Who to contact
Are you having problems with or related to your studies? Do you need advice or counselling for personal problems? There are a number of counsellors within your study programme who can give educational guidance. See the page of your study programme for more specific information. Utrecht University has even more counsellors who can help you. See the overview below.
At universities we expect students to be highly independent in organising their study and student life. However, we realise that as a freshmen student, you could experience the step from secondary school to university as a large and possibly difficult one. Freshmen students might have to change the place of residence, international students even the country of residence and have to get adjusted to a new culture. You have to familiarize yourself with a system consisting of a limited number of class hours and a substantial number of self-study hours, a different style of teaching and other types of courses and content. Furthermore social life will change: even who do not have to move will experience that student life at a university is much more autonomous and individual than at secondary school.
In order to support you to cope with these changes in social life and to become accustomed to academic traditions and learnings, we developed the mentor system. Your first year mentor will be your teacher of the tutorial sessions in the Introduction to Economics and Business Economics (IEBE) course, one of the two courses in the first period. They will not only teach about the content of the course, but will also pay attention to academic and study skills and personal development. They will discuss the challenges of time management, the art of academic writing and reasoning, the way to deal with large amounts of material, the choices to make during the first year, etc. Most of the discussions will take place during the IEBE classes, but you can always make an appointment with your mentor for an individual meeting. Just as they will invite you for such meeting in case of a particular occasion. After the IEBE course, your mentor will keep in touch, mostly by means of group sessions and occasionally by individual meetings. For example after the announcement of the preliminary Binding Study Advise and the moment you have to decide on the selection of one of the approved optional minors (or an alternative way to fill in your optional course profile).
In addition to the mentor support, USE collaborates with the student association ECU’92, to deliver support and activities for first-year students. ECU’92 will invite students to on-campus discussion meetings, content meetings and off-campus activities. These activities will enable first-year students to meet their peers, get to know more about social life in Utrecht, and find a general support to find their way and get a social life at USE and in Utrecht.
In addition to a mentor, U.S.E. has three study advisors, Huub Klein Schiphorst, Janneke Nolles and Sahra Farah. You can approach them for more personal matters. For example in case you want to apply for special exam conditions because you have a disability, when personal problems interfere with your studies, in case you doubt about the programme, the planning of your study and the selection of courses, when you intend to study abroad or you wish to take up another study, etc.
After the first year you will get a new mentor. This mentor is a U.S.E. staff member and is not connected to one specific course. This change of mentor marks the change of the mentor system; from an intensive course-related system to an open demand-driven structure. The mentor will organise some group events during the enrolment days to discuss essential choices to make and courses to choose, but the mentor will not invite you to individual meetings. At the same time, you can feel free to approach the mentor for questions, either by mail or by arranging a meeting.
If you have questions concerning the choice and planning of your study, about the academic skills, about the rules and regulations of the study or you have other issues (be they private or not), you can contact a study advisor.
The study advisors can guide and advise you on your study (choice) and setting up an academic plan. They can help you find your way through the countless amenities Utrecht University offers.
If you encounter a delay in your academic progress, through e.g. illness, special circumstances or family circumstances, you are to report this as soon as possible.
----------------------------------------------------------
Availability
We can be reached by:
Phone: +31 (0)30 253 4070.
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 11:00 - 12:00
Walk-in hour*: Adam Smith Hall, room 0.20
Wednesday and Thursday 09:30 - 10:30
Friday 13:00 – 14:00
* -NO WALK IN on September 4!-
Email: studyadvisor.use@uu.nl
Make an Appointment
You can make an appointment through the booking tool below. Appointments will take place in the Adam Smith Hall, ground floor (take a seat at the green sofa near room 0.17) or via Microsoft Teams (install the app and login with your UU email address). It's always possible to have the appointment via Teams. Leave a remark in the comment field in case you prefer an online meeting instead of an ‘On Campus’ appointment. Please note that sometimes the confirmation of the booked appointment turns up in your spam box!
Contact Information Study Advisors
- Huub Klein Schiphorst
- Janneke Nolles
- Sahra Farah
Adam Smith Hall
Kriekenpitplein 21-22
3584 EC Utrecht
Please know that UU offers more forms of support. You can read about this on the 'Who to contact?'-page.
The Bachelor of Economics and Business Economics and the Economics Master's programmes have the same Board of Examiners.
The Board of Examiners treats requests concerning the following subjects:
- Special arrangements that are necessary due to illness
- Last course provisions
- Exemptions
- (Prolongation of) validity of exams
- (Approval of) electives outside the programme
- Incorporation of courses for the purpose of exchange programmes
- Terms and declarations of graduation
- Accreditation of Cum Laude
- Graduation ceremonies
The Board of Examiners is bound by law to respond to requests within six weeks. Ordinarily requests are handled within two weeks and only written requests (preferably by email) will be taken into consideration.
Please make sure your request to the Board of Examiners bears your name and student number.
Contact Information Board of Examiners
Email: boardofexaminers.use@uu.nl or examencommissie.use@uu.nl
Address: Adam Smith Hall (International Campus Utrecht), Kriekenpitplein 21-22, 3584 EC Utrecht, the Netherlands
Members of the Board of Examiners
- Peter-Jan Engelen (Chair)
- Peter van der Meer (Member)
- Annette van den Berg (Chair test committee and member)
- Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage (Member test committee)
- Marlies van Beek (External member)
- Tim Jenner (Secretary)
- Nicole Visser (Support officer)
If you have a disability or chronic illness, Utrecht University will support you as much as possible in order to ensure that you complete your degree programme successfully. Examples of a disability / chronic illness include:
- visual, auditory or motor impairments;
- dyslexia;
- ADD / ADHD;
- an autistic spectrum disorder;
- chronic and psychological disorders (e.g. chronic depression, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, asthma, rheumatism etc.).
How to request examination arrangements or accommodations?
You can submit a request for examination arrangements or accommodations via OSIRIS Student (tab Cases > adjustments or accommodations). An example of an accommodation is extra time when sitting exams.
After you have opened your case in Osiris, you will receive a confirmation and the possibility to arrange a meeting with one of the study advisors.
What kind of support does the university offer?
The study advisors can provide you with the exact details of the options available to you. The arrangements or accommodations will be registered in Osiris.
If you are delayed in your studies as a consequence of circumstances beyond your control (e.g. disability), you may be eligible for financial support.
Further information about support can be found on the Studying with a disability page.
Studying without Limitations is a peer to peer group for students with a disability. The members of the Platform are experts by experience, and are happy to share their knowledge with you.
The Integrity Counselor is there for all employees and students of the Faculty who have questions or dilemmas or want to discuss situations in the field of integrity, academic dishonesty in various issues for example in education, in research, in collaboration with external partners etc. The contact person is an independent, confidential and low-threshold sparring partner for a collegial discussion of questions and dilemmas. The counsellor is obliged to observe secrecy about what has become known to them in that capacity.
Integrity Counsellor REBO: dr. Inge Claringbould (I.E.C.Claringbould@uu.nl)
Questions not related to your study programme
In some cases you may want to consult someone who is not related to your specific study programme. For example, if you fall behind due to extenuating circumstances or mental health issues, and it is not possible to correct this through an adjustment in your programme. If this is the case, you may use the contacts mentioned below.
We have put together some study tips and useful links and offer a number of workshops which can help you as well.
