Policies and procedures

Go to the page about the Education and Examination Regulations (EER) of MBLS.

The Board of Examiners ensures correct compliance with the EER and consists of a central Board of Examiners and Executive Panels (in Dutch: 'Kamers'). 

Your first point of contact for questions and for submitting requests for the Board of Examiners is the MBLS Executive Panel. Go for contact information and more to the Board of Examiners page.

In most cases, the MBLS Executive Panel is the first to contact for requests to the Board of Examiners.

For contact information and more go to the Board of Examiners-page.

Each course contains several assessments that are graded. What these are is specified in the course manual and/or the Osiris Course Catalog. You must participate in all assessments in order to complete the course and receive a final grade. For some assessments, you may have to obtain a minimum mark.

See also article 5.1 in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

Numerical marks are given on a scale of 1 to 10. You pass a course if you have a final mark of 6 or higher. Final marks are rounded as follows:

• Marks in the interval ≥4.95 and <5.50 are rounded to 5
• Marks in the interval ≥5.50 and <6.05 are rounded to 6
• Other marks are rounded to 1 decimal; upwards if the second decimal equals 5 or more, downwards if the second decimal equals 4 or less.

See also article 5.4 in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

• ND (Niet deelgenomen; not participated): you registered for a course and did not participate in any of the test modules.
• NVD (Niet Voldaan; not completed): you registered for a course and did not participate in a sufficient number of assessments to be eligible for an additional test (resit) or (in rare cases) you did participate in all assessments, but did not fulfill the minimal mark criteria and (for some other reason) are not entitled to a resit.
• AANV (Aanvullend; resit): you are eligible for a resit. You did not participate in an assessment (but did report absent in the appropriate manner), have an insufficient mark for an assessment, or an insufficient final mark, but do qualify for a resit. See item ‘Additional test (Resit)’ for the requirements.
• VR (Vrijstelling; exemption): you have been granted an exemption by the Board of Examiners for a particular course.
• V (Sufficient): You passed the course for which a non-numerical assessment is given.
• ONV (insufficient): You failed the course for which a non-numerical assessment is given.

See also article 5.4 in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

If you failed a course you will be given a once-and-only opportunity to do a resit provided that your failing grade before rounding is at least 4.00 and you fulfilled all effort and attendance requirements.

You will not qualify for a resit if you already passed the course (final grade of 6 or higher).

If you have been unable to participate in at most one assessment due to force majeure you will be given a once and only opportunity to do a resit, provided that you have complied with the rules as stated under ‘reporting illness and absence’.

See also article 5.5 and addendum E in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

You may not be able to attend an exam, lecture or working group due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances beyond your control (force majeure). It is also possible that you cannot, for example, hand in a paper on time.

• In case you are not able to attend a compulsory course component or fail a deadline due to force majeure you must inform the course coordinator as soon as can be expected.
• If you are not able to attend a test due to force majeure you have to inform the course coordinator by email and cc the student desk (science.mbls.ba@uu.nl) and study advisor (studieadviseur.mbls@uu.nl) as soon as can be expected mentioning your name, student number, name of the course, date of the test, and the reason of absence.
• In case you are not able to continue your studies for a longer period of time please inform your Study Advisor.

Consequences

• If you have missed mandatory course components, you may no longer meet the attendance or effort requirements (article 4.4, Education & Examination Regulations).
• If you have not been able to take or complete a test due to force majeure, and have not reported this in the proper manner, you lose the right to take a resit (article 5.5, Education & Examination Regulations).

See also articles 4.4, 4.5, 5.5, and addendum E in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

Tests and assignments that were passed will lose their validity if the course within which they were taken was not passed. The examiner may grant the student exemption or impose a substitute assignment for parts of a course other than (partial) tests. Please refer to the MBLS-specific addendum E for several exceptions.

See also article 5.10 and MBLS-specific addendum E in the Education & Examination Regulations (dropdown further down this page).

Interim Study Advice

In your first year of enrolment in a Bachelor's programme, you will receive an Interim Study Advice (‘positive’, ‘negative’ or ‘a warning) before 31 January. This advice indicates your study progress and is not binding. In case of a negative Interim Study Advice, you will be advised to discontinue your studies.

Binding Study Advice

At the end of the first academic year, a Binding Study Advice (BSA) will be given. The norm for the Binding Study Advice for the academic year 2023-2024 is 45 EC.

The BSA is issued by the programme director, based on the number of credits you have obtained in the current academic year. You can obtain 60 EC (or more) in one academic year. If you have obtained at least 45 EC at the end of your first academic year, you will receive a letter with a positive Binding Study Advice.

If you achieve less than 45 EC in your first year, you will receive a negative binding study advice. In that case, you may not continue your studies for the next four years. If there are personal circumstances that may influence your BSA, please report this as soon as possible to the Study Advisor.

Be aware that:

1. No negative Binding Study Advice can be issued if the student has passed all the tests related to the courses in the first year of the study programme with a combined study load of 60 EC (see Education and Examination Regulations 7.4. section 12 and the appendices of the EER).
2. If you request course de-enrolment before 1 February of your first study year, you will receive no negative binding study advice.

Also see article 7.4 of the Education and Examination Regulations.

Circumstances beyond one's control

If there were special circumstances why you did not obtain 45 EC, you can apply for a delayed Binding Study Advice. Please mention your special circumstances influencing your study progress to the Study Advisor as soon as reasonably possible.