No study delay penalty for some students

Students who have followed a pre-master are still allowed to take two years for their master at the University. In the VARA-programma ‘De Ombudsman’, Secretary of State Zijlstra said these students will not be fined.

The students follow a switching-programme for graduated HBO-students who want to follow-up with a master. During their premaster, these students are already subscribed as master students, meaning they have already spent their one year extension on their master before officially starting.

If students need more than one additional year for their masters’ programme, the tuition fee can be  raised with €3000,-  fine . Only with a nominal study pace  in their  (pre-) master, this fine could be outran. A large number of students already have some study delay due to, for example, illness, extra activities or a shortage in internships. Zijlstra said Universities made a mistake and should therefore be held responsible for the costs. “They did not abide by what was prescribed. Those who make the mistake should have to pay the bill. If the mistake turns out to be ours, we will be the ones to solve that problem.”