Delft University of Technology is going to reduce the pressure of course work for some students so they can finish their degrees more quickly, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday.

The paper says parts of some courses will be cut while other subjects will be scrapped altogether. In addition students will be allowed to compensate for poor results in one subject with good results in another.
For example, the amount of course work for aerospace engineering is being cut by 15%. Non-essential subjects, such as sustainable development, have been scrapped.
Four years
Delft students take longer than any others in the Netherlands to complete their degrees – with just 25% taking four years to complete a basic bachelor’s degree. It should take three years, the paper says.
Wouter Verbeek, deputy chairman of the Delft students’ union told the paper he fears making degrees easier will devalue them and reduce the quality of engineers leaving the university.
The government has introduced fines for students who take too long to complete their degrees. They will have to pay nearly €5,000 a year in fees and will no longer qualify for grants.