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Binding Study Advice
The binding study advice (BSA) was implemented by Wageningen University at the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. The following regulations are an elaboration on Article 58 of the Education and Examination Regulations (EER) and describe the guidelines for implementing the binding study advice in the first academic year of the Bachelor’s programme. We have listed the most frequently asked questions below in order to supply you with as much information as possible.
For the academic year 2021-2022 again adapted norms apply for the binding study advice. Please see question 14 below.
Questions and answers on the binding study advice (BSA)
1. How many credits (study credits) must I earn in total at Wageningen University in order to successfully complete the first year?
If you are following the standard programme of your particular educational choice, then each academic year consists of 60 credits. The norm that has been established for the BSA is 36 credits worth of first year courses. This means that in order to enrol for your study programme in the following academic year, you must earn at least these 36 credits in first year courses. For good study performance you are, however, recommended to try to earn at least 50 credits during your first academic year.
See question 14 for the adjusted norm for 2021-2022.
2. What must I do to receive a positive advice at the end of the year?
You receive a positive study advice at the end of the academic year if you have earned a minimum of 36 credits in first-year courses from your Bachelor’s programme, or when you have completed all the subjects from the first-year programme.
See question 14 for the adjusted norm for 2021-2022.
3. To whom does the binding study advice apply?
4. I am going to start a new Bachelor’s programme, but in my former Bachelor’s programme (at WU or another university) I already received a positive BSA; do the BSA requirements then also apply to my new study programme?
5. I am switching to a new Bachelor’s programme at Wageningen University. Do the courses that I completed earlier – and which are also first-year courses in this new Bachelor’s programme – count toward a positive BSA?
6. Do exemptions count toward the determination of the BSA norm?
7. I began my Bachelor’s study after 1 October. Must I then still earn 36 credits before the end of the academic year to meet the BSA norm?
8. Do you always receive a negative BSA if you do not meet the norm, or are exceptions possible? For which personal circumstances can you receive a postponed study advice?
9. What is a postponed study advice?
At the end of term 6, it may occur that you receive a postponed study advice instead of a final positive or a negative advice. A postponed study advice means that, although you have not met the set BSA norm due to exceptional personal circumstances, you will still be permitted to enrol again in the degree programme. The Examining Board will determine whether such personal circumstances exist and to what extent these are the cause of your inability to meet the norm. The consequence of a postponed study advice is that in the following academic year the norm must still be met, otherwise you will receive a negative BSA. The credits received during the first year of enrolment still count.
Please note: if you receive a postponed study advice after period 6 of your first year, you will not receive any more interim advices during the following year.
10. Can I appeal a negative binding study advice?
Should you receive a final negative BSA, but you do not agree with this, then you can lodge an appeal. Possible reasons may be that not all the grades have been processed yet, were not displayed properly, or that you are appeal due to previously reported personal circumstances, or that the personal circumstances were not or not fully considered. An appeal to the negative BSA must be lodged within 6 weeks after receiving it. For details on the appeal procedure we refer you to the Student Charter, where you can find information about submitting an appeal in the section “Rechtsbescherming studenten” (safeguarding students’ legal rights).
When submitting an appeal, we request that you fill in the “format beroepschrift” (form for notification of an appeal) completely, attach a copy of the original decision, and send it by email to faciliteit@wur.nl.
For more information, please contact faciliteit@wur.nl.
11. Is there any point in taking resits in August if I have received a negative BSA?
12. Should I submit an appeal if I can still meet the norm in the resit period?
The final BSA will be issued prior to the resit period. This means that some students who received a negative BSA might, through taking one or more resits, still meet the norm. Should this be the case, then Wageningen University will rescind its formerly issued negative BSA and give the student who has since met the norm a positive BSA. This will occur even if the student has not lodged an appeal.
If there are other reasons why you do not agree with the negative BSA that was issued, then you should lodge an appeal. See Question 10.
13. I have received a negative BSA. What are the consequences?
14. Is the norm for the binding study advice affected by COVID-19 measures?
In connection with the continuing COVID-measures Wageningen University has decided to extend the adapted regulations for the binding study advice for the academic year 2021-2022. For first-year's students this means the following:
· Those who have achieved the current BSA standard of 36 credits will receive a positive Binding Study Advice (BSA) as usual.
· Those who have earned 30 credits will receive a positive Binding Study Advice this year.
· Those who have earned 24-29 credits will receive a postponed Binding Study Advice. In practice, this means that they will have until the end of the 2022-2023 academic year to meet the adapted standard of 30 credits.
· Those who have earned less than 24 credits in the 2021-2022 academic year will receive a negative Binding Study Advice. As usual, they may appeal to the Examination Board on the basis of existing appeals regulations; corona-related circumstances will be explicitly considered in the board’s assessment.
For the academic year 2021-2022 the norm for the binding study advice for the bachelor Tourism has been lowered from 42 to 36 credits. Students who have earned between 30-35 credits will receive a postponed binding study advice. Those who have earned fewer than 30 credits will receive a negative binding study advice.