Logically, as the number of students grows so does the number of students with special needs. From my own student days I can recall other students who got more time for each exam because they had dyslexia, but these days we have dozens of students with special needs. Students who are given extra time, students who are given a low-stimulus environment (but who themselves can't sit still) and even students who are allowed to get up and stretch their legs during every exam. You name it, we've got it. And we're not the only ones, primary and secondary schools are also facilitating these students. And now TU/e is wondering, as an extension of this thinking, whether international students also have special needs.

I can't help feeling that this massive demand for special treatment is simply a byproduct of the lack of staff. Because we have to serve ever more students in ever less time, the time per student is getting ever shorter. Whereas as a lecturer you used to be able to give a student that little bit more attention to help him or her get that well-deserved pass, lecturers are often now having to give their all to deliver the bare minimum.

When the time we have to spend on each student diminishes, only the better students manage to keep up. So a large group of students is created who are getting not quite enough attention to succeed. And that's a shame. Of course they are going to look for ways to get that extra attention, often supported by behavioral experts who like to give everyone a label. Unfortunately, more attention is given to one student only at the expense of another.

In 2019 TU/e showed that it doesn't shy away from taking radical decisions. So let's be radical in 2020 and stop all this special treatment for once and for all. No more nine-year-old students, no low-stimulus exams and no more preferential treatments. Let's simply give everyone the attention they need within the time available. Which means it is up to TU/e to ensure that sufficient capacity (M/F) is available to provide this attention. To my mind that's an excellent  New Year's resolution for 2020.