More freedom for students

Günther Dissertori, what is the project PAKETH for?
Dissertori: For one thing, students currently have almost no time to catch their breath. Once the Spring Semester ends, it’s time to start revising for the exams in August and September, and right after that comes the next semester. In some cases, being a student at ETH takes up 50 out of 52 weeks of the year. There’s also hardly any time for internships or projects alongside studies. For another thing, over the years the examination system has become too complex for teaching staff and for administrators.

What specifically is so complex?
Dissertori: Our study programmes are very individually structured, and this individuality is reflected in the elaborate examination regulations as well as the administrative systems. This has a crippling effect at a time when we need to be ready to rapidly evolve our study programmes. And if student numbers continue to grow as we expect, such a complex system will soon overwhelm us.

So what is the project supposed to change?
Dissertori: The idea is to relieve students of their continuous load by building breaks into the academic calendar. Specifically, we’re thinking about having a longer break in the summer and a shorter break in the winter, plus a week of no classes in the Autumn Semester. That’s one goal. In addition, we want to simplify the examination system.

How can we achieve this, and what are you starting with?
Dissertori: One of our aims is to do away with examination blocks and two-semester courses, which will move toward having performance assessments always relate to the relevant course and be carried out in a timely manner. Then it will be possible to conduct the final exams closer to the end of the semester; we’re thinking two, possibly three weeks after it ends. That creates a summer break after the exams.

A summer without exam stress should make students happy. At the same time, they would then have to master all the material in significantly less time. How would that work?
Dissertori: That’s an important point! With this kind of new approach, there need to be classes throughout the semester where students can continuously learn and digest more. What that means for the lecturers is they need to bring content delivery, students’ digesting that knowledge, and performance assessments closer together and integrate them better. Where possible, proof of academic achievement should not consist solely of final examinations but also of progress made during the semester. Realistically, in many cases this will not be possible without reducing the scope of the material.

Less material? Won’t subject-matter expertise suffer if the content is reduced?
Dissertori: Then we would have gone too far, and of course we don’t want to do that. In the future, however, the quality of our education will no longer be measured by the pure quantity of knowledge, but by how our graduates absorb and apply that knowledge. I know from my own experience as a lecturer that there is leeway in lectures to omit material without sacrificing subject-matter expertise. We need to distinguish between knowledge and understanding. When we encourage ongoing digestion and reflection throughout the semester, we also encourage deep understanding of the material.

Lecture design is the responsibility of the lecturers. How can a reduction of material be implemented?
Dissertori: This definitely isn’t going to be something a handful of people do as a one-off – we need to have the whole of ETH on board. The lecturers’ approach and mindset need to change. And judging by the feedback I’ve been getting, I sense people are ready for change. Of course, we’ll be happy to support lecturers in this development. In making this a reality, it will be important for the departments to continuously monitor and control the amount of work required of students per learning session. An essential part of that will be to ensure that student feedback reaches the departments and that corrective mechanisms are established.

You haven’t exactly set your sights low...
Dissertori: That’s true. But we’re going to take our time over this. We need to be careful that the project doesn’t just consider a single symptom and move exam weeks around, but rather looks at the root causes so we can redesign the system as a whole. So many things are interconnected: any changes to the examination system and the academic calendar, for example, require new regulations for all study programmes. We want to use this opportunity to strive for standardisation across course regulations. Our discussions with the departments at the teaching retreat in June showed just how liberating such a fundamental approach can be. You can really sense an atmosphere of optimism.

Is there anything that PAKETH won’t be changing?
Dissertori: Yes, of course. For example, the academic year will continue to consist of two semesters, and their timing won’t change. Here we’re tied to the academic calendar for the whole of Switzerland.

How far along is the project, and have any decisions already been taken?
Dissertori: At the June teaching retreat, we agreed on the goals and general direction mentioned above, and we gave ourselves a schedule. Our next step is to flesh out the ideas we’ve outlined and bring them together in an overall concept. This will go out for consultation in the spring of 2024. The Executive Board should then be able to take a decision on implementation in the summer. We’d like to introduce the changes starting with the 2026/27 academic year.

How can students and departments get involved?
Dissertori: Their feedback is crucial; after all, they’re the ones who will have to put changes into practice.  We’ve established a dialogue at various levels. Numerous representatives from departments and from VSETH are involved in the project teams for the detailed concept phase.