How ETH Zurich plans to deal with the growth in student numbers
Rector Günther Dissertori explains how ETH Zurich plans to change its rules on admission and why numerus clausus restrictions are currently not on the table. The Executive Board approved a new admissions strategy in March.
Günther Dissertori, why is growth a problem given that there is a lack of specialists and more and more students are applying for admission to ETH Zurich?
Günther Dissertori: Student numbers have been growing for years, and no change in this trend is in sight. At the same time, the means at our disposal – predominantly staff and infrastructure – are set to at least stagnate in the coming years. This is having an effect on the faculty-to-student ratio and is jeopardising the quality of our teaching.
Wouldn’t numerus clausus restrictions be the simplest and most effective remedy?
Numerus clausus restrictions are currently not on the table for ETH Zurich because they represent a very wide-sweeping and rigid remedy. Introducing them would serve to contradict the high demand for specialists in IT and healthcare, for instance. We need to be able to take this into account in our admissions. What is more, the situation is not the same in all areas – while some departments and degree programmes are close to the limit in terms of supervision, others aren’t. We need to stipulate what we can achieve with the resources available.
... but doesn’t this mean that we have to define capacity limits for each subject?
Yes, we will have to define capacity limits.
How do capacity limits differ from numerus clausus restrictions?
A capacity limit is not an automatism and does not trigger a direct admission stop. Capacity limits are to be defined by the departments for each specific degree programme and be regularly revised. They are a threshold beyond which certain control measures come into play.
Which control measures do you mean?
We are actually talking about stricter selection of foreign students at Master’s degree level. But this is nothing new: we are already selecting on the basis of performance here today. In future we will have to do this even more systematically in some subjects.
How do you mean?
One current major challenge lies in assessing and comparing the performances of foreign students at their home universities. The grading and assessment systems vary greatly. Some departments are already using a statistical tool that uses the data of all previous applicants from a given university to determine the performance percentile in which an applicant lies at their university of origin. This tool is to be applied throughout ETH Zurich in the future. This will enable us to select on the basis of evidence.
“We need a change of attitude away from admissions and towards recruitment.”Günther Dissertori, Rector ETH Zurich
But that won’t slow down growth…
Not directly. But the method will create the basis for selecting in a more targeted way. We need a change of attitude away from admissions at Master’s degree level and towards recruitment. The admissions strategy proposes that the departments also specify targets for the composition of cohorts according to educational background, i.e. the share of ETH/EPFL Bachelor’s, other Swiss Bachelor’s, EU/EFTA Bachelor’s and other foreign students. The composition is to follow the teaching objectives of ETH Zurich, the uppermost priority being to train qualified specialists for the labour market. We also aim to promote young researchers and have a well-mixed international student body.
Stricter selection would mean that not all foreign students would be able to start the studies of their choice at ETH...
This is already the situation today. But even if this were to take place more often for capacity reasons, in contrast to rigid numerous clausus restrictions, this would leave them with the opportunity of embarking on studies in another discipline.
So, there is no way at all of slowing down growth?
We will not be able to slow it down – we don’t want to. To reiterate: we need specialists. Introducing more stringent selection would enable us to reduce the speed of growth, however.
Does this mean that ETH Zurich has to live with growth?
We at ETH Zurich can only influence growth to a limited extent. And even if we are more selective in our admissions, growth will only accelerate. I am confident that we will be able to simplify matters and by doing so reduce the workload for our teaching staff and administration. A project has just been launched aimed at streamlining our examinations system and freeing up space in the academic calendar. Another measure is to step up the use of computer-based examinations, which would contribute to providing relief for teaching assistants, for instance. One example of potential short-term relief would be to better distribute service courses across the academic departments; by these I mean courses that one department offers for students in another department.
Is this strategy aimed only at Master’s degree programmes?
No, we are discussing the introduction of possible new admission measures at Bachelor’s degree level as well – where we are also witnessing a rapid rise in applications, albeit not quite as fast as in the case of Master’s degree programmes. One possibility could be to require a minimum final secondary school (baccalaureate) grade for foreign applicants.
How have the departments reacted?
We developed and discussed these measures in a broad-based taskforce and additionally at a large teaching retreat at the beginning of the year and found wide-scale agreement. Participants in the retreat included directors of studies from all departments and a delegation of students and doctoral candidates. It is important to note that we are talking about a strategy with principles and not a set of regulations. It’s a work in progress, and the departments have room for manoeuvre for its implementation.
What does the strategy hold in store for the departments?
They will first of all have to define capacity limits, primarily on the basis of staff resources, in particular with regard to teaching assistants, as this is where the greatest burden is. On top of this, rooms and laboratories will also play a role. I expect the departmental admissions committees to make use of the resources we are now defining.
Taskforce growth of student numbers
A taskforce set up by Rector Günther Dissertori is examining how ETH can deal with the growth in order to prevent the quality of teaching from suffering. An initial result of the taskforce is the new admissions strategy that was discussed at a large teaching retreat in January 2023 and has been approved by the Executive Board (EB Meeting of 7 March). In addition, the taskforce is working on forecasts of student numbers, on a vision for teaching for 2040 and on an impact assessment for teaching.
Always up to date
Would you like to always receive the most important internal information and news from ETH Zurich? Then subscribe to the "internal news" newsletter and visit Staffnet, the information portal for ETH employees.