LSR says that has not been so easy, because the mere threat of the highest educational justice is effective. ‘Educational institutions are trying to keep the students out, even though they are fully within their rights to return to their studies’ says board member Gabriël van Rosmalen.
For years, university utilized a second binding study advice system even though it was against the law. The RUG also required students to achieve their propaedeutic diploma in their second year even after having been approved to move on in their studies.
The Higher Education Appeals Tribunal previously asserted that that is against the rules. As such, the RUG decided in September of last year to drop the p-in-2 rule.
Lawsuit
The LSR wants to bring a lawsuit claiming damages from the universities. At least 15 RUG students have been in touch about taking part in an eventual lawsuit.
According to the Law Office, nearly 100 students have been wrongly dismissed. Van Rosmalen alleges that universities are refusing to compensate them. ‘It’s really disconcerting that educational institutions are unwilling to recognize the legal position of students.’
Requests by the impacted students to return to their academic programmes are being expressly denied, he says. ‘We were expecting the universities to proactively approach the duped students about re-enrolling, but what they are actually doing is turning them down without any explanation’, he says.