What is going on?
At the end of March, a large-scale study by a researcher at Vrije Universiteit was published on the binding study advice (bsa). The conclusion, published in economists’ journal ESB: the bsa offers hardly any benefits for either students or educational institutions and comes with ‘significant drawbacks’. Students do not graduate noticeably faster, and fewer students obtain a degree, the study concludes.
The LSVb (Dutch Student Union) therefore quickly drew its own conclusion: abolish it. Several universities of applied sciences have already taken that step. And the House of Representatives wants minister Letschert to enter talks with universities. They would prefer a personalised study advice instead of a binding one.
And what do universities think?
For now, they are not exactly enthusiastic. The first response from umbrella organisation UNL: ‘Students themselves experience the bsa as positive far more often than negative. During the coronavirus years, we saw that students who continued with fewer credits often dropped out at a later stage.’
And UT – should we expect change any time soon?
No, not any time soon, although rector Tom Veldkamp is at least leaving the door ajar. ‘We intend, as UT, to take another look at how the binding study advice affects our students, and whether there are good reasons – or not – to consider an alternative approach,’ he says.
The bsa debate has flared up at UT before. When former education minister Dijkgraaf argued in 2023 for lowering the bsa threshold to 30 credits, UT was not pleased.
At the time, the rector said: ‘You can question whether the mental health issues students experience are the result of the current bsa. Lowering the standard does not solve the problem; it merely shifts it to the second year.’ Student parties in the University Council also argued in favour of retaining the bsa. ‘Not ideal, but necessary’ was the prevailing sentiment. That said, UT did temporarily relax the bsa during the COVID crisis.
Why does the binding study advice exist in the first place?
Leiden was the first Dutch university to introduce it, back in 1997. Since then, its principles and objectives have remained largely unchanged: if, as a first-year student, you fail to obtain a minimum number of credits (at UT, in almost all cases 45), you receive a negative binding study advice and are removed from the programme. The aim is to shorten the average time to graduation and reduce late drop-out.
Critics often point to the major downside: stress. Students may also face a range of personal circumstances, such as physical or mental health issues or family matters. If these lead to study delay and you risk not meeting the bsa requirements, a special Personal Circumstance Committee will assess your case. Ultimately, the programme director decides whether you may continue your studies. In such situations, it is wise for students to contact their programme in good time.
So, do we just have to live with the current situation for now?
‘For the time being, the current bsa regulations remain in force,’ confirms rector Tom Veldkamp. With the fourth quartile approaching, there will undoubtedly be first-year students heading into the next exam and resit period with mounting anxiety. Do or die, then, if you have just scraped together 30 EC so far. And it is certainly not the case that the bsa will disappear or be relaxed within the next two months.
Put it this way: the Twente Education Model was once far less flexible. Less than ten years ago, this was still more the rule than the exception: you either obtained all 15 EC per module or nothing at all if you failed a single course. That ‘15‑EC all-or-nothing rule’ was widely criticised.
In recent years, TOM has given first-year students a little more breathing space. But when it comes to stress and study pressure… there is ‘always’ the bsa.
