REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER S PROGRAMMES at Leiden University

Transcription

1 REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER S PROGRAMMES at Leiden University The Executive Board of Leiden University, with reference to Section 7.30b, paragraph 4, of the Higher Education and Research Act in conjunction with Section 9.2, second paragraph, of this Act, has decided to adopt the Regulations for Admission to Master s programmes at Leiden University, as follows: Chapter 1. General conditions Article 1.1. Definitions 1. In these regulations, the following definitions apply: a. The Act: the Higher Education and Research Act; b. Applicant: a person submitting a request for admission to a master s programme; c. Confirmation of admission: a confirmation of admission as issued by the Faculty Board on condition that the applicant meets the admission requirements; d. Bachelor s diploma: bachelor s degree from a university; e. Successful completion of the final examination of a bachelor s degree programme: the point when a student has completed his or her bachelor s degree programme. This is the case if: (i) The student is in possession of a bachelor s degree certificate, or (ii) The student does not yet possess a bachelor s degree certificate but he or she has successfully completed all the examinations of the relevant bachelor s programme, unless the Board of Examiners of the relevant bachelor s programme has explicitly specified that the final examination should also include an additional investigation conducted by the Board. In this case, the student is considered to have completed the relevant bachelor s programme once the Board of Examiners has conducted this investigation and has established that the student indeed possesses the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills. 2. For the application of these regulations, the term Faculty Board also includes the Director of ICLON. Article 1.2. Conditions for registration in a master s programme 1. Without prejudice to the stipulations of or under the Act relating to registration for master s programmes, registration for a master s programme is only open to those persons who meet the admission requirements as specified in the Course and Examination Regulations of the relevant master s programme. 2. The Executive Board may establish a maximum number of persons that can be registered for a given programme. In such instances, thhis should announced in a timely fashion, and in any event no later than at the start of the academic year preceding that to which this maximum applies, and at the very least on the website of the relevant programme as well as on the general website(s) that provide information on the admission requirements and registration procedure for master s programmes at Leiden University. Chapter 2. Procedure for admission to a master s programme Article 2.1. Application for admission 1. Any person who wishes to be admitted to a master s programme should submit a digital application for admission: a. To the Admissions Office of Leiden University by using a digital form provided by the Admissions Office, or b. Via StudyLink if a mandate has been issued to this effect. The application should, if requested, be accompanied by any digitised documents that may reasonably be required to assess whether the applicant can be admitted to his/her chosen master s programme.

2 2. This application must be submitted no later than two-and-a-half months 1 before the start of the master s programme for which admission is sought. In exceptional cases, the Executive Board may set an alternative deadline; this may happen in cases involving international students and lateral entrants in the Master s Programme in Medicine. 3. A decision regarding the application for admission can only be reached after a fee for administrative costs as set by the Executive Board has been paid by or on behalf of the applicant. Leiden University students are exempt from paying the aforementioned feee. Students of other Dutch higher-education institutions who have been awarded a bachelor s degree in accordance with the Act are also exempt from paying the aforementioned fee. Article 2.2. Decision to grant admission 1. The authority to grant admission as allotted to the Executive Board by the Act is further mandated, in accordance with Section 7.30b, to the Faculty Board. 2. Decisions regarding admission are taken by the Faculty Board on behalf of the Executive Board, in relevant cases subject to the maximum number of persons that can be admitted to the programme as established by the Executive Board. 3. The Faculty Board can further mandate this authority to the Board of Admissions. In the case of a two-year master s programme in the field of education, this decision will not be taken without first consulting the Board of ICLON for advice. Article 2.3. Board of Admissions 1. The Faculty Board is responsible for appointing a Board of Admissions for each master's programme or group of master s programmes. 2. The members of this Board of Admissions are appointed from among the members of staff charged with teaching the master s programme or group of master s programmes in question. 3. Membership of the Board of Admissions is not compatible with membership of the Board of Examiners of the relevant master s programme or group of master s programmes. Article 2.4. Task of the Board of Admissions 1. The Board of Admissions is charged with the task of applying the admissions criteria listed in the Course and Examination Regulations of the master s programme in question to assess which applicants can be granted admission to this master s programme. The Board presents its conclusions as recommendations to the Faculty Board. 2. If the Executive Board has exercised its authority as referred to in Article 1.2, second paragraph of these regulations, with respect to the master s programme in question, the Board will indicate a ranking of suitability of the persons who according to the Board may be granted admission, on the basis of the results of the assessment of the admission criteria listed in the Course and Examination Regulations. 3. An applicant who has been conditionally granted admission should demonstrate that he or she meets the admission criteria as referred to in the first paragraph no later than the day before the master s programme starts. If this is not possible due to circumstances beyond his or her control, the relevant evidence can be submitted until the last the day of the month in which the master s programme started. 4. Admission to a master s programme may be subject to restrictions regarding the choice of specialisations or variants of the programme. 5. The Board of Admissions prepares an annual report of its activities including a review of the recommendations it has made in the course of that year and, if the second sentence of the second 1 For programmes that start on 1 September, this means 15 June, and for programmes that start on 1 February, it is 15 November.

3 paragraph applies, of the decisions ithas made in the course of that year on behalf of the Faculty Board. Article 2.5. Mandate to the Admissions Office Contrary to the stipulations of Article 2.2, third paragraph, the Faculty Board can, in specific cases as specified by the Faculty Board, mandate its authority to make decisions regarding admission to the University s Admissions Office. Article 2.6. Admission in case of deficiency If a person who is in possession of a certificate testifying that he/she has successfully completed the final examination of a university bachelor s programme fails to meet the admission requirements listed in the Course and Examination Regulations of the master s programme in question, but his or her deficiency does not exceed 15 credits, this person can still be granted admission provided that he or she will only be allowed to take the final examination of the relevant master s programme or of one or more of its components as indicated in the admission decision once the Board of Admissions has established to its satisfaction that this deficiency has been remedied. Article 2.7. Confirmation of admission/communication with the applicant 1. Any person who is granted admission to a master s programme by or on behalf of the Faculty Board will receive a confirmation of admission from the Faculty. This confirmation should always specify the master s programme and, where appropriate, the specialisation(s) or programme variant(s) to which the applicant has been granted admission, as well as the deadlines for completing registration for the master s programme in question. 2. An applicant whose request for admission has been rejected by or on behalf of the Faculty Board will be notified accordingly by the Faculty. 3. If the application for admission has been rejected or the confirmation of admission has been issued with certain restrictions, the applicant will be informed of the reasons behind the decision made by or on behalf of the Faculty Board. Article 2.8. Appeal to CBE Within six weeks of receiving a decision, the student concerned can lodge an appeal with the Board of Appeal for Examinations (CBE) against a decision made by the Faculty Board or on its behalf by the Board of Admissions or the Admissions Office with regard to issuing or not issuing a confirmation of admission. Chapter 3. Conclusion and transitional provisions Article 3.1 Official title These regulations are to be referred to as: Regulations for Admission to Master s Programmes at Leiden University. Article 3.2. Date of commencement These regulations will take effect on the day after they are approved by the Executive Board. These regulations have been approved by the Executive Board in its decision dated 27 April 2005, and amended in its decisions of 20 December 2005, 6 March 2007, and 6 November 2007, 16 December 2008, 29 May 2012, and 6 May 2014.

4 EXPLANATION General In accordance with Section 7.30b, fourth paragraph, of the Higher Education and Research Act (WHW, hereafter referred to as the Act), the Executive Board is required to establish regulations which provide procedural guidelines regarding admission to master s programmes in case the number of applicants for a master s programme greatly exceeds the set number of places for the programme in question. The present regulations are intended to satisfy the requirements of this Section. The Executive Board also considers it desirable to provide guidelines regarding several other matters, such as the mandate, that relate to admission to master s programmes in other cases than those referred to in the first paragraph. These regulations closely match those that applied to the introduction of the Quality in Diversity of Higher Education Act (Staatsblad 2013, 298). Article 1.2 A number of conditions must be met for the registration for a university programme, according to the system established in the Act. These conditions are administrative, financial, and educational in nature. The Executive Board can only initiate registration once all of these conditions have been met. This also applies to registration for a master s programme. The educational condition in this case consists of the requirement that an applicant for a master s programme be granted admission to the relevant master s programme by the Institutional Board. The Executive Board has mandated this authority to the Faculty Boards, which can, in some cases and if required, mandate it further to other units (submandate). The Executive Board may have set a limit on the number of students that can be registered in a given master s programme. Potential applicants should be informed of this fact in good time; for this purpose the term an be observed that applies on the basis of the Code of Conduct for International Students. A capacity limitation must be announced no later than one year before the start of the academic year to which it applies. Students are required to have fully completed a university bachelor s programme before being allowed to start on a master s programme. These are two separate programmes that follow on from one another, which means that it is essential to have completed the bachelor s programme in order to successfully follow the master s programme. The condition that applicants for a master s programme are only granted admission on the condition that they have successfully completed the final examination of the bachelor s level (i.e. that they are in possession of a university bachelor s degree) holds for all students. In addition, the master s programme is expected to be so intensive and heavy in terms of study load that students would have little opportunity to remedy any deficiencies. The final bachelor s examination should be successfully completed no later than on the last day of the month prior to the start of the master s programme. Each master s programme has two starting times in a year when new students can join the programme: 1 September and 1 February; the final bachelor s examination must therefore be successfully completed no later than 31 August and 31 January, respectively. Article 2.1 Under the Act, the Executive Board is responsible for both admission and registration; the Faculty Board is mandated to make decisions regarding admission. The application for admission should, unless otherwise specified, be submitted to the University s Admissions Office, which acts as the contact point for both current and prospective students. Applicants should use the online form supplied by the Admissions Office. This form must accompanied by any documents which can reasonably be expected to be required to assess whether the applicant is eligible for admission to the relevant master s programme. If a relevant mandate has been issued, the application can also be submitted via StudyLink. As a rule, the application must be submitted no later than two-and-a-half months before the start of the relevant master s programme. The Executive Board can, however, set an alternative deadline in

5 exceptional cases. This applies in any case to international students: the deadlines that apply to them are respectively 1 April and 15 October. This is related to the fact that these students require a Regular Provisional Residence Permit, as well as accommodation arrangements. In addition, alternative terms also apply to lateral entrants in the Master s Programme in Medicine. To prevent unnecessary costs being incurred by the University in connection with the processing of an application for admission, the applicant is required to pay an administration fee as set by the Executive Board. Students who have been awarded a bachelor s degree in the Netherlands in accordance with the Act are exempt from paying this fee. Article 2.2 As indicated above in 2.1, the Executive Board has mandated its authority to grant admission to the Faculty Board. The Faculty Board can further sub-mandate this authority to the Board of Admissions. The signature that appears at the bottom of the decisions should indicate that the decision in question was taken on behalf of the Executive Board. Article 2.3 Under this Article, the Faculty Board is responsible for appointing a Board of Admissions for every programme or group of programmes. In view of the need to separate functions, it has been decided that membership of this Board is not compatible with membership of the Board of Examiners. Article 2.4 The Board of Admissions is responsible for assessing which applicants will be admitted to the master s programme by applying the admissions criteria as listed in the Course and Examination Regulations (OER) of the relevant master s programme. If there are more applicants than can be registered according to the maximum available capacity, the Board of Admissions is responsible for ranking the applicants in order of suitability for the master s programme on the basis of the admission requirements listed in the OER. The Board offers its assessment as a recommendation to the Faculty Board. The decision concerning admission is taken by the Faculty Board, which may further mandate this authority to the Board of Admissions or in accordance with Article 2.5 to the Admissions Office. In the case of a two-year master s programme in education, the admission requirements listed in the OER also relate to educational aspects; as a result, the ICLON should also be involved in the assessment of an application for admission. If the master s programme in question has a limited capacity, the Faculty Board takes the maximum number of students that can be registered into account in its decision. A student who has been granted conditional admission should submit all evidence demonstrating that he or she has met the admission requirements no later than on the last day before the start of the master s programme. If he or she is unable to do so due to circumstances beyond his or her control, this term will be extended until the last day of the month in which the master s programme started. Article 2.5 This article allows for the possibility that the Faculty Board, contrary to the stipulations of Article 2.2, second paragraph, can mandate to the Admissions Office the authority to make decisions concerning admission in cases specified by the Faculty Board. Article 2.6 This article allows for the possibility that a person who wishes to be admitted to a master s programme but does not - or does not yet - fulfil the admissions criteria listed in the course and examination regulations for the relevant master s programme can nevertheless be admitted to this master s programme. This article concerns applicants who are in possession of a university bachelor s diploma. They can be admitted to the master s programme in question by or on behalf of the Faculty Board if their deficiency does not exceed 15 credits. Those admitted in this fashion are allowed to attend the programme courses

6 but are only allowed to take the final examination or one or more components of the final examination as indicated in the admission decision once the Board of Admissions has established to its satisfaction that their deficiency has been remedied. Admission to one-year teacher-training programmes is only possible if the student has completed a master s programme; in these cases too, conditional admission is possible in case of a limited deficiency. Article 2.7 The Faculty is responsible for communicating with any person who submits an application for admission. If the Faculty Board or on the basis of a mandate from the Faculty Board the Board of Admissions grants the request and decides in favour of admission, the Faculty will send the applicant a confirmation of admission. This confirmation should always include the name of the relevant master s programme and, as appropriate, the particular programme variant(s) to which the applicant has been granted admission. The confirmation should also specify the deadline for registration for the relevant master s programme. If registration has not been completed by the time the deadline expires, the confirmation of admission loses its validity. An applicant whose request for admission has been rejected by or on behalf of the Faculty Board will be notified of this fact by the Faculty. If the application for admission is rejected or the confirmation of admission can only be issued under certain conditions, the reasons for this decision taken by or on behalf of the Faculty Board must be specified. This is particularly important in view of the possibility of lodging an administrative appeal with the University s Board of Appeals for Examinations. Article 2.8 This article states that those whose application for admission has been rejected by or on behalf of the Faculty Board or whose application has only been approved under certain conditions can appeal to the University s Board of Appeal for Examinations. The appeal must be instituted by the interested parties within six weeks of their being notified of the decision.