Will you be able to choose your Master?
by Peter Karrenbelt
“I will finish studying after getting my Bachelor degree.” Since starting IEM in Groningen, I have yet to hear a student saying this. No, I’m not using induction to proclaim there are none, however I do think this empirical result suggests there are few and little. Therefore, a lot of students do want to start a Master of their liking. You might wonder why I’m bringing this up. After all, haven’t we always had the opportunity to do so? Well, until recently, we did.
A change in the Dutch law occurred. Our Minister of Eduction Jet Bussemaker has implemented a legislative change. Previously every Bachelor should at least connect to one Master of the same faculty from the same university. Now, every university can choose whether to accept or deny students for their Masters. The first results of this amendment are already visible. Some Masters have applied a bar for Bachelors. For example, a minimum of 7 can be required to enroll for a Master, as well as an English test and a letter of motivation.
Jet Bussemaker hopes this will put ‘the right student in the right place.’ Universities have to differentiate their Masters and make sure they excel at a certain aspect to attract students. Students, on their turn, no longer automatically have to choose for a Master at their university, but can choose for the Master that suits them best. This combination of excelling, differentiated Masters and increased possiblities for students, should increase the quality of Masters and increase the mobility of students in The Netherlands.
Officially the university of Groningen has not taken a position, but our rector Elmer Sterken is clear about it. He has announced to be in favor of excluding the ‘zesjesstudenten’ (mediocre students who pass with a mark of 6) from Masters. All in all, it should separate the wheat from the chaff for the ‘already expensive’ Masters; students not suited to do a Master, should be excluded. Furthermore, the RUG wants to be an international university. One of the arguments is that a minimum grade to attend a Master is no exception abroad, and The Netherlands should be no different.
This does not mean that a student who received his/her Bachelor degree with a 6, or fails to qualify in another way, will be unable to do a Master in the future or that this student can’t attend the Master of his/her choice. Jet Bussemaker has promised that there will always be one Master in the The Netherlands per discipline accessible for Bachelor students, whatever their transcript. And until now the universities with demands for their Master have appointed a test or a committee for people who do not qualify directly but wish to participate in their Master. However, it seems until now these are promises and not obligations.
Some (or all) of this you might (or might not) already have known. Well, now that I’ve informed you a little bit, here are a few concerns that come to mind. The Dutch student union has mentioned that the accessiblity of education is at stake. It might very well be that mediocre students have no choice in the matter. They could be forced to choose between attending the only accessible master for them at another university, or none at all. Where previously students were able to choose a Master programme, a Master programme will now choose its students. Quite a change of perspective. And while the system of setting demands to enter a Master might work abroad, that is no promise for its integrability here. The entire study culture surrounding the universities, differ a great deal from those abroad. Our cities and student associations, for example, are not simply comparable and therefore blind copying will surely not work.
Furthermore it might pressure students to get results, while omitting other activities. Students are already being pressured to work hard due to the abolishment of the government’s scholarship. Now to attend the Master they desire, not only do they have to finish their Bachelor, but it might be they have to finish it with a mark of at least a seven. A delay of a year to achieve this, how honorable the reason might be, will cost a lot. It might be viewed as a form of suboptimalization. Universities nowadays get their grants from the government by performing above a certain bar: if more students achieve their degree within a certain time, more money will be received. Simply put, attracting more students and letting them graduate soon, means more money. This ensures competitiveness between Masters and universities. Throughout the last couple of years the struggle between universities and Masters to attract and maintain students has become more visible. By putting more pressure on universities to excel and differentiate, the question can arise whether this will also benefit the quality of its education. The focus (and money) might shift from delivering knowledge to delivering promises to students.
