Following the Dutch government’s decision, on 12th March 2020, to have all in-person university education in the Netherlands cancelled, the University of Groningen adopted prompt responses by closing down all university premises and by switching to online education and assessment methods. As probably everyone reading this post will know, this was done as a result of the “Corona-crisis” which has hit Europe in early March and which required governments worldwide to adopt lockdown measures in order to contain the spreading of this disease. Indeed, avoiding physical contact, particularly in a crowded environment such as the university campus, and making sure to comply with rules regarding social distancing is the best way to avoid the diffusion of this respiratory virus. As a second-year LLB student at the University of Groningen, I had the chance to experience this quite surreal situation first-hand, both in the Netherlands and in my own country, and to consequently draw up conclusions on the general pattern which characterised the last three months of the current academic year.

It must firstly be underlined that it has not been an easy task for the university to avoid delays in the regular schedule of courses and examinations. As the Dutch government’s decision had immediate application, the university barely had the time to inform students of the cancellation of lectures and exams, which would be effective as of the subsequent day. To that it adds the fact that this happened at the very end of block 3, namely a week before the beginning of exam weeks, which, though safeguarding the completion of courses in block 3, did not allow for a proper adaptation of examinations. As a result, virtually all block 3 exams (which include resits of block 2 exams) were postponed to a date to be determined. Nonetheless, this also granted some time to plan online education in block 4 and to consider solutions for innovative assessment methods compatible with the new situation.

Generally speaking, there are three main methods of online education: pre-recorded lectures, power-point slides with audio recordings by lecturers,  and live sessions on Blackboard Collaborate or an alternative platform. Each of these has its own pros and cons. On the one hand, the first two methods allow for delayed viewing, which means that, according to one’s own plans, they are always accessible on the course page on Nestor. Indeed, this allows for students to be less bound by their initial (and, quite often, strict) schedule of lectures and seminars/working groups and to accordingly distribute their studies with a significant leaning towards their personal plans. Needless to say, this does not translate into reduction of workload; what you did not do before, you will have to do eventually. A disadvantage to these methods could be the lack of (virtual) contact with lecturers, meaning that any doubts or additional questions possibly require an email to lecturers in order to be answered. However, it must be stressed that courses offering this kind of education normally provide for Q&A sessions, where these issues are clarified. On the other hand, live sessions are, among all these methods, the most similar ones to actual in-person lectures. As a matter of fact, these take place at pre-established times and dates, with the additional advantage that one does not need to rush to get to the lecture hall on time. Moreover, being live, they permit students to virtually “raise their hand” and ask questions directly to lecturers and to perform presentations. This proves to be particularly useful in seminars/working groups where discussion and confrontation are the main focus. Conversely, one con could be the fact that these are usually not recorded, which results in students ultimately missing them, should they not be on time to particpate.

During this last block of academic year 2019-2020 I have had the chance to experience all types of online education mentioned above and I ultimately found some of them to be more satisfactory than others, according to my own preferences of university life. If you are like me and, therefore, you prefer the daily routine of the typical university student, who gets up in the morning, goes to lectures and tries to elaborate on that knowledge, then you would probably appreciate live sessions more than other kinds of online education. Keeping up with university life might, at times, be stressful and, if we add the corona-crisis to that, having a strong and stable schedule (which live sessions provide for) could result into a solid base for one’s everyday life. In particular, one element which I enjoyed experiencing again (and which the other methods of online education do not provide for) is direct contact with lecturers and fellow students. I have always believed confrontation to be at the core of university education, particularly as one is advancing in studies and, therefore, innovative and more elaborate opinions are expressed. Nonetheless, this does not mean I did not enjoy the other kinds of online education, nor do I intend to say that they were not valuable. Quite the contrary. The ultimate conclusion is that one might prefer one method over the others depending on their own views and intentions in university life. As one who enjoys open discussion about matters possibly concerning contemporary issues, I favour live sessions. By contrast, one who finds oneself more comfortable with mainly individual study and a much freer schedule might appreciate pre-recorded lectures and/or slides with audio recording more. In the end, it all depends on one’s personal preferences.

With regard to online examinations, as the LLB programme comprises virtually exclusively written exams (with few exceptions of oral exams and assessment by assignments during the course), the Faculty of Law had to come up with solutions which would not only have preserved the integrity of these assessment methods, but also the reliability of the knowledge tested. This is why it took the faculty some time to provide for a specific method, which was ultimately identified as an online written assessment of open-book exams, which were adapted so that questions, independently of the open-book element, could not be answered unless one had gone through the material and the topics discussed in lectures beforehand. One has to be open to adaptation in order to get through these times at the best of one’s possibilities. I am confident that prospective students in academic year 2020-2021, who will experience online education and examination as well, will be provided, as I have, all information needed to be ready to join our academic community and to enjoy their studies in Groningen, also considering the time the university will have to make plans for them.

Finally, as a second-year LLB student, who is, therefore, due to have his exchange semester abroad in Fall 2020, I must admit that, despite all the changes to my routine, I have not altered my attitude towards the future and the endless possibilities it offers. I am obviously looking forward to the day when we will all be able to go back to normality and to all those, however possibly insignificant, everyday actions we experience in university life, such as a simple coffee break with our fellow students. Yet, I do see how to enjoy these times and take the best out of them, both academically and personally, and I am positive this will remain a rather peculiar chapter in all current (and prospective) students’ lives.

- Samuele Tassi, Italy, International and European Law LLB student