A smarter academic year

What was the reason for the research?

The trigger for this research was a report by De Jonge Akademie, which argued that the length and structure of the academic year in the Netherlands contribute to the high workload of both students and teachers. In collaboration with Oberon and Cheps, we were asked to investigate whether the Dutch academic year is indeed longer and more intense compared to other countries, and if this is linked to the high work and study pressure. Additionally, we were tasked with exploring the possibility of developing a blueprint for a smarter academic year.

How did you approach the research?

We selected five Dutch programmes from five different universities: Biomedical Sciences, Electrical Engineering, History, Psychology, and Chemistry. We deliberately chose a mix of social sciences, natural sciences, and medical disciplines to consider typical differences in aspects such as contact hours and examination methods. Subsequently, we selected five European universities with programmes similar to the Dutch ones and offering some of these disciplines. This allowed us to compare each Dutch programme with its three foreign counterparts.

We conducted this comparison using a combination of public sources (such as academic calendars, programme websites, etc.) and interviews with representatives of the programmes. The integration of both the 'paper reality' and the interviews was crucial for us. The interviews provided in-depth insights into aspects not covered in public sources and revealed variations between theory and practice. For instance, we discovered that the formally documented amount of study hours is often considerably higher than the actual time students spend on their studies, particularly abroad.

What were the notable results?

The research confirms the assertion by De Jonge Akademie that the Dutch academic year is long and intense. The figure below illustrates this clearly. All the Dutch programmes studied have a longer academic year compared to their foreign counterparts. A significant difference is that Dutch programmes are the only ones using a system with a minimum of four blocks, while other institutions operate on a two-block system. This leads to a higher number of exam moments for Dutch students. Additionally, we observed a distinction in the handling of resit exams: Dutch programmes offer many more resit opportunities than their foreign counterparts. In general, foreign programmes limit resits to one occasion per year.

Therefore, we see that the Netherlands has a longer academic year with more exam opportunities. However, directly linking this to a heavier work and study pressure is challenging. We noticed that this pressure is present in foreign programmes as well. The 'context' within a country or institution is also a crucial factor. Does a student need a side job to make ends meet? Are teachers under immense pressure due to research duties? Consequently, our comparison was unable to determine what the 'ideal' academic year should look like. Nevertheless, we defined some key areas that could be adjusted.

You have proposed several recommendations. Which one did you find most intriguing?

To reduce the workload, it may be necessary to make choices that are suboptimal from a pedagogical-didactic perspective.

There is sometimes a trade-off between work/study pressure and pedagogical-didactic performance. The research frequently cited the abundance of exams in the Netherlands as a reason for the high workload and study pressure. It leads to a sense of 'rushedness' among students and requires a significant amount of grading from teachers. However, research shows that frequent testing enhances learning outcomes more effectively than a single exam at the end of a long semester. The same applies to the length of the academic year. Shortening it may impact the course content. Therefore, a well-considered decision by the programmes themselves is crucial in making this trade-off.

Want to learn more about the research? Read the report here.