Since the introduction of the Twente Educational Model (TEM), the indivisibility of educational modules has been the subject of – often heated – discussion. In the 'old' TEM, the all-or-nothing principle applied: as a student, you either passed all the courses in a module – so 15 credits – or you didn't get anything. The previous rector, Thom Palstra, changed that in 2018. Since then, the educational model has become less rigid, in the form of 'integrated' modules.
Validity of grades
That stamp will come off from September 2025. Modules no longer have to be 'integrated', but 'coherent'. 'It's not that the Twente Educational Model is changing,' explains Jessica Greven, legal advisor at the Strategy & Policy department. 'What you see in practice is that education is constantly developing. Whether it's TEM 1.0, TEM 2.0, 2.1, or whatever you want to call it... In fact, the amendment of the EER guideline is mainly a formalization of what is already happening in practice in many programs. This cohesion in a module is already well organized in all kinds of ways. Here and there there is talk of an adjustment, to remove practical obstacles.'
One of those practical obstacles is the sustainability of partial figures. The new guideline, which will take effect from September 2025, means that the partial grades that students achieve during a module are infinitely valid. 'This is partly in the context of making UT education future-proof. If the grades are valid for longer, it relieves the exam pressure and makes education more efficient,' says Greven.
Rulings of the Examination Appeals Board
In addition, decisions by the UT-wide Examination Appeals Board (CBE) are the basis for this. In 2016, it ruled in favour of a student of Applied Mathematics. In 2023, there was another ruling from the CBE, then in favour of a Management Sciences student. The student was going to do a full-time board year and asked for extended validity. The student had obtained 10 of the required 15 credits the previous academic year. Only one project was not successfully completed due to problems in the project group. The Examination Board did not agree to that request, but the CBE eventually ruled in favour of the student – and the validity was extended. The EER guideline was subsequently amended accordingly.
The fact that this infinite validity is laid down in the EER guideline can work in the advantage of students. For example, if you want to do a board year, you don't have to worry that the grades for tests and exams from the previous academic year will expire. 'In most cases', Greven hastens to say. 'The university makes rules at the institutional level with regard to validity up to a certain level. A faculty or study programme can make additional rules.'
Registration Osiris
What also changes with the new guideline is the registration of grades for not only exams, but also tests in Osiris. This is the student information system that the UT uses. 'In practice, teachers often kept a kind of shadow administration manually, to allow students to retain partial results. Then there were Excel files in addition to the registration in Osiris, or the validity of grades in Osiris was manually extended,' explains Greven.
With the new regulation, all grades from exams and tests must end up in Osiris. According to Greven, this should make the study process more transparent, both for students and teachers. She can’t predict whether it can also reduce the workload for teachers. 'The grades must be registered anyway. The work will not increase, only that the registration is entirely in Osiris and no longer through teacher’s own shadow administration. It may be that teachers will have to get used to that.'
