Student - March 14, 2013
No more self-styled 'minors' allowed
Calling your own selection of elective courses a minor as part of your Bachelor's degree is not on anymore. Not, that is, if it is up to Wageningen's Education Institute (the OWI).
Up to now, this kind of individual package may be called a minor, subject to the approval of the examination board. But if the executive board takes the advice of the OWI, those days will soon be over. You will still be allowed to put together your own combination of courses but that will not be mentioned as a 'minor' on your degree certificate.
The OWI wants to get rid of the 'free minor' because relatively few students seem to opt in to a pre-determined minor, says Tiny van Boekel of the OWI. This realization came as a surprise. 'The minors are not there without reason. For us the designation 'minor' stands for a guarantee of quality.'
No more 'lite' course packages then. Not that this was usually the students' intention. Most students do opt for a set minor as a basis but they give it a personal touch by exchanging one or two of the courses for others that interest them more. That possibility will still be available in the new system, albeit to a more limited extent. In consultation with their study advisors, students will be able to swap a maximum of one course for a different one without sacrificing their claim to have followed a minor.