Physiotherapy students question scheduling procedure

After many complaints about timetables, schedules are arriving earlier, international physiotherapy students say. The department, however, insists that schedules have always been published on time.

‘During the first semester we received our schedule only three days before the upcoming block would start’, says Mark (22), a physiotherapy student who works part-time. ‘But for the last two blocks it came about three to four weeks earlier.’

According to the department responsible for scheduling, this timeline is far from new. ‘Schedules are published for students three weeks before the start of the block in Digirooster’, the department states. ‘These publication dates can also be viewed by students.’

‘It made me feel like I never had a full day off where I could plan whatever I wanted’

Multiple current and former students confirm Mark’s account, saying schedules often appeared far later than the three-week deadline. ‘Sometimes even only a few days before the block started’, Mark reiterates. This way of operating instantly created problems for students who, like Mark does, combine their studies with part-time work.

‘My work requires me to report my availability four to six weeks in advance’, another student says (he wants to remain anonymous, his name is known to the editor, ed.). ‘If I don’t get my university schedule early enough, I have to report my availability randomly or say I’m only free on weekends.’ It basically forced him to maintain a work and university schedule for seven days a week. ‘It made me feel like I never had a full day off where I could plan whatever I wanted.’

Students and lecturers have raised concerns for years

The issue has been discussed within the programme for years, the students claim. According to them, both staff and students raised concerns without seeing any consistent improvement. ‘I mentioned it to my academic counsellor during the first block’, the anonymous student says. ‘She told me she would forward my complaint to the appropriate department. She said staff and students have been complaining about this for the last six years’, he clarifies. ‘Because of that, she told me not to have very high hopes that it would change.’
This contrasts with the department’s statement that schedules have always been published on time. It also raises questions about why students and lecturers have raised concerns for years (as the students claim).

Procedure and practice appear to differ

Whether the issue lies in delays in publishing, last-minute changes or the way updates are displayed within the system remains unclear. Students say they were actively monitoring the platform, especially because of the need to plan work schedules and other commitments, making it unlikely that the problem can be explained solely by a lack of awareness.

Whatever it may be, what counts is that students say there has certainly been a noticeable improvement in recent months. ‘At first, we didn’t know if it would be a change in procedure or just a one-time thing’, says Mark. But the schedules for the following block were also released earlier, students say, suggesting a change in procedure. For students with part-time jobs, the difference is clear. ‘It helped tremendously’, the anonymous student says. ‘Now I can plan my work days during weekdays and keep my whole weekend free.’

Students hope for clearer and earlier planning

All’s well that ends well… nevertheless, some students believe the system could still improve. ‘It’s good that we receive the schedule three to four weeks in advance now’, the anonymous student says. ‘But ideally we would get the schedule for two blocks or even a whole semester in advance. Then we could plan vacations, work schedules and doctor’s appointments’, he adds. ‘For example, if we would receive the schedule for the first two blocks at the beginning August, that would be very convenient.’

Photo: main entrance of Wiebenga, the building where the International Physiotherapy Program is located (photographer: Tábata Vilches Maldonado)