The examination of a course should always be a fair reflection of the studied course content, so that the value of a degree is guaranteed.  The examination policies of all faculties should be equalized in order to offer all students the same chances. At the same time, the course examination should be more diverse and of the highest quality possible. Although multiple choice questioning has certain advantages, such as being highly efficient, it is not the most valuable form and better forms of examination are always available.

After the abolishment of the study grants provided for by the Dutch government, the government promised to invest this money in the improvement of the quality of education. Lijst Calimero thinks that it is extremely important the UG really invests this money in the quality of their education. Important investments according to Lijst Calimero are, among others, the improvement of the student/staff ratio by hiring more academic staff, the improvement of study resources and offering more study places.

The UG no longer receives funds for their pre-master students. Lijst Calimero agreed with the increased tuition fee for pre-master students, but does not want the price to increase even more since we believe that this would harm the accessibility of pre-master education. At the same time, we think that the quality of the pre-master education should never suffer from the lower revenues from pre-master students. Pre-masters should always be a good preparation to a complementary master. 

Academic skills help students to develop themselves, which helps them not only during their studies but also during their future career. What is more, in a rapidly changing world, academic skills provide the necessary tools to adapt quickly to new developments. Therefore, Lijst Calimero pleads for the investment in academic skills early in the educational programmes and that these skills are developed further throughout the study programme. 

Lijst Calimero thinks that exams planned during the weekends should be abolished. The UG should use its existing examination halls more efficiently, speed up the realization of an extra examination hall and look for other potential examination halls in existing buildings in Groningen.

Many students at the UG leave Groningen after finishing their Bachelors degree to start a Master program elsewhere. As the UG wants to attract more master students, Lijst Calimero thinks that the UG should focus more on master profiling. This means that master programs at the UG should be of a more specific profile, the number of high quality guest lecturers should be increased, there should be more room for non-academic internships and it should be easier to write one’s thesis outside the university. By doing so, employability and attractiveness of Master degrees will improve.

An amendment in the Dutch legislation empowered universities to select for all their master programmes. Even though we believe that master selection can contribute to high quality education, for example when it comes to excellent masters or masters with capacity problems, we remain critical about master selection as a general practice. When the UG starts refusing its own bachelor’s students after graduating, it implicates that the bachelor being offered here is not a sufficient prerequisite to allow a student to follow a master programme.

Lijst Calimero wants to prevents students from facing unnecessary study delay. Some arrangements are already in place to minimize unnecessary study delay, but Lijst Calimero believes there is room for improvement. Students who can still finish their propaedeutic phase, bachelor program or master program by passing one more exam, should get the possibility to take one extra summer resit.

Lijst Calimero thinks the UG should offer more flexibility within master programmes. Within faculties, students should have more possibilities to personalize their master programme, so that they can combine different parts of several masters or can choose between different courses. To secure the quality of a master programme and the value of a master degree, strict quality guidelines should be maintained and the chosen programme should be accepted by a study advisor.