Teachers can’t announce and fix any dates for interim exams before the start of the course. But they are urged to publish information, including expected exam dates, when students register for courses. Still, neither in OASE nor in the study guide can students see that information until they register for the course.

This problem has to be taken into account when replacing OASE with a new Student Information System (SIS). Students have to be able to consider their availability for the interim tests before registering for the course, also because there is no option to retake interim exams.

Teaching staff has to be convinced to plan interim test dates before the start of the course, and individual faculties and departments have to contribute to that. The educational committees also have to play their part by monitoring whether teachers make the information available.The committees can also seek information from teachers through the educational director.

Having said that, it shouldn’t compromise teachers’ freedom to change things later due to unforeseen circumstances. But at least the students will have a provisional schedule in mind.

The ideas described above are beneficial for both teachers and students. I’m sure it will reduce absenteeism and underperformance. Only the people who can fully participate in the course will register, and fewer people will drop out or fail the course because of a poor interim test performance. Moreover, students will be able to plan activities on days that are not interim test dates.

The University Council is convinced that in most cases teachers can, in fact, announce interim test dates beforehand, just like final test dates and exam weeks are announced earlier.

Groep-één is striving to make the studying process as streamlined as possible, also for active students who plan and participate in activities throughout the academic year.