EM reported that the Executive Board was considering reserving certain study spaces exclusively for EUR students. During exam periods, students will have to be able to show their EUR student ID to be allowed to use the study spaces and designated silent rooms available on the campus. No date has been set yet for the commencement of the trial, but a university spokesperson told us that it will probably commence in early 2019.

The spokesperson was not able to say whether all study spaces on the campus will be reserved for EUR students or just the two hot spots, the Polak Building and the University Library. “Those decisions will all be made in the coming period.”

Noise

Many EUR students have complained to the university about noisy study spaces and a lack of study spots, which they claim is due to non-EUR students (i.e., students attending universities of applied sciences and secondary school pupils) poaching their spots. It should be noted that the veracity of this claim has yet to be proven. When a random check was performed at the Polak Building last year, only a handful of non-EUR students were found.

Moreover, the number of study spaces has grown significantly in the last few years. The campus now boasts 2,600 official study spots, as well as about 1,200 informal ones. Fewer spots were available in recent years, partly due to the temporary closing of the Polak Building and the renovation of the University Library.