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BSA standard will be lowered as of academic year 2025-2026

Published on 10-05-2023 13:42
The standard for the binding study advice (BSA) will be lowered. Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf has announced this in a letter to parliament on 9 May. Currently, higher education institutions are free to set their own BSA standard. Many programmes require students to obtain 45 or more in their first year. As of 2025-2026, there will be a maximum of 30 credits in year one and 60 in year two.
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The UvA will not abolish the BSA

Educational institutions may choose to apply a lower standard or to abolish the BSA altogether. The UvA will continue the BSA. Rector Magnificus Peter-Paul Verbeek: ‘Students are suffering from high study stress and experience a heavy workload. This worries us, of course. The binding study advice encourages students to commit themselves to their studies right from the start. Once students fall behind, they are unable to take more advanced courses. That causes even more delay and stress. We have observed that students who don’t attain 30 credits in their first year, have a very high risk of dropping out further on in their studies. The main point of the BSA is that it prevents students from struggling for a long time. If personal circumstances play a role, we will of course take that into account.’

Introduction in two years’ time

The new BSA standard will apply to students who start on their Bachelor’s programme in September 2025. This is because the relevant bill will first need to be passed. Subsequently, the educational institutions will need time to the incorporate the change in their processes. The institutions will need to amend their Teaching and Examination Regulations, for example, and study advisers will need to be prepared for the new situation.

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