During its meeting of 9 May 2025, the Board of Governors approved the Education and Examination Code for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Discover the most notable changes and relevant additions here.

Study Progress Measures

To ensure clarity, we have revised the terminology regarding study progress measures. Henceforth, the threshold condition will be referred to as the 100% rule. Next, we have the binding condition of 50%, and the 30 (40)% rule.

After analysing study success rates, simulating the 100% rule, and examining study progress measures at other institutions, we have increased the minimum required study progress in the first year of a Bachelor's programme from 20% to 30%. For students who did not pass the positioning test and did not participate in mandatory remedial measures, the minimum requirement has been raised from 30% to 40%. For further information, please refer to Article 24 of the Education and Examination Code.

Special Status

Students granted special status due to a disability (and only these students) may appeal against the decision to deny them specific additional education and examination facilities. We will establish a new appeals committee, chaired by the Head of Student Information, Advice and Guidance, and comprising two members of the professorial staff. The institutional ombudsperson will attend the meetings in an advisory capacity. For further information, please refer to Article 25 of the Education and Examination Code.

The Student's Curriculum

Upon their initial enrolment in the first year of a Bachelor's programme, students cannot register for a curriculum exceeding 60 and up to 72 ECTS credits. This privilege may be invoked from the second enrolment onwards, provided that the student has not been assigned binding conditions.  

Students wishing to appeal a decision made by the Curriculum Committee may not submit new elements or documentary evidence. For further information, please refer to Article 30 of the Education and Examination Code. 

Contracts to Obtain Credits

To ensure compliance with the 100% rule, students must not undertake more than 24 ECTS credits from the same first Bachelor's curriculum. For further information, please refer to Article 31 of the Education and Examination Code.

Exam Mark

Exam results for course units that do not offer a second exam opportunity are transferred to the resit exam period. For further information, please refer to Article 56 of the Education and Examination Code.

Language of Assessment

Students enrolling in electives from fully English-taught study programmes cannot invoke their right to an assessment in Dutch. They would be better off choosing a different elective. For further information, please refer to Article 58 of the Education and Examination Code.

Assessment of the Master's Dissertation 

Many study programmes have adapted (the concept of) the Master's dissertation and its oral defence in response to the rise of GenAI. The oral component may take various forms and employ different assessment methods. We now refer to 'oral assessment' instead of 'oral defence' because the term allows for more variation. For further information, please refer to Article 59 of the Education and Examination Code. 

Passing a Deliberation Set/Study Programme

We want to clarify the rules for deliberation: to be considered, students must have utilised their final exam opportunity and achieved a passable mark during that assessment. Previously obtained passable marks are not taken into account. For further information, please refer to Articles 67 and 71 of the Education and Examination Code.

Public Announcement of Exam Results

To provide first-year students with more time for reorientation, the early release of preliminary exam results is now mandatory. This release date will be a fixed point in time following the last exam. Exam results are considered definitive only upon the public announcement of exam results, which is followed by the feedback period. For further information, please refer to Articles 67 and 71 of the Education and Examination Code.

Observance of Exam Regulations

In the event of an overlap between a regular exam and a deferred exam, where multiple dates are available for the deferred exam, we permit students to select an exam date that suits them best. For further information, please refer to Articles 67 and 71 of the Education and Examination Code.

Substituting the Examiner

If an examiner must assess a student with whom they have a family tie, an intimate relationship, or personal involvement, they must be substituted. A family tie refers to any relationship by blood or marriage up to and including the fourth degree. Any relationships arising from legal or long-lasting cohabitation are hereby considered equivalent to those arising from marriage. An intimate relationship is defined as a consensual romantic or sexual relationship. Personal involvement encompasses any engagement that could jeopardise an impartial and objective assessment or reasonably give rise to the perception that objectivity and impartiality are being compromised. Article 76 of the Education and Examination Code has been elaborated and aligned with the other relevant regulations of Ghent University. 

Quality Assurance Committee

The Quality Assurance Committee is a vital consultation body and merits a guaranteed minimum student attendance. Depending on the size of its membership, we require a minimum of two student representatives or, for a membership of 16 or more (including students), a minimum of three student representatives. For more information, please refer to Article 82 of the Education and Examination Code.

The Student Centre  

The Student Centre is Ghent University's primary point of contact for both prospective and incumbent students. It is home to various Ghent University student services, including study counselling, the Information Centre, which contains all first-year course books, the Registrar's Office, Social Services, Internationalisation, the Disability Office, and university psychologists. This represents an entirely new addition to the Education and Examination Code.