Shortage in teaching locations largely resolved

Utrecht University is committed to education on campus. To be able to accommodate students on campus, extra teaching locations have been temporarily created for the coming academic year. These are necessary to solve the shortage of teaching locations caused by the unexpected influx of many new students and the renovation of the Hijmans van den Bergh building.

Education on the campus

The influx of new students and the unforeseen delay in the construction of a temporary education buildingon the Padualaan put pressure on the available teaching locations in the university buildings. 

After an intensive process between course coordinators and scheduling, a shortage of over 50 teaching locations was largely resolved. This was achieved by scheduling education in temporarily leased buildings and spaces and by converting existing spaces in a number of university buildings into teaching locations.

The need to move teaching on location to online, as a result of the shortage of teaching locations, is limited. Saturday scheduling is also out of the question and it appears that no education will be scheduled after 7 pm. For the last bottlenecks in the timetable of block 1 of the academic year 2022 - 2023 a solution is now being sought. A definitive answer can be given at the end of July.

Possibly more commuting time

All those involved have worked hard to find a schedule that fits within the regular business hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This seems to be successful for all courses. Unfortunately, the quality of the schedule has suffered. Courses have not always been given the requested time. It may happen that courses are spread over different locations. This may mean that you have to travel a little further than you are used to, but fortunately in many cases this is a temporary situation. This is largely solved in the USP when the temporary education building is put into use. 

Structural solution

A structural solution to the shortage of teaching locations is being worked on. One of the options being considered is expanding the number of teaching locations at existing locations. At the same time, a project is being launched to improve educational logistics. By better estimating how many students are expected to attend the courses and through more efficient scheduling, we aim to prevent problems such as those that have now arisen in the future.