Wanted: master plan

Student mobility in higher education has remained limited, even after the introduction of the Bachelor’s Master’s structure. The majority of students choose a Master’s programme at the same university where they got their Bachelor’s degrees. The same applies here at Tilburg University.
I do expect that the introduction of the Bachelor’s-before-Master’s rule will shake things up a bit. Student are currently allowed to start on a Master’s programme at their ‘home institution’ before they have completed all requirements for their undergraduate degree. We admit students to Master’s programmes as long as they have no more than 12 ECTS credits to go in their Bachelor’s programme (that is equivalent to two courses). Other universities in the Netherlands have similar rules. This ‘preferential treatment’ makes it very tempting for students to stay put.
The new rule heralds the end of this indulgent regime. Under the new rule, students may only start a Master’s programme once they have completed their undergraduate studies. That’s what I call progress. The only potential downside to the new rule is that some students may encounter unnecessary delays in their studies. That will benefit no one.
There will be increasing pressure on the university to offer a number of start dates for our degree programmes. This would be in the students’ interest, after all. Many of our Master’s programmes have only one start date: at the beginning of the academic year in September. We should open this up for debate. Students will base their choice of a Master’s programme not only on the individual programme’s inherent qualities, but also on flexibility and the convenience of multiple start dates.
We will have to learn to be creative and clever when it comes to our range of Master’s programmes.
This is a challenge that Tilburg University gladly accepts!