Last summer, the international Students Advisory Board (hereinafter: SAB) and the National Code of Conduct Commission (hereinafter: LCG) received a message from an international graduate requesting attention for the study progress standard and information provision on this standard, as it relates to the large modules offered by educational institutions. These are modules worth more than 30 ECTS credits each. In reference to this request the LCG is happy to pay attention to this situation in the article below, and would also like to ask you to continue to inform your non-EU international students about this standard and the grave consequences resulting from not complying with this standard.
The Code of Conduct is, as you know, a product of self-regulation, and has therefore been drawn up by the field of education itself. By signing the Code of Conduct, the educational institution commits itself to the agreements and rules contained therein. The Code of Conduct includes, among other things, the stipulation that prospective and current international students must be fully aware of all relevant matters relating to completing a study programme in the Netherlands. Article 2.1 of the Code of Conduct, for example, outlines the conditions surrounding the provision of information to students. In this article multiple facets are discussed. Article 2.1(b), for instance, states that prospective students must be properly informed about the degree programme for which they plan to register. This may include a description of the modules and the ECTS credit (see box for more information). The study progress standard is mentioned and discussed several times in the Code of Conduct. Article 2.1(f) of the Code of Conduct, for example, refers to the study progress standard as part of the complete and accurate provision of information to students. In addition, Article 5.13 of the Code of Conduct states that the educational institutions must ask the admissible student requiring a residence permit to agree in writing with the procedure used by the educational institution to report the student requiring a residence permit to the IND in the event that they have not made satisfactory study progress.
Non-EU international students must achieve the study progress standard in order to retain their right to a residence permit in the context of a study programme. Article 6.5 of the Code of Conduct states that study progress is considered satisfactory when a student achieves at least 50% of the nominal study load in a given academic year (or part of an academic year). For a full academic year worth 60 ECTS credits, the above means that a student must obtain at least 30 ECTS credits to meet the study progress standard. In the case of preparatory education and the premaster, the student requiring a residence permit must have successfully completed the programme.
By complying with this Code of Conduct and its agreements, it is expected that prospective non-EU international students will be well aware of the existence of the study progress standard and the far-reaching consequences of not meeting this standard. This way, prior to the start of their programme, students will be able to acquaint themselves with the condition that sufficient ECTS credits must be achieved in order to keep their residence permit.
It is possible, however, that degree programmes offer modules that are worth a relatively large number of ECTS credits, say 30 ECTS credits or more, and that these credits are only awarded administratively once the student has passed all of the components of the module in question. Not passing such a large module will have immediate consequences for the non-EU international student. As a result of failing the module, it becomes effectively impossible for the student to comply with the study progress standard, potentially resulting in the loss of their right to a residence permit. It is imaginable that a student might fail a large module based on a small component, but that this cannot be demonstrated administratively. This could give the impression that the student achieved no study progress while this is not true in actuality. This situation causes a great deal of concern for both the student and the educational institution. In certain cases, educational institutions creatively handle this type of situation, by awarding fictitious points or by applying exemptions which remove the need for a report to the IND.
The LCG requests that educational institutions at the very least consider this consequence in designing their programmes. In the event that programmes are already established, it is especially important to continue to inform students on the study progress standard and the consequences associated with not passing a sizeable module. The LCG also asks that educational institutions, in the event of exceptional cases in which motivated and talented non-EU international students fail to pass a module based on a small component, attempt to use their creativity and customisation in order to avoid any unnecessary barriers for these students.