UG lowers BSA by 10 ECTS
Door Giulia Fabrizi
By Giulia Fabrizi
Rector Cisca Wijmenga says can now fail either one large course or two smaller ones and still receive a positive recommendation.
‘Students worked hard to show us how hard this time has been for them and how much pressure they’re under, in part because of the BSA’, the rector said. ‘That’s not reflected in the ECTS they earn, but we understand that student well-being is important.’
Corona crisis
Last week, overarching university association VSNU decided to lower the BSA by 10 to 15 percent this year due to the corona crisis, allowing universities to interpret this change as they saw fit. The BSA was cancelled altogether for universities of applied sciences.
‘We’ve proposed taking 10 ECTs off the regular 45’, says rector Wijmenga. Students doing full-time studies where they have to earn more points for a positive BSA will also have theirs lowered by 10 ECTS. That means they’ll only have to earn 50, rather than 60 ECTS. For part-time programmes, the BSA will be lowered by 5 ECTS.
One-time norm
The BSA was temporarily lowered last year as well, except students who didn’t meet the regular norm then had to make up those ECTS this year. That rule doesn’t apply this year.
‘Anyone who earns 35 ECTS can continue their studies. This is a one-time norm. I want to encourage students to keep studying as usual, even when some of the pressure has been taken off. Especially now, doing well in your studies can show you that you can still do something positive with your time.’
500 stories
Rozemarijn Gierkink, with student party Lijst Calimero, is happy. ‘We’re glad they decided the lower the BSA by 10 ECTS’, she said. Earlier this month, Lijst Calimero and the Groninger Studentenbond collected five hundred stories from first-year students about the stress they’re feeling from the BSA during the corona crisis.
‘We’re very happy the board listened to the stories we sent them.