The binding study advise (BSA) will once again be relaxed this year. Students will only have to have earned 35 ECTS in their first year to be allowed to move on to the second year.
The UG board reached this decision on Friday. They hope that easing up on the requirements for first-year students ‘contributes to their well-being’, they said in an email to students.
Normally, students are required to earn 45 ECTS (out of 60) in order to move on to the second year. But the requirements were lowered last year because the Covid pandemic meant many students ran into trouble. The BSA will be relaxed this year, too.
Stress
‘Many students are suffering from stress and other pandemic-related symptoms. Relaxing the BSA could relieve some of that stress’, says the national association Universiteiten van Nederlands (UNL, formerly the VSNU). On Friday, the UNL decided to lower the requirements by 10 to 15 percent. Universities can decide the exact number themselves.
The UG has decided to lower the requirements for full-time study programmes by 10 ECTS. The University College and Campus Fryslân, which also have programmes of 60 ECTS a year, will also lower their requirements by 10 ECTS. The requirements for part-time programmes will be lowered by 5 ECTS.
Face masks
In the same email, the board of directors also announced stricter checks of face mask use at the university. ‘A small group of students refuse to wear face masks during exams and in class.’ Other students have complained.
The stricter checks may ‘lead to consequences’. The email does not say what those consequences might be. UG spokesperson Anja Hulshof says students not wearing face masks will ‘receive a talking to. We expect to be able to solve this issue’.
Students who have already unenrolled before the February deadline can undo this by contacting Student Information & Administration as quickly as possible.