In May 2019, Duwoners received a request for advice regarding the revision of the distance criterion. The distance criterion is in fact a priority arrangement for students who are given priority over a residence during a certain period. The name says it all: the distance from the current place of residence to the educational institution determines whether the (especially aimed at first-year) student is eligible for priority. If a student needed more than two hours of travel time to reach the educational institution, he or she was eligible.
In the request for advice, DUWO suggested revising this regulation. The new regulation would be that the sky-wide distance (a straight line on the map) would be used. The moment a (prospective) student would live more than 70 kilometers away, the student would be eligible for priority.
In our response, Duwoners indicated that we advise negatively on the proposal. The request for advice contained a number of points with which Duwoners could agree. For example, Duwoners agrees with DUWO that the policy regarding priority schemes should be transparent. We also agree that the acute home seekers, for whom the need is high, should be able to get priority.
At the bottom of the line, however, it remains that the majority of students go to the educational institutions by public transport. This also gives the best indication of travel time. Few students come by car, so the sky-wide distance is not a good indication of how long someone has to travel to go to school. In our opinion, the priority arrangement must therefore also be linked to travel time by public transport.
A response from DUWO was received at the end of August, stating that the current scheme will be retained. This has pleased Duwoners.
Duration of registration ROOM
At the same time, Duwoners received a request for advice about extending the registration period at Room.nl. The intended change was to extend the registration period from 8 to 10 years. Duwoners have indicated that they have agreed to this. This intended change will therefore be implemented.