Erasmus School of Economics is part of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. This renowned institution has an international reach and offers top-level programs in all major areas of economics and business.
For this use case, we interviewed Caroline Ouwendijk-Bol, an admissions coordinator for international bachelor programs at the Erasmus School of Economics.
At the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), the admission office faces the challenge of the rapidly increasing number of applications, particularly for English-taught bachelor’s programs. Over the past five years, this surge has put considerable time pressure on the admissions process.
ESE’s admission office needs to be more selective, which raises questions about how to process all the documents efficiently. Additionally, logistical problems, such as housing and facility shortages, complicate admissions even more.
Another challenge is the high volume of applications from students who do not meet the program criteria despite these requirements being clearly stated on the website.
This situation not only adds to the workload but also underscores the need to improve the quality of applications, ensuring that only students who are a true fit for the programs apply, thereby saving time for both the applicants and the office.
Moreover, students come from all over the world, and every continent is represented in ESE’s database of applications. 60% come from Europe and 40% from outside. Therefore, finding the equivalence between international mathematics curriculums is even more challenging.
Before implementing OMPT, the admissions office conducted entrance exams on campus using a paper-based system, which was both complex and time-consuming. They had to reserve exam rooms, ask a math professor to create the exam questions, and manage logistics such as payment processing and proctoring.
International students posed an additional challenge; supervisors at their local schools had to administer the exams, requiring coordination and trust. This method was complicated and susceptible to potential fraud. For example, admission officers sometimes noticed inconsistencies like different handwriting on the same exam paper.
Erasmus School of Economics implemented OMPT during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were first approached by OMPT in 2018 to participate in a pilot for online entrance exams. At that time, the examination board was hesitant to adopt online proctoring since they were not familiar with the concept, preferring to stick with traditional paper-based exams.
However, the pandemic in 2020 made paper-based exams unfeasible, as students could not travel or take exams in person. This situation motivated the university to reconsider and explore online options. Remembering the earlier offer, ESE quickly reached out to OMPT and implemented OMPT-A for their economic degree programs, as well as OMPT-B for Econometrics and the double degree in Econometrics and Economics within days.
The implementation of OMPT initially came with several uncertainties. There were doubts about how online proctoring would work, especially for students in countries with unstable internet or electricity connections. The admission office worried that these technical challenges might disadvantage certain students.
Additionally, there were apprehensions about potential fraud and how it would be detected and managed. However, these challenges were solved. The move to online proctored exams proved to be a huge success, and even as the pandemic eased, the university decided not to return to paper-based exams. In Caroline’s words:
“We expected that OMPT would save us much more time and energy than arranging paper-based exams. It wasn’t just about preparing the exam questions but also coordinating a day for students to take the exam and then reviewing all the papers. With the increasing number of applications, this was becoming a significant challenge. We believed that using OMPT would make this process more efficient, and it certainly has. It not only met our expectations but exceeded them in terms of time saved.
We were initially concerned about fraud, but we’ve had hardly any cases reported, which is reassuring. If there’s ever a suspicion that a student didn’t take the exam under the proper circumstances, OMPT always reaches out to us to explain their observations and doubts. Together, we find a solution—either allowing a second attempt if needed or rejecting a case where a student used unauthorized materials. This close collaboration ensures we’re handling these cases fairly. We’re really pleased with the very low number of noted fraudulent exams.”
OMPT simplified this entire process. Apart from helping admission offices, now math professors don’t have to worry about creating and proctoring exams.
This system has saved the university a significant amount of time and cost. It allows them to efficiently set a uniform deadline and verify scores directly through OMPT’s database, streamlining the admissions process considerably.
Moreover, data from the past two academic years confirms the effectiveness of OMPT for student performance:
OMPT has provided ESE with the flexibility they need to offer an additional exam that suits their requirements. In August 2023, ESE’s math professor Sharon Schalk, with support from colleagues at the institution, collaborated with Paula Beukers (Head of Content at OMPT) and other members of the OMPT content team to develop an updated version of OMPT-D. This exam is primarily designed for STEM programs and assesses students’ skills at an advanced mathematics level, which is valuable for subjects like Econometrics.
Finally, almost all Dutch universities accept OMPT. This benefits students by allowing them to use the same certificate for multiple university applications and offers an affordable way to prove their math proficiency. As Caroline expressed it:
“In the end, it’s really about what’s best for the students. With OMPT, they can use the certificates for multiple universities, and we all know that they’re submitting multiple applications. So, let’s not make them pay various fees or take different types of exams for each application. We all share the same goal: determining if a student can successfully start the program. If we can join forces and have one general test for all Dutch higher education institutes, it would greatly benefit the students. Each university can still set its own policies, like whether to accept resits and which types of exams are suitable for specific courses, but having a unified test system really benefits students.”
Would you like to know how OMPT can benefit your institution and students? You can book a demo here. We are looking forward to helping you!
