Education Academic Matters

Study progression

Study progression is the progress students make as they advance towards the completion of their degree. The University monitors progression to help students stay on track with their studies and to offer support where needed.

Progression is determined by comparing the number of credits a student has earned with the requirements that apply to the different phases of study. These requirements are set out in the module plan for each programme and the University’s Study Regulations.
The Examination Board for the study programme assesses progression at the end of each academic year. The basis of the assessment is the number of ECTS credits that a student has accumulated. The Board also considers the student’s enrolment status, periods of leave and other justified absences.

The Board’s progression decision concerns three aspects:

  1. Re-enrolment: whether the student is eligible to re-enrol on the programme and continue his or her studies;
  2. Advancement: whether the student is eligible to advance to the next, higher study semester;
  3. Course enrolment: which courses the student can enrol on and whether course enrolments require prior approval from the Study Programme Director.

Based on their assessment, the Examination Board will choose one of the following options:

Students who have earned more than seventy (70) percent of their credit requirement advance to the next study year when re-enrolling. They are eligible to enrol on courses offered for the respective study year (course-specific enrolment conditions may apply).

Progression is conditional for students who have fulfilled between fifty (50) and seventy (70) percent of their credit requirement. In this case the students advance to the next study year when re-enrolling, but their course enrolments require approval from the Study Programme Director. Before enrolling on their courses, these students will need to demonstrate to their Programme Director how they will improve on the previous year’s academic performance. This is to help students get back on track and catch up with missing requirements. Study Programme Directors can refuse enrolment on courses that they have not approved as part of a student’s study plan.

If the number of credits that a student has obtained falls short of the minimum of fifty (50) percent of the applicable requirement, a student’s study progress is considered unsatisfactory.

Students enrolled in the first study year of their programme whose progression is unsatisfactory (<50% of the credit requirement for the first year) are excluded from the programme and may not re-enrol on the same programme in the future.

Students enrolled in the second study year or higher (study semester 3+) whose progression is unsatisfactory are permitted to continue their studies but will be required to re-enrol in (“repeat”) the same study year.

Re-enrolment on the same programme is also refused to any student who:

• fails to take any first semester exams following admission;
• fails to complete a mandatory course after having used up all four available attempts;
• fails to complete a fundamental course after two attempts;
• fails to fulfil all conditions for completion of a programme within the maximum allowed time (maximum study duration).

Maximum study duration

The total number of semesters that a student can re-enrol in while on a bachelor or master programme at the University is limited. If a student reaches this limit without having fulfilled all the requirements to complete the programme, he or she cannot graduate and is not permitted to re-enrol.

The maximum study duration depends on the number of ECTS credits required to complete the programme:

Credit requirement to complete the study programmeMaximum study duration (full-time students)
60 ECTS credits4 semesters
120 ECTS credits8 semesters
180 ECTS credits10 semesters
240 ECTS credits12 semesters
Maximum study duration

For part-time students, the maximum study duration is extended. Each semester of part-time enrolment extends the maximum study duration by a fixed coefficient. Further information is available on Part-time studies.

For students who have been granted a leave of absence from their studies, the semesters during which the student has been on leave are not counted in the calculation of the maximum duration of studies. Further information is available on Leaves of absence.

For students who have received transfer credit in recognition of prior experience, the maximum study duration may be reduced. Further information is available on Exemptions from study requirements (Recognition of prior experience).

Students can consult their maximum study duration and the number of semesters they have used in the “Studies” section of the Student Portal (Guichet étudiant).

Maximum number of attempts to pass an exam

In accordance with the University Act, students have a maximum of four (4) attempts to pass the exams for a given course. After the fourth attempt, the last grade obtained becomes permanent and the student no longer has the possibility to retake the exam. If the student fails the exams on the fourth attempt, i.e. obtains a grade below ten (10) or a grade of five (5) or lower in modules with compensation between course grades, the student can no longer complete the course.

For fundamental courses, the number of permitted attempts is limited to two (2) and students have a maximum of four (4) semesters to obtain a sufficient grade. If a student has used all available attempts and the timeframe to complete the exam with a sufficient grade (10 or higher) has passed, the student can no longer complete the course.

Failing to complete a mandatory or fundamental course means that the student cannot complete the programme and obtain the diploma. In these cases, re-enrolment in the programme is refused and the student is excluded from the programme.

FAQ

Study semesters are a component of the study (module) plan of a programme. For each study semester, the study plan sets out the minimum number of credits to be completed and lists the modules on which students can enrol for the first time in the given semester. The study semester in which a student is enrolled does not necessarily correspond to the number of semesters that the student has been enrolled on the programme. This may be the case, for example, if a student has taken a leave of absence or fallen behind the regular study requirements.

Every study programme requires students to obtain a minimum number of ECTS credits to complete the programme. This is a programme’s credit requirement. Typically, bachelor programmes require 180 or 240 ECTS credits, while master programmes are completed with 120 (in some cases 60) ECTS credits. The study (module) plan of a programme shows how the total credit requirement is divided over the study semesters and study years of the programme (see “What are study semesters?” above). For full-time programmes, the minimum credit requirement per study semester is thirty (30) ECTS credits, and 60 ECTS credits per year.

Progression is determined by comparing the credit requirement for the study year in which a student is enrolled with the number of credits that the student has obtained in that study year. For the latter, only courses that are part of a module for the given study year, i.e. courses that count toward completing that year, are considered.

Students are expected to acquire at least 50% of their credit requirement for the study year in which they are enrolled. For a full-time programme requiring 60 credits per year, this would be 30 credits. Students in their first year of studies who fail to meet this minimum credit requirement are excluded from the programme. Students in their second or higher year of studies who fail to meet the minimum credit requirement must re-enrol in (“repeat”) the same study year.

The credit requirement for part-time students enrolled on a full-time study programme is determined by reducing the full-time credit requirement by half (for each semester of part-time enrolment). To progress and continue their studies, part-time students are expected to obtain at least 50% of their reduced credit requirement in each year of enrolment. For a programme requiring 60 credits per year, this would be 15 credits at the end of the first year, and a total of 30 credits at the end of the second year of enrolment.

Where a student has been absent from one or more exams for justified reasons, the credit requirement for the respective study year is reduced by the number of credits affected by the missed exam(s). For example, if a student missed the exams of two 4-credit courses for certified medical reasons and their programme requires 60 credits in the respective year, the reduced credit requirement would be 52 credits (60–(2*4)), 50% of which is 26 credits.

Progression to the next study year is unconditional if a student has fulfilled over seventy (70) percent of the regular credit requirement. For students enrolled in a full-time study programme requiring 60 credits for a given study year, they need to have obtained over 42 credits (70% of 60).

Progression to the next study year is conditional if a student meets the minimum credit requirement (50% of the credits required for the given study year) but fails to obtain more than seventy (70) percent of the regular credit requirement. This is the case, for example, for students enrolled on a full-time study programme requiring 60 credits for a given study year who have obtained between 30 and 42 credits for the respective year’s courses.

Conditional progression means that the student needs to obtain confirmation from the Study Programme Directors for the courses he or she intends to enrol on over the next two semesters.

In specific cases, the University may decide to waive certain progression requirements for students facing special circumstances that curtail their ability to pursue studies , such as medical emergencies, accidents or personal misfortune. Waivers may also be granted as part of reasonable adjustments.

Exemptions from the progression requirements must be requested and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. More information about the situations in which a waiver may be granted is available on the Academic Matters web pages of the University website. Students should consult their Study Programme Administrator or the Student Department to see whether they qualify for an exemption and which procedure could be most appropriate.

Students who are facing difficulties that could impede their academic progress should reach out to their Study Programme Administrator or to Student Services . They can help explore potential solutions to mitigate the impact. In certain cases, a change in the student’s enrolment status (to part time) or a leave of absence may be recommended to prevent overwhelming difficulties.

Students receive notification of their progression status after the end of the exam period in the summer semester. The date of notification varies depending on the courses that a student has taken in the respective academic year (e.g. courses taken while on a mobility period may only be confirmed later in the summer). This information will be accessible through the Student Portal (Guichet étudiant).