EduXchange FAQ

Considering offering your course on EduXchange

Why do we offer courses on EduXchange?

Following courses at other institution has always been possible, even affirmed by law. However, it requires a lot of effort from the student to find a proper course suited for exchange and to enroll in that course. The enrolment is a challenging administrative process that has hindered student exchange.

Since the alliance wants to facilitate student exchange, we take part in a pilot of the acceleration plan and SURF. The platform EduXchange makes it a lot easier for students to orientate and enroll in courses from partner institutions. EduXchange makes the work needed to register these external students a lot easier for the student administration offices. During the next years EduXchange will be implemented widely in the Netherlands.

What courses can be offered on EduXchange?

We aim to offer courses that can deepen or broaden student curriculum; hence we welcome a wide range of courses. EduXchange aspires to give the students the opportunity to broaden and deepen their curriculum beyond their own study program by taking courses at the alliance partner institutions. Hence, we welcome all courses and subject areas on both graduate and undergraduate levels. The alliance also invests in four strategic themes (Preventive Health, AI for Health, Circular Society and Living Technologies). Courses affiliated with these themes are highly encouraged to join EduXchange to further boost the inter-university collaboration on these themes. Courses can be offered on EduXchange as long as they have an OSIRIS course code and are open for external students.

Who should I contact to offer my course on EduXchange?

Each university has a project coordinator to facilitate this. These are the contact details of each institution:
TU/e: Hoda Touny
UU & UMC Utrecht: Janneke Hartemink
WUR: Sara Panis

What are the requirements to offer my course on EduXchange?

There are no requirements concerning course design. However, it is valuable that the course offers a degree of location-independence so for example a student doesn’t need to travel several times a week for a given course. There are a few organizational requirements concerning how the course is organized in OSIRIS or EMC. These requirements are usually met by most of the courses. The project coordinator of your institution will be able to check these and let you know if any action is needed.

Do alliance students follow the same registration periods of my institution (host university)?

In general no. However, if there is a significant need to do so, for example because of the course set up and design, you can discuss this with the project coordinator and educational designer of your institution to find solutions.

Do students from my own university have priority in enrolling?

In general no. However, if there is a significant need to do so, for example because of the course set up and design, you can discuss this with the project coordinator of your institution to find solutions. As we are taking our first steps and aspire to grow organically, we are not expecting a lot of students to enrol for any given course just yet.

What is the maximum number of students from another university who can enrol in my course? Do I have any influence on this?

Course registration usually follows the existing policies and procedures in place at the institution or the department levels. In some cases, teachers are allowed to request a cap or a waiting list for external students. This would be one of the topics to discuss with the project coordinator of your institution. Keep in mind that until now only a few students enroll via EduXchange.

How do I know whether students from another university have sufficient prior knowledge?

To make sure that students have the right knowledge, we help teachers elaborate on the prior knowledge in the source system (OSIRIS or EMC) so students are well-informed prior to registration, for instance in the course description. If any additional measures need to be included, please discuss this with your project coordinator.

Where can I go for didactic advice to make my course more inclusive to accommodate external students’ needs and aspirations?

Each institution has a contact person for educational design to assist you in this process. Once you get in touch with the project coordinator of your institution, they will put you in contact with the educational designer to further discuss your course status and aspirations.

Will there be extra financial resources available if more students have enrolled, for example for extra work groups or when extra tutors have to be mobilised?

The funding of teaching follows the current practice of your institution. In addition, some institutions have funds to support course redesign efforts. Your project coordinator and educational designer will discuss this further.

Will there be funding available for redesigning my course?

Yes, within each institution there is a fund available to support such activities. The project coordinator of your institution will help you during this process.

Where can I go for didactic advice to make my course more inclusive to accommodate external students’ needs and aspirations?

Each institution has a contact person for educational design to assist you in this process. Once you get in touch with the project coordinator of your institution, they will put you in contact with the designer to further discuss your course status and aspirations.

What information is published on EduXchange; for instance, do we need to write new texts?

EduXchange publishes information that is stored in OSIRIS or EMC. It is highly recommended to add information there that is relevant for EduXchange students, such as prior knowledge needed for the course, and if the course takes place online or on campus.

If a course already is on EduXchange

How do students from other universities get into the learning management system (LMS), such as Brightspace, Blackboard, and Canvas?

Upon course registration completion, the students will receive an email outlining the process to gain access to all host university facilities and systems. So as a teacher, you will continue to use all your default systems and won’t need to make any special arrangement.

To whom can I refer students when there are problems registering or logging in to my university systems?

Kindly advise them to contact the following email addresses:
TU/e: esa@tue.nl
WUR: ssc@wur.nl
UU/UMC Utrecht student desk of the faculty where you are going to follow a course.

How does the process of transferring grades to the other universities work? What actions are expected of me in this process?

As a teacher, you are expected to add the grades of external students to the OSIRIS for your own institution as you usually do for all students. No further action is required from your end.

Where can I go for didactic advice to make my course more inclusive to accommodate external students’ needs and aspirations?

Each institution has a contact person for educational design to assist you in this process. Once you get in touch with the project coordinator of your institution, they will put you in contact with the educational designer to further discuss your course status and aspirations.

Will courses only be visible for students during the registration period of a specific course?

No, courses will be visible for students once the study handbook is published (annually around May-June for the next academic year). Registration is only possible during the registration period of your institution.