D E C I S I O N

Transcription

1 D E C I S I O N of the Examination Appeals Board of Leiden University in the matter of the appeal by [name], appellant against the Board of the Leiden Law School, respondent 1. Origin and course of the proceedings The appellant sent a letter on 21 January which was received on 26 January 2015, lodging an appeal against the decision of the respondent of 12 December 2014, rejecting the appellant's application for admission to the Master's Programme in Crime and Criminal Justice, specialisation 'Criminal Justice' (hereafter: Criminal Justice). The appellant stated in short - that he completed a Bachelor s degree in Law and Police Sciences at the Police Academy in Cairo, Egypt, in The appellant stated that he was unable to provide a transcript of records with his initial application because the Police Academy only rarely issues these on the instruction of the Ministry of the Interior of Egypt. Ultimately, the appellant received the attached transcript. The appellant believes that many of the course units he attended in the bachelor s programme match well with the curriculum of his chosen master s programme. No letter of defence was submitted. The appeal was considered on 25 March during a public hearing of a chamber of the Examination Appeals Board. The appellant appeared in person at the hearing. [name], appeared on behalf of the respondent. Secretariaat: Rapenburg 70 Postbus RA Leiden Telefoon / Fax

2 Page 2/5 2. Considerations with regard to admissibility The appellant lodged a timely appeal against the decision of 12 December 2014 by means of the letter that was received on 26 January 2015 by the Examination Appeals Board. Furthermore, the letter of appeal also meets the requirements as stipulated in the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht hereafter: Awb) and the Higher Education and Academic Research Act (Wet op het hoger onderwijs en academisch onderzoek hereafter: WHW). Consequently, the administrative appeal is admissible. 3. Relevant legislation Article 7.30b, paragraph one, of the WHW stipulates the following entry requirements: a) the person in question must have a bachelor's degree from a programme of academic education, or: b) the person in question must have the knowledge, understanding and skills at the level of a bachelor's degree from a programme of academic education. Pursuant to article 7.30b, paragraph two of the WHW, the Institution's Board may set qualitative admission requirements besides the requirements as referred to in the first paragraph. These requirements are included in the Course and Examination Regulations (Onderwijs- en Examenregeling, hereafter: OER). The Course and Examination Regulations of the Master's Programme in Criminal Justice stipulate the following: Article 5.1 Proof of admission The Board of the Law School issues a letter of admission to students who meet the admission requirements as laid down in article 5.2, up to the maximum number of students to be enrolled as set by the university s Executive Board Students may apply for admission in accordance with the rules laid down in the Regulations for Admission to Master s programmes (Regeling toelating masteropleidingen). Article 5.2 Admission to Study Year Without prejudice to the stipulations of article with regard to capacity, those persons who have been awarded one of the following degrees will have direct admission to the programme: the bachelor's degree in the Criminology Programme from Leiden University a bachelor's degree in the Criminology Programme of any other Dutch or Flemish university faculty.

3 Page 3/ Without prejudice to the stipulations of article with regard to capacity, those persons who do not meet the requirements as referred to in will be admitted to the programme: - if they have been awarded a bachelor's or master's degree from a programme in Law at Leiden University or any other Dutch or Flemish university, and if they can demonstrate having completed at least 30 ECs of study credits of criminologically relevant course units in particular, including at least 10 ECs of training in Methods and Techniques of Social Academic Research and 20 ECs in the field of theoretical criminology and/or course units with regard to criminological issues of perpetrators and victims; - if they have been awarded a bachelor's or master's degree from a programme in social sciences at Leiden University or any other Dutch or Flemish university and if they can demonstrate having completed at least 30 ECs of study credits of criminologically relevant course units in particular, including at least 10 ECs of training in Methods and Techniques of Social Academic Research and 20 ECs in the field of theoretical criminology and/or course units with regard to criminological issues of perpetrators and victims; - possess an equivalent level of knowledge, understanding and skills that must have been acquired on completion of the bachelor s programme referred to in article 5.1, and - have obtained a bachelor s degree from an academic university, or if they can demonstrate that they meet all the necessary requirements for such a degree, and - are sufficiently proficient in the language(s) of instruction of the programme, in the opinion of the Faculty Board. The required proficiency is in the Dutch and English language (see. art. 2.8). The required level for Dutch is 6 (as laid down by Leiden University) and for English 7.0 IELTS, TOEFL paper 600, TOEFL computer 250, TOEFL internet Considerations with regard to the dispute In accordance with article 7.61, paragraph two, of the WHW, the Examination Appeals Board must consider whether the contested decision contravenes the law. It was established that the appellant did not complete - or did not also complete - a bachelor's or master's programme that would grant direct admission to his chosen master's programme, as referred to in article of the OER. His request to be admitted must therefore be assessed on the basis of the requirements as referred to in article of the OER. At the hearing, the respondent indicated that the appellant requested admission based on a diploma that was assessed by the Admissions Office of the University as equivalent to a bachelor's diploma from a university of applied sciences, for reasons that include the fact that the programme only consisted of three study

4 Page 4/5 years. As such, the appellant does not meet the entry requirements of the OER. One of the reasons is that the appellant had not acquired adequate research skills. In its advice, the Board of Admissions stated that the conclusion regarding the level of appellant s prior education may well be different if the appellant extends his training by one year, e.g. by achieving a master's or a pre-master's in Egypt or elsewhere. He could subsequently submit a new application for admission. However, this will be assessed against the entry requirements that prevail at that time. The Examination Appeals Board sees no grounds to consider that the respondent acted in contravention of the law. Since the decision of the respondent does not qualify to be quashed on any other grounds, the appeal must be held unfounded.

5 Page 5/5 5. The decision The Examination Appeals Board of Leiden University holds the appeal UNFOUNDED, in view of article 7.61 of the Higher Education and Academic Research Act. Established by a chamber of the Examination Appeals Board, comprised of O. van Loon, LL.M., Chair, Dr H.W. Sneller, Professor E.P. Bos, Dr A.M. Rademaker and S.A. van der Velde, LL.B. (members), in the presence of the Secretary of the Examination Appeals Board, A. van Ingen Scholten, LL.M. O. van Loon, LL.M. A. van Ingen Scholten, LL.M. Chair Secretary Certified true copy, Sent on: