Goodbye binding study advice: gone with stress and unnecessary dropouts

Rosemarie Moonen, involved in the Fontys strategic programme Studiesucces (study success), has been working on the bsa case for a couple of years. In 2020, she collaborated on mapping the bsa norms of the different study programmes at Fontys. This revealed that the bsa norms differed significantly between the study programmes. Some study programmes do not apply a bsa - ICT, for example - and others are very strict: you have to pass all 60 credits in the first year to be allowed to continue your studies.

'Next, we also wanted to know the effects of the bsa on students' study progress, well-being and motivation,' the project leader says. The main findings showed that 'there is no such thing as the egg of Columbus and there is no such thing as the student. But we did see that for a student's study progress, a flanking policy is many times more important than a standard. Then it's mainly about good guidance of the student.'

Students have mixed feelings

Students themselves have mixed feelings about the usefulness of the bsa, her research showed. Some like "knowing what they are up to" and it encourages them to persevere. Others get a lot of stress from it, which can have a paralysing effect.

But for students' study progress, the bsa is ultimately not the right tool, according to the researchers. This was further confirmed during the corona period, during which the bsa was temporarily postponed. 'It turned out that the students who would normally have been sent away and were now allowed to continue were able to keep up well in the following year,' said Rosemarie.

Focus on talent development

According to Rosemarie, there is no need to worry that without a bsa, students will stay in a study programme that does not suit them for too long. 'First of all, students often know whether the study programme is a good fit and quit on their own initiative when they notice they don't succeed. Besides: the study advice remains, as it is a legal right of students. It's just that students can no longer be sent away.

And that also fits in much better with current educational innovation, which revolves around the student's talent development and taking charge of his/her learning route. 'That means students can speed up or slow down if personal circumstances make that more convenient.'

Not good for society

That Fontys is unnecessarily turning away students because of the bsa, is unfortunate for several reasons. Board chairman Joep Houterman, in an interview with Nieuwsuur, stated: "We appear to be wasting talent with the bsa. That is not good for the student, but also not good for society."

Rosemarie's project group was given the assignment by the Executive Board of Fontys to prepare for the abolishment of the bsa in the study year 2024-2025, so that it can be implemented everywhere. 'I notice that by now a large part of the study programmes stand behind these plans and have even already decided to abolish the bsa immediately or at an accelerated pace.'

Repeating a year

This decision has several implications for study programmes. Students can now "repeat a year" the old-fashioned way: they redo the first year or part of it. This has consequences for the curricula. Students with different study paces may be mixed in the same class. This requires adjustments to avoid any negative effects.

If study programmes abolish the bsa, they should have their "flanking policy" in good order. That means timely study advice, a good assessment policy and - most importantly - good student coaching. That way, we can deliver tailor-made solutions.

It seems like an increase in workload for Fontys, with students staying longer, for which there is no more funding. But that is not true, according to Rosemarie: 'If we guide more students to their degree, that also brings in money. And students who are expelled here sometimes just start over at another university of applied sciences. If we can prevent that, and vice versa, that is also a win.'