MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION. Ministerial Order 401/2007 of April 5

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1 MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION Ministerial Order 401/2007 of April 5 The regime of re-enrolment, course s change and transfer within the framework of the Portuguese higher education is approved by the Ministerial Order 612/93, of June 29, subsequently amended by the Ministerial Orders 317-A/96, of July 29, 953/2001, of August 9, and 1152/2002, of August 28. The regime of enrolment for students coming from foreign higher education systems attending Portuguese higher education courses of initial training is defined in the articles of the Decree-Law 393-B/99, of October 2, subsequently amended by Decree-Laws 64/2006, of March 21, and 88/2006, of May 23. Under the terms of the article 44 of the Decree-Law 74/2006, of March 24, the mobility of students between national higher education institutions, of the same system or of different subsystems, as well as between national and foreign higher education institutions, shall be assured by the European credit transfer and accumulation system, based on the principle of mutual recognition of the value of the studies undertaken and of the competences acquired. Under the terms of the article 45 of the same decree-law, foreseeing the furthering of studies for the award of academic degrees or diplomas, the higher education institutions, in compliance with the procedures defined by their legally and statutorily competent bodies and taking into account the number of credits and the subject area in which they were obtained: a) Credit in their study programmes the learning acquired within the scope of other higher education study programmes at national or foreign higher education institutions, as well as that obtained within the scope of the organisational framework resulting from the Bologna Process or yet that obtained previously; b) Credit in their study programmes the learning acquired within the scope of technological specialisation study programmes, under the terms of their appropriate diplomas; c) Recognise, by means of credit attribution, the professional experience and the postsecondary training. Within this new context, it is necessary to alter the procedures of course s change and transfer, integrating in only one regime the students coming from national and foreign institutions, enlarging the limits for admission and simplifying the procedures. After hearing the Rectors Council of the Portuguese Universities, the Coordinating Council of the Polytechnic Higher Education Institutes, the Portuguese Association of Private Higher Education and the students unions, the Decree-Law 196/2006, of October 10, established the legal conditions for the approval of a regulation setting the rules for the enrolment and registration of students in first cycle studies leading to the degree of licenciado and in integrated study cycles leading to the degree of mestre: 1

2 a) through the regime of re-enrolment, course s change and transfer for those who have already been enrolled and registered in Portuguese higher education institutions and courses; b) through the regime of course s change and transfer, taking into account the specificities of the situations, for those who have already been enrolled and registered at foreign higher education institutions and in courses considered as part of the higher education system by the legislation of the concerned country, regardless of whether the courses were completed. Since it is not possible to do it by means of this diploma, we will promote, in a separate diploma, the generalisation of these principles to all second cycle studies leading to the degree of mestre, as well as the establishment of new rules for the recognition of foreign academic degrees at licenciado and mestre degree-levels. The Rectors Council of the Portuguese Universities, the Coordinating Council of the Polytechnic Higher Education Institutes, the Portuguese Association of Private Higher Education and the students unions were heard. Therefore: In compliance with the article 1 of the Decree-Law 196/2006, of October 10: The Government assigns the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education the following: Article 1 Approval 1- It is approved the Regulation on the Regimes of Course s Change, Transfer and Reenrolment in Higher Education. 2- The text referred to in the previous paragraph is considered as an integral part of the present ministerial order for every legal purpose. Article 2 Revoking provision 1- It is revoked the Ministerial Order 612/93, of June 29, subsequently amended by the Ministerial Orders 317-A/96, of July 29, 953/2001, of August 9, and 1152/2002, of August They are equally revoked pursuant to article 2 of the Decree-Law 196/2006, of October 10, the sub-heading c) of the paragraph 2 of the article 3 and the articles of the Decree-Law 393-B/99, of October 2, subsequently amended by the Decree-Laws 64/2006, of March 21, and 88/2006, of May 23. Article 3 Transitional provision The content of the Regulation on the Regimes of Course s Change, Transfer and Reenrolment in Higher Education applies also to bacharelato degree courses. 2

3 Article 4 Application The Regulation on the Regimes of Course s Change, Transfer and Re-enrolment in Higher Education shall be applied from the date it enters into force. Article 5 Entry into force This ministerial order enters into force on the day following its publication. The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, José Mariano Rebelo Pires Gago, on March 26, REGULATION ON THE REGIMES OF COURSE S CHANGE, TRANSFER AND RE-ENROLMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION Article 1 Purpose of the regulation This Regulation rules the regimes of course s change, transfer and re-enrolment at higher education institutions. Article 2 Scope The content of this regulation applies to: a) public higher education institutions, excluding the institutions of military and police education, and to the private and cooperative higher education institutions, all of them hereinafter generally referred to as higher education institutions; b) first cycle studies leading to the degree of licenciado and to integrated study cycles leading to the degree of mestre, all of them hereinafter generally referred to as courses. Article 3 Concepts For the purpose of this Regulation, (a) course s change means the act by which a student registers in a course different from the one he/she was last registered in, at the same or at a different higher education institution, regardless of whether the registration in higher education courses was interrupted; (b) transfer means the act by which a student registers and enrols in the same course at a higher education institution different from the one at which he/she was last enrolled, regardless of whether the registration in higher education courses was interrupted; (c) re-enrolment means the act by which a student, after interrupting his/her studies in a certain course and higher education institution, enrols again at the same higher 3

4 education institution and registers in the same course or in another one that may have followed the former; (d) same course means courses with similar designation and leading to the award of the same degree or yet courses of the same subject area, with similar objectives, delivering similar scientific training and leading to: i. the award of the same degree; ii. the award of a different degree, when such situation results from a process of modification or adequacy between a study cycle leading to the degree of bacharel and a study cycle leading to the degree of licenciado or yet between a study cycle leading to the degree of licenciado and an integrated study cycle leading to the degree of mestre; (e) credits refer to the credits according to the ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System; (f) Portuguese grading scale that to which article 15 of the Decree-Law 42/2005, of February 22, refers to. Article 4 Request 1- Course s change, transfer and re-enrolment are requested to the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution at which the student intends to enrol or register. 2- Those who can request a course s change or transfer are: a) students who have been registered and enrolled in an higher education course at a national higher education institution and have not completed it; b) students who have been enrolled and registered at a foreign higher education institution in a course considered as part of the higher education system by the legislation of the concerned country, regardless of whether the course was completed. 3- The students who can request re-enrolment are those who have been enrolled and registered at the same higher education institution in the same course or in another one that may have preceded the former. 4- The legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution may accept requests of course s change, transfer and re-enrolment at any time during the academic year, as long as it considers that it has or it is able to create the necessary conditions for the integration of the candidates in the concerned courses. Article 5 Quantitative limitations 1- Re-enrolment is not subject to quantitative limitations. 2- Course s change and transfer are limited to quantitative limitations. 4

5 3- The number of vacancies for the regimes of course s change and transfer is defined by the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution. 4- The number of vacancies aimed at the registration in the first year of the study cycles leading to the degree of licenciado and in the first study semester of the integrated study cycles leading to the degree of mestre is subject to quantitative limitations defined under the terms of the paragraphs 2 and 3 of the article 5 of the Decree-Law 393-B/99, of October 2, subsequently amended by the Decree-Laws 64/2006, of March 21, and 88/2006, of May The vacancies approved: a) are announced in official lists available on paper at the higher education institution and shall also be published on the institution s website; b) are communicated to the Directorate-General of Higher Education and to the Observatory for Science and Higher Education. 6- The vacancies, of an institution/course pair, eventually not filled in the regime of course s change (or transfer) may be used in the other regime, if the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution decides so. 7- The vacancies, of an institution/course pair, eventually not filled in the general access regime, under the terms of the paragraph 4 of the article 18 of the Decree-Law 64/2006, of March 21, may be used in the regimes of course s change and transfer, if the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution decides so. Article 6 Courses with prerequisites or requiring specific vocational aptness The prerequisites or the specific vocational aptness required by certain courses are maintained and shall also be met in the case of course s change or transfer, under the terms of the legal regime of access to higher education. Article 7 Decision The decisions concerning the requests for course s change, transfer or re-enrolment are up to the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution and only valid for the registration in the concerned academic year. Article 8 Credits 1- Students are integrated in the study programmes and in the studies organisation in force at the higher education institution where they enrol and register in the concerned academic year. 2- The integration is assured by the European credit transfer and accumulation system (ECTS), based on the principle of mutual recognition of the value of the studies undertaken and of the competences acquired. 5

6 3- Under the terms of the article 45 of the Decree-Law 74/2006, of March 24: a) the higher education institutions: i. Credit in their study programmes the learning acquired within the scope of other higher education study programmes at national or foreign higher education institutions, as well as that obtained within the scope of the organisational framework resulting from the Bologna Process or yet that obtained previously; ii. Credit in their study programmes the learning acquired within the scope of technological specialisation study programmes, under the terms of their appropriate diplomas; iii. Recognise, by means of credit attribution, the professional experience and the postsecondary training. b) The attribution of credits takes into account the level of the credits and the subject area in which they were obtained; c) The procedures to be adopted in the attribution of credits are defined by the higher education institution, after its pedagogical body has been heard. 4- In the case of re-enrolment: a) The studies undertaken, within the scope of the last registration in the same course or in the course that may have preceded it, are fully credited; b) The number of credits to accumulate in order to obtain the academic degree cannot surpass the difference between the number of credits required to obtain the academic degree and the amount credited. 5- In the case of transfer: a) The studies undertaken, within the scope of the last registration in the same course, are fully credited; b) The number of credits to accumulate in order to obtain the academic degree cannot surpass the difference between the number of credits required to obtain the academic degree and the amount credited; c) In duly justified cases, namely those in which the level or the content of the course units makes it impossible to consider the full amount credited, pursuant to the rule of the previous subheading, the number of credits to accumulate in order to obtain the academic degree cannot surpass the difference between the number of credits required to obtain the degree and 90% of the amount credited. 6- The legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution expresses in credits the studies students have undertaken, asking, if necessary, the collaboration of the students former higher education institution. 7- The attribution of the credits shall be done within a time limit compatible with the students registration and course attendance in the relevant academic year or semester. Article 9 Classification 1- The course units credited in compliance with the previous article maintain the classifications obtained at the higher education institutions in which they were taken. 6

7 2- In the case of course units taken at Portuguese higher education institutions, the classification of the credited course units is the classification given by the higher education institution in which they were taken. 3- In the case of course units taken at foreign higher institutions, the classification of the credited course units: a) is the classification attributed by the foreign higher education institution, if this one uses the Portuguese grading scale; b) is the classification resulting from the proportional conversion of the classification into the Portuguese grading scale, if the foreign higher education uses a different one. 4- As for the calculation of the final classification of the academic degree, which is done pursuant articles 12 and 24 of the Decree-Law 74/2006, of March 24, the adoption of specific coefficients for the classification of the credited course units shall be duly justified. 5- In the case to which paragraph 3 refers to and based on manifest differences of statistical distribution between the classifications awarded by the foreign higher education institution and the Portuguese higher education institution, the student can submit a duly justified request to the legally and statutorily competent body of the higher education institution demanding the award of a classification higher than the one resulting from the mentioned rules. Article 10 Regulation 1- The legally and statutorily competent body of each higher education institution approves a regulation on the regimes of course s change, transfer and re-enrolment. 2- The following issues shall be addressed in the regulation: a) the educational prerequisites, if necessary, for requesting course s change; b) the prerequisites that shall be met in the case course s change, transfer or reenrolment is requested by students whose enrolment has already lapsed under the terms of the prescription regime to which the paragraph 2 of the article 5 of the Law 37/2003, of August 22 (it establishes the financial bases of higher education), subsequently amended by Law 49/2005, of August 30, refers to. c) the conditions under which the liminal rejection takes place; d) ranking criteria for requests of course s change and transfer; e) documents to be submitted along with the requests; f) mode and place of making the decisions about the requests known; g) time limits. 3- The regulations are published in the Diário da República (Portuguese Official Gazette), 2 nd series, and at each institution s website. 7

8 Article 11 Students not placed, holding a valid enrolment in the preceding academic year Students who have had a valid enrolment and registration at a higher education institution in the immediately preceding academic year and whose request is rejected can, within the time limit of seven days after the publication of the decision, register in the course in which they had been registered in the preceding academic year. 8