The RUG wants to solve the longstanding space shortage during exam periods by adding an exam hall with 600 desks for digital exams to the Aletta Jacobs Hall. Moreover, there will be two lecture halls with 450 and 200 seats respectively.
‘This should, in principle, mean that it’s no longer necessary to schedule weekend exams,’ university director Jan de Jeu states. ‘However, we cannot fully rule out the possibility.’
Packed
The exam halls have been packed for years because all faculties have exams at the same time, and the number of tests that students are given is also on the rise. In previous years, the RUG rented room in Martiniplaza to compensate for the lack of space, but this is not always an option.
‘With this expansion, we expect that the demand for exam spaces will be solved internally and that we will no longer have to rent external halls,’ RUG spokesman Gernant Deekens says – with a caveat. ‘That is an estimate based on the current demand for exams.’
Design
Now that the decision to create more space has been made, the university’s Property and Investment Projects department is springing into action. ‘The next step is to draw up preliminary designs and contract the project,’ Deekens says.
The RUG expects the new exam hall and lecture halls will open in September 2018.