Leiden University’s International Studies students are concerned about the final exams potentially being moved on campus. We understand the university is probably currently discussing the possibility of moving the final exams of this semester to be in person. We respectfully ask that our final exams stay online for the following reasons:

• Ongoing uncertainties, still a continuously changing situation
• The students have no experience with on-campus exams. Especially for second-year students, these are the most important exams of our program and are also the last exams most students will take. If we started the program with online exams, we should be allowed to finish it with online exams. 
• Some students will still have to quarantine - how will they take the exam from home while others have to take it on campus?
• Class sizes are too large for the testing environment to be safe 
• Some classes have chosen to stay online due to safety concerns of faculty and students - this should be reflected in examinations as well. 
• There is low attendance of lectures which have transitioned to on-campus, indicating student concerns as well
• Students also have concerns about sufficient preparation for the exams as preparing for an online exam is completely different than for an on-campus exam. Students have not taken on-campus exams ever before. 
• Studies demonstrate the use of open-book exams offers a more beneficial situation for students on multiple fronts–mental health, information retention, and improvement of academic skills.

   

We really appreciate your support so that our examination style can remain consistent throughout our program, and we have some certainty when managing our studies leading up to the exam period, knowing we will be provided with a stable, predictable, and also safe testing format. 

Thank you for supporting our petition!