Binding Study Advice (BSA)

General

The University of Groningen has a 'Binding Study Advice' (BSA). In the academic year 2024-2025 the BSA entails that a student needs to obtain 45 out of a possible 60 ECTS of the propaedeutic phase.

Please make sure to report any circumstances that (negatively) affect your study results to the study advisers of International Office as soon as possible. Failure to report can have a negative influence on the binding study advice.

A student whose advice was postponed in the previous academic year needs to obtain 45 out of a possible 60 ECTS of the first-year bachelor’s programme in the academic year 2024-2025.

A student who does not meet this requirement can no longer participate in a programme at the Faculty of Law for a period of two years.

Students who deregister from the programme before March 1 2024 will not receive a BSA. Please note: DUO has a '1 February regulation'.

More informatie

More information about ‘Binding Study Advice’ can be found in section 5 of the Teaching and Examination Regulations for the Bachelor’s degree programme. Some of the information you can find there is:

• how the Faculty will inform the student about his/her study progress and which support it offers
• when, how and by whom the Binding Study Advice will be given
• under which conditions personal circumstances can influence the decision (report those a.s.a.p. to your study adviser)
• before a binding study advice is given, the student will be given the opportunity to be heard.

More general information about the Binding Study Advice

Procedure and hearings

The BSA procedure is as follows:

• 
  first year students who have obtained less than 45 ECTS of the Bachelor degree’s first year programme and who have not registered special circumstances (or these circumstances are deemed not to warrant an exception) will receive a notification in which the faculty will indicate the intend to give a negative BSA on 18 July 2025. This notification of intend will be sent by email.
• first-year students who have received a notification of an intended negative BSA, will have the option to be heard onsite by the Faculty’s BSA Committee on 21 and 22 July 2024 (and if necessary also 23 July 2024);
• registration for these hearings will start in Progressas from 14 July 2025. Students are allowed to be accompanied by someone at the hearing.
• the BSA committee can advise to postpone giving a Binding Study Advice in case of special circumstances. The BSA committee advises the Faculty Board who will ultimately take the decision.

The formal Binding Study Advice will be sent out by the Faculty Board through e-mail, on 25 July 2025. It is possible to appeal this decision. The procedure for appealing this decision will be explained in the decision.

Faculty criteria in case of special circumstances

In line with the Higher Education and Research Act (WHW; Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek), a binding (negative) study advice can only be issued ‘if the student (...), after taking his or her personal circumstances into account, is not deemed suitable for the degree programme because his/her study results do not meet the requirements which the Board has determined for that degree programme.’

This is operationalized by the BSA Committee as follows:

I.The committee assesses the suitability of the student for the programme based on the study results.

Leading in this assessment is:

I.1 the number of ECTS credits attained and study progress in relation to:

·the seriousness of any individually identifiable personal circumstances (hereinafter referred to as ‘personal circumstances’)

·and the extent to which these personal circumstances may or may not have influenced the study results

I.2 the perspective of successful completion of the Bachelor’s phase within a reasonable period of time.

Furthermore, in this assessment the following is considered:

I.3 the extent to which the student has taken responsibility, for example demonstrated by study behaviour and a timely report to the study advisers of the personal circumstances and problems concerning study progress.


Ad. I.1 The personal circumstances to be considered when assessing suitability are exclusively the following:

a.illness and mental problems of the student

b.physical, sensory or other functional disability of the student

c.pregnancy of the student

d.extraordinary family circumstances

e.membership, including the presidency, of forums such as the University Council, the Faculty Council and the board of a student organization of a significant size

f.circumstances related to the combination of study and elite sport for students who have been recognized as elite athletes by the University of Groningen in accordance with the elite sport regulation.

II.If there are personal circumstances, which prevent an assessment of the student's suitability for the programme, the advice will be to postpone the decision to a later point in the propaedeutic phase.

Laatst aangepast op 14-08-2024