ESE dean Patrick Groenen is present. He is “delighted to see so many students in real life again”. For Stella Verbrugge from the Student Administration, it was “fantastic” to organise the examinations in this way. Since last Friday, she and her team had been busy getting the examination halls ready. “The organisation was a logistical challenge, but so worthwhile because the students can safely take their examinations here in these spacious halls.”
Additional cost
Organising examinations in the Ahoy Arena does cost more than usual, admits Groenen, while not stating the exact amount involved. “But we are happy to make this contribution for our students,” he adds. “For teachers, online and offline examinations demand a comparable effort. But the situation is very different for students. With online examinations they must ensure that their computer and internet connection are working faultlessly. And that adds to their stress.”
Happy with a physical examination
After an hour, the first students start leaving the halls. For third-year Econometrics student Noor Diepman, the examination went well. “The arrangements here are well done. It’s so good that we can take physical examinations again,” she says. Having to spend more time getting here is not a problem at all. “I live in Kralingen, so this location is further away than the campus. Unfortunately, it was raining this morning, so I came on public transport. Otherwise I would have cycled here.”
Her classmate Sabine Warringa is also pleased with the physical examination. “You get more of an ‘examination feeling’. Taking it at home, you are always worried during the examination about whether the camera is still on, whether you can be seen clearly, whether the internet connection is still working.”
Sociable but not necessary
For third-year student Robert Prinsze, today’s examination did not have to be offline. “I was finished within an hour, so I could have done the examination just as easily at home on a laptop,” he explains. He does not have any difficulty with the internet connection or a second camera. “After the eighth time, I had gotten used to proctoring. The only thing that I sometimes worry about is that my flatmates will make a lot of noise during the examination,” he laughs. “Open-question examinations can certainly be better done offline, because you are more relaxed then, but a multiple-choice test doesn’t have to be taken like that in my opinion.”
For practical reasons (“I had to get up earlier and take the metro”), third-year student Sarp Acar would rather have sat the examination on campus than in the Ahoy Arena. But that did not put a damper on his enthusiasm. “I have really missed the physical contact and this was our very last examination, so I am delighted that we could get together here for it,” he says. “Now we are going to eat lunch together. Such a pleasure to be able to hang out together again.”
Bekijk hier de impressie van de tentamens in Ahoy:
