What did you know, when you left school, of other professions than those of your parents and perhaps of a few other relatives or neighbours? Probably very little.
Choosing a study, how would you know that you would be good in it? How would you know whether you would like it?
So many students drop their studies after the first semester and do something else. A better choice could be made if high school students could taste different disciplines already by studying them for a few weeks, alongside their high school classes.
That is what Rindert de Groot introduced at the University of Amsterdam in 2001 as the ILIAS Programme. High school students in their last years could register for four week long programmes on different subjects. They would not only follow virtual classes and read introductory literature, but also get real assignments, which were returned with personal feedback (but not marked). In that way, prospective students got an idea of the level of the bachelor programme. They could also get into direct contact with more advanced students, who could share their experience and answer questions. This provided much more realistic information than the usual glamorous folders for potential applicants.
Since the programmes were short, students could follow several of them on different subjects during their last years in high school to find the best fit.
Unfortunately, the university stopped these programmes after a couple of years. They were too labour intensive for the staff. The teachers participated on a voluntary basis, and the time spent on the design of the programmes and the feedback for students came in addition to their usual teaching load. For many of them, this was their first experience with online education, which cost them quite some extra time. So the experiment was stopped, in spite of the positive feedback from students and schools.
Perhaps time has come for another try. Most universities now had to invest heavily in digital course material, because students could not attend classes during the pandemic. Most teachers have become used to assist students from a distance. So the initial costs would be much less.
Faculties and students would benefit from recruiting students that know well what they opt for. Much of the investment in students who quickly leave again could then be saved and channelled into even better tuition of students really interested.
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