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Binding Study Advice first year

Who does the BSA apply to?

Provisional study advice

Definitive study advice

Radboud University has a binding study advice (BSA) procedure in place for all full-time bachelor’s programmes.

This means that as a first year student you must meet the BSA standard by the end of the academic year. This standard is expressed in a minimum number of course credits (EC) which must be acquired during the first year of a degree programme. The Faculty Board has determined that as a faculty student you must acquire at least 44 EC credits in the first year to obtain positive study advice at the end of the first year. Since PPS courses are 5 EC each, this means that PPS students are given positive study advice if they have passed 9 or more courses

The BSA will be presented by the Committee on Binding Study Advice for first-year students on behalf of the Dean of the faculty to which this fulltime bachelor programme belongs. Provisional advice is given in February, followed by definitive study advice at the end of the academic year.

Who does the BSA apply to?

The BSA applies to all first year students who have registered for the first time for the first year phase of a full time bachelor’s programme since September of the 2011-2012 academic year. The BSA applies to all fulltime bachelor’s programmes at Radboud University. If you register for a fulltime bachelor’s programme after 1 February, the study advice will be given at the end of the second year of study.

Provisional study advice

As a first year student you will receive provisional study advice at the latest by 1 March based on your results in the first semester. If your progress up until this point has been insufficient, you can view this provisional study advice as flagging up a warning.

The standard applied to the provisional BSA is 20 EC which you must acquire in the first semester. Only your own first year course EC (B1) count, meaning the EC included in the Education and Examination Regulations (EER). EC awarded for exemptions do NOT count when establishing whether the BSA standard has been met.

There are three levels of provisional study advice:

Positive advice: if you have acquired 20 EC or more during the first semester, you will be given positive study advice.

Borderline advice: if you have acquired between 15 and 20 EC during the first semester, you will be given ‘borderline’ advice. In this event you will be advised to put in place a plan with your student advisor to improve your approach to your studies. At this point you will also discuss whether continuation of your studies is advisable.

Negative advice: if you have acquired less than 15 EC during the first semester you will be given negative provisional advice. In this event you will also be advised to put in place a plan with your student advisor to improve your approach to your studies and/or discuss whether continuation of your studies is advisable. If you decide to terminate your studies, then do so before 1 March.

Definitive study advice

Once the results of the latest resits in July are known, you will receive positive advice if you have obtained at least 44 EC. Only your own first year course EC (B1) count, meaning the EC included in the Education and Examination Regulations (EER). EC awarded for exemptions do NOT count when establishing whether the BSA standard has been met.

At the end of the academic year, the committee will give you one of three levels of advice:

Positive advice: to be eligible for positive advice at the end of the first year you must meet the BSA standard. Only your own first year course EC (B1) count, meaning the EC included in the Education and Examination Regulations (EER). EC awarded for exemptions do NOT count when establishing whether the BSA standard has been met.

Postponed advice: only due to exceptional conditions and in the event of serious personal circumstances which have made normal study impossible can definitive study advice be ‘postponed’ by a year. In this event you may continue your studies, however with the proviso that by the end of the second year you must have acquired all 60 EC required for the first phase of the degree programme.

Negative advice: negative advice will always consist of two steps. First you will receive an intention notice of negative advice, which may be commuted to definitive negative advice. If you do not meet the BSA standard, you will be given an intention notice for negative advice. You will then be given the opportunity to be heard by the Committee on Binding Study Advice for first-year students. The committee will take a final decision after the hearing and after weighing up any possible mitigating personal circumstances. The intended negative advice may then be commuted to postponed advice, or to definitive binding negative advice. As soon as possible after the hearing, at the latest on 31 August, you will be informed regarding the committee’s definitive decision. If you do not attend the hearing, the intended binding negative study advice will automatically be commuted to definitive binding negative advice. If you have received definitive negative study advice, you will not be permitted to register for the same fulltime bachelor’s programme during a subsequent three year period. You can contest a binding negative advice decision within six weeks by presenting your case to the Examinations Appeals Commission (EAC).

More information

For more information on BSA please refer to your programme’s student advisor or have a look at the university website.