Educational intensity up for discussion

A research report by the Interstedelijk Studentenoverleg (ISO) and the Landelijke Studenten Vakbond (LSVb) from september shows that there are some problems with the contact hours in the higher education systems. The report focuses on the effects of agreements on student performance in higher education systems.

The Ministry of Education has obligated faculties to offer their first year bachelor students a minimum of 12 hours of contact (with their teachers). This demand is supposed to increase the quality of education and help intensify education in a way that’ll eventually lead to better results all round. This very strict criterion can be dropped in the next years of the study, students themselves will have to be responsible for their contact hours from then on.

Faculties have the choice to increase the number of contact hours to intensify education but are also allowed to reach this goal through other means as long as they are clear and measurable. However, the precise definition of a contact hour remains quite vague. Observers have to keep track of the size of the student body and the manner of teaching. Some faculties plan project weeks that are built up out of so called contact hours that students won’t actually get with their teachers. This begs the question if contact hours are really an indicator for educational intensity.