Binding study advice (BSA)
As a bachelor’s student at Leiden University, you will be issued with binding study advice (BSA). This means you must obtain sufficient study credits in the first year of your bachelor’s programme to be permitted to continue studying. Some programmes also have additional requirements.
Requirements
To be issued with positive study advice, you must obtain sufficient study credits in the first year of your Bachelor’s programme.
- Full time students: 45 EC
- Part time students: 30 EC
Some programmes have additional requirements, for example passing a specific course. Look in your programme’s Course and Examination regulations to find out if any additional requirements are in place.
How does it work?
Study advice is issued by your study programme’s board of examiners. Your study advice will be sent to your uMail address and can also be found under the email tab in uSis Student Self Service.
You will receive your first advice half way through the academic year, by 31 January at the latest. This is non-binding. If you are falling behind, the board of examiners will warn you to improve your performance to avoid being issued with negative study advice.
If your results are insufficient in May/June, you will again be issued with advice, which serves as a final warning. This is also non-binding.
You will receive your binding study advice at the end of the academic year, by 15 August at the latest.
Did you register on your study programme later than 1 September and are therefore only following part of the academic year? In this case you can ask the board of examiners to postpone the issuance of binding study advice until the end of your second year.
Negative binding study advice
If you receive negative binding study advice, you must stop your studies and may not register on the same programme at Leiden University for the coming four years.
If you do not agree with your binding study advice, you can appeal against it within six weeks of the issuance of your study advice. It can take up to 16 weeks to receive a decision on your appeal. You can reregister in Studielink and follow courses and do exams during the appeal process. However you will only receive your grades and study credits once it has been decided that you may continue studying.
How to appeal
- Draw up your letter of appeal, stating the following:
- your name, address and telephone number;
- the date of your appeal;
- that you are appealing against your binding study advice;
- why you believe your binding study advice is not warranted.
- Sign your letter of appeal and send it, accompanied by a copy of your binding study advice, to:
Leiden University
Examination Appeals Board
Postbus 9500
2300 RA Leiden
Or via email to secretariaat-jz@bb.leidenuniv.nl
Exceptional circumstances
Will you obtain too few study credits as the result of exceptional or personal circumstances, such as illness, a disability, or combining your studies with other responsibilities? If so, the board of examiners must take this into consideration when issuing study advise. However, you must first report your circumstances on time to your study adviser and request a statement of hindrance.
Have you not yet informed your study adviser about your circumstances? Do this right away!
Request a statement of hindrance
You can request a statement of hindrance from the BSA committee by following the steps below:
Ask your doctor, psychologist or another expert to issue a statement. In the case of family circumstances, you can also ask a student counsellor to issue a statement – see contact block on this page.
- Are you unable to obtain a statement from your doctor? Instead, ask your doctor to provide a printout of your medical dossier - which you are always entitled to.
- Have you already submitted an expert statement to Fenestra or a student counsellor?
In that case, you are generally not required to submit an expert statement with your request. If it later transpires that another expert statement is required, you will be notified as soon as possible by email.
You can request a statement of hindrance via this webpage from 15 May 2024.
The university will handle your request strictly in accordance with the privacy regulations (GDPR). Your data will only be seen by members of the BSA committee and its secretariat.
Be on time
Your request for a statement of hindrance must be submitted no later than 15 July. Keep in mind that it can take some time to arrange an expert statement.
Do you have an appointment scheduled with a student counsellor after 15 July? You must still request your statement of hindrance by 15 July. Be assured that your conversation with the student counsellor will still be taken into consideration during the BSA committee's evaluation.
What happens next?
- The BSA committee will evaluate how and when your study performance was affected by exceptional circumstances.
- The BSA committee will submit the statement of hindrance to the board of examiners. You will receive a copy by email.
- The board of examiners will decide whether you can be permitted to continue studying. The board will take your exceptional circumstances into account, but may still conclude that you should have performed better despite the circumstances. Therefore, there is still a possibility that you may have to stop your studies.
- In exceptional cases, the board of examiners may decide to postpone the issuance of binding study advice because they are not able to sufficiently assess your performance at present.
- You will receive the board of examiner’s decision by email by 15 August at the latest.
Questions
- Questions about BSA in cases of exceptional circumstances? Contact the BSA committee: commissieBSA@sea.leidenuniv.nl.
- Want to speak to a student counsellor? Make an appointment.
- Other questions? Contact your study adviser.
Binding Study Advice
In conformity with the ‘Leiden University Regulation on Binding Study Advice’ (BSA), the Board of Examiners issues study advice to all students in the first year of their studies.
It is of utmost importance that students familiarise themselves with the particulars of the BSA. In what follows, the main elements of the regulations are clarified. A distinction is made between students that commence their studies in September and students that commence their studies in February.
For students that commence their studies in September at the start of the academic year, the Board of Examiners issues the following advice:
- A non-binding recommendation in writing before or on 31 January of the first year. Students who receive a non-binding negative recommendation are invited to attend a meeting with the Study Advisor in order to discuss their study progress and to devise a plan to correct their credit deficiency.
- A binding advice in writing before or on 15 August of the first year.
Positive Binding Study Advise
The Binding Study Advice is positive if a student has obtained 45 EC or more during their first year of full-time studies, of which at least 5 EC for Academic Writing and 5 EC for Introduction to Statistics.
Negative Binding Study Advise
Students receive a binding negative advice if they have obtained fewer than 45 EC during the first year of full-time studies or have failed the Academic Writing and/or Introduction to Statistics course(s). If one receives a negative Binding Study Advise, they must stop their studies and may not register on the same programme at Leiden University for the coming four years.
Appealing a Binding Study Advise
If you do not agree with your Binding Study Advise, you can appeal against it. You can also log an appeal at a later date: within six weeks of the issuance of your study advise. advice. It can take up to 16 weeks to receive a decision on your appeal. During this period you may not register on your study programme. You may follow classes and take exams, however you will only receive your grades and study credits once it has been decided that you may continue studying. Online you can find more information on how to lodge an appeal.
Extenuating circumstances in the context of the binding study advise
It may be the case that students encounter unexpected difficulties that hamper their ability to complete their course work in time. In all cases the students are strongly advised to immediately contact the Study Advisors as soon as possible if they suspect that extenuating circumstances may affect their study progress. Students are also advised to contact the Students Life Counselors should they need assistance in dealing with these extenuating circumstances. Such extenuating circumstances may include functional disabilities, illness, family emergencies, and pregnancy/childbirth. Students may also desire to become a member of the board of a study or student association or of a university administrative body.
The Board of Examiners may only take such extenuating circumstances into account when issuing a Binding Study Advice if the student has requested a hindrance statement at the Leiden University Fenestra Disability Centre. Students can request a hindrance statement by following the steps in the Binding study advice and exceptional circumstances document.
Students are encouraged to contact the student counselors of the Fenestra Disability Centre to discuss extenuating circumstances and for help with gathering supporting documentation.
If you have any other questions regarding the Binding Study Advice, do not hestitate to contact the Study Advisors and/or your Academic advisor.