Next academic year, only the programmes for international business and psychology will still select students for their bachelor programmes. Medicine, dentistry and international relations will switch to an unweighted draw.
Unweighted drawing of students will be possible again next academic year. It was actually abolished seven years ago, but selection proved to be particularly negative for first-generation students or for students with a non-western background.
They often receive very little encouragement from home and have no environment that can help them write an essay. Therefore, the UG decided that unweighted draw will henceforth become the standard for studies with a numerus clausus. Studies that want to do it differently should justify it.
Choosing Groningen
Only international business and psychology will stick to selection. The programme fears that good students will not choose Groningen, because their chances of admission are higher with studies that apply selection. Selection would also be better for the image of the study.
Psychology has indicated it is satisfied with the current method and has no diversity issues.
Influence of parents
The university council is especially critical that students still have to write an essay to get into the international business programme, as this method in particular has a negative impact. ‘Prospective students who have to write an essay can be heavily influenced by their parents. There’s also the risk of them using ChatGPT,’ said Ale ten Cate with student party Lijst Calimero.
Rector Jacquelien Scherpen stressed that the effects will be evaluated next year. The motivation of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) is understandable, she says. ‘If we are the only ones applying unweighted draw, we might attract a different student population and that could have undesirable effects.’
Out of the loop
Dinie Bouman with the Personeelsfractie (personnel faction) spoke up in defence of medical students who were excluded last year on the basis of selection.
‘In medicine, you are only allowed to compete once, but by doing so they are actually admitting that the process is unfair. Will these students get a second chance as compensation?’
However, that would become legally ‘problematic’, stated education expert Rutger Klein Nagelvoort. ‘But I will look into it.’