{"id":89729,"date":"2018-09-19T16:26:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T14:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=89729"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:06","slug":"cancel-nn-the-minister-has-completely-missed-the-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/09\/19\/cancel-nn-the-minister-has-completely-missed-the-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancel N=N? ‘The Minister has completely missed the point’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two weeks after Minister Van Engelshoven issued her statement on the binding study advice (BSA), these academics are still \u2018astonished\u2019 and \u2018dismayed\u2019. The Minister of Education wants to alleviate the pressure felt by students by relaxing the requirements of the binding study advice (BSA). First-year students would only have to earn 40 credits to move on to the second year of their programme. If the bill passes, that would spell the end of Rotterdam\u2019s Nominal=Normal (N=N) policy, in which students are required to earn a full 60 credits in their first year.<\/p>\n

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Students in the auditorium<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

'I was baffled when I heard of the plans'<\/h2>
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Henk van der Molen<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) was the first to experiment with N=N under\u00a0Professor of Psychology Henk van der Molen<\/strong>\u2019s term as dean. He is one of the earliest advocates of the policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was baffled when I heard of the plans. I feel the Minister has completely missed the point. N=N is in actually in the student\u2019s interest. We have meticulously researched the effects of its implementation: comparing the academic results achieved by 12,432 students before N=N to those of 17,036 students after its introduction. The difference is spectacular. The number of students who successfully completed their first-year rose by no fewer than 23 percent. The share of drop-outs remained the same. Even after three years, you can still see the benefits: under N=N, more students are able to round off their programme within the allotted term. It amounts to a 9 percent increase.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis idea of the BSA leading to more stress has never been substantiated. When you are forced to study longer because you need to resit first-year exams, you need to borrow even more money. I would imagine that\u2019s far more stressful. Since N=N was first introduced, Psychology and Medicine students on average spend two hours a week more on their studies than before. And the grade average over the entire year has also increased by almost half a point. Although N=N was introduced first and foremost in the students\u2019 interest, it has also proven good for EUR as a whole. It has not only improved our output, it also improves the quality of the provided education. In other words, I hope that the political actors at both the national and university levels will do their best to dissuade the Minister of her regrettable plans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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