Students plan their individual academic trajectory with the help of their Academic Advisor and the Study Advisors. Students keep track of their planning in a document called the Study Plan. The Study Plan is discussed in meetings with the Academic Advisor and will be regularly checked by the Study Advisors. Each Academic Advisor will challenge students to reflect upon their choices, stimulate them to try new things and help them to ensure that students are composing a trajectory that will meet their interests and ambitions. The Study Advisors will check the Study Plan in order to monitor the study progress of the student and to ensure that the student is able to meet the graduation requirements. 

Following discussions with their Academic Advisor, students must register their course preferences through the LUC enrolment procedure. Twice a year (in July for Semester 1; in December for Semester 2) students will receive a link through their Umail accounts which leads them to the online course registration environment. In this environment, students select their preferred courses for the upcoming semester. Students should check if they meet the entrance requirements before selecting a course. 

Enrolment deadlines are announced before the start of each semester, and the Academic Advisors and Study Advisors are available to discuss course preferences prior to course allocation. Students have to keep in mind that it is their own responsibility to complete course registration in time. Timetables and course outlines will be published in time to allow students to select course preferences for each semester.

After students register their course preferences through the online survey, the Course Administration Team will assign the classes and aim to provide students with their needed and desired courses. If a course is oversubscribed, students in the Major to which the course belongs take preference over those doing a Minor or taking the course as an elective. Senior students have fewer chances of taking a course at a later date, so they usually receive priority over junior students. In the case that a student’s highest-ranking course preferences are unavailable (i.e. oversubscribed), LUC will enroll the student in courses in order of their stated preference (e.g., second, third). Once the allocation process is completed, students will be enrolled in these classes in uSis and in Brightspace by the Course Administration Team. Students who wish to be put on the waiting list for an oversubscribed course or, on rare occasions, to amend their course preferences, can fill out the course change form. A link to this online form will be distributed via email once all registrations have been processed in uSis and Brightspace. Please note that if a change is possible, it will be made and you cannot change back. You can only request one change per block and only for courses you had originally selected through the registration survey.

Because of the small-scale and intensive educational model of LUC, in any given block some courses may be oversubscribed. Students should discuss alternatives with their Academic Advisor and rank course preferences properly. Also note that there is often more than one course that can fulfil Major, Minor, and Global Citizenship components of an academic trajectory – flexibility, creativity, an open mind, and patience may be necessary.

Course enrolment is managed by the Course Administration Team, not by the lecturer of the course. If you are not formally enrolled it is not possible to attend the course. If you attend a course without being registered (i.e. your name is not on the official attendance list) you will not receive credits. 

There are four levels at which courses in a Bachelor’s programme are offered. In specific cases, such as the Capstone project, a graduate level course (400) may also be offered. Higher-level courses require students to have completed lower level ‘prerequisite’ courses in order to build on their knowledge.      

Students may enrol in a course if they comply with the prerequisites. They may be exempted from the prerequisites after written agreement by the course instructor and may be asked to complete reading or other work to be granted this exemption.

During the first three days of a block, students can request to change courses although this should be an exception as you should have carefully considered your course selection. Students who want to change need to submit their request through the online form no later than Wednesday (end of the day) of that first week. Withdrawing from one course usually means that you register for another, as the regular course load is 15 EC per block. Until you have received confirmation that the change was possible, you should continue to attend the classes of the course you wish to leave. Classes missed due to the requested course change do not constitute an extenuating circumstance of the attendance requirements. A course that was properly dropped in the first week of the block will not be on the transcript. 

For course withdrawals after the first week students must submit a request to the Board of Examiners. This is only allowed if there are documented extenuating circumstances which prevent the student from completing the course. The student must show that they are in good academic standing in the course in question at the time the request is submitted (i.e., they have so far attended classes and submitted any required work) and submit proof of extenuating circumstances. Meeting with the Study Advisors beforehand is highly recommended. A statement from a healthcare professional must be provided if the request is made on the basis of physical or mental health reasons. Whenever possible, students should continue attending the course until the withdrawal has been approved. A W-grade will be entered as grade for a course from which a student withdrew with approval granted.  This result will not affect the GPA calculation.

Students who withdraw from or stop attending a course after the Wednesday of the first week without permission from the Board of Examiners will have the grade F (Fail) recorded for that course.

For more information and to download the Course Withdrawal Request Form, see the BoE app on the Current Student website. 

Students who wish to take more than 15 EC in any given block, can do so provided they are not in their first semester. Please note that requests for an extra course will receive the lowest priority in the course allocation process. Once enrolled in the extra course, the regular attendance and assessment rules apply, including those for a course withdrawal (see page 44).

Students who have 120 EC’s or more are automatically enrolled for capstone in their final semester. If students want to graduate later and wish to be disenrolled from the Capstone course, the student must have an Extended Study Plan approved by the Study Advisors before 1 December (for summer graduands) or before 1 September (for Winter graduands). The Study Advisors inform the Capstone Coordinator. After these deadlines a withdrawal has to be approved by the Board of Examiners (BoE), see Capstone Handbook, paragraph VI.

Students who require approval from the BoE must submit an official Request for Course Withdrawal signed by the supervisor and including supporting documentation for the extenuating circumstances. If the BoE is unable to grant a request, the student is expected to continue the Capstone course as planned. If the BoE approves the request, a Withdrawal grade (W-grade) will be registered for the Capstone Course. The BoE will also inform the Capstone Coordinator, the Course Administration, the Study Advisors, and the supervisor.

Because LUC uses a system of continuous assessment, there are no re-sits for failed courses, unless extenuating circumstances apply, to be determined by the Board of Examiners. The only option available to students who failed a course is to repeat the whole course in a subsequent block or semester. If the failed course was an elective, students can also choose to take a different class instead. Please note that it is also not allowed to re-sit an already passed course, unless for very good reasons determined by the Board of Examiners.

Continuous assessment also implies that no single assessment element of a course can count for more than 40% of the final grade, which means that all courses contain at least three distinct assessment elements. The different assessment elements are spread over the entire block or semester. The only exception to the 40% assessment rule is the Capstone thesis. Students always need to make a reasonable effort to complete the final assessment.

Instructors are expected to provide grades and formative feedback upon assignments within ten working days. All final grades are published in uSis, the Student Registration System of Leiden University. Students are entitled to view their marked examination within a period of 30 days following the publication of the results of the examination. The inspection must be arranged with the instructor.  

Students can find the outline of a course, including the types and dates of assessment elements in the eprospectus. Prior to the first meeting of the class, the instructor will publish the course syllabus on the course Blackboard site. The course syllabus specifies grade penalties for late submission and/or failure to meet word limits or maximum durations. 

Students who require an interim transcript of their examination results can place a request by e-mailing course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl. While these requests are usually responded to within five working days, transcripts should be requested in good time for purposes of processing and verification. Note that all officially received results will be recorded, this also applies to interim transcripts. 

At LUC we use letter grades (A-F). Each letter grade has a corresponding grade point on a four-point scale, which is used for calculating a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). The cumulative GPA builds up from day one of your studies and determines LUC’s norm of Good Academic Standing, including eligibility for the Semester Abroad programme. Your degree is awarded on the basis of your GPA, which is calculated over all obtained results, with the exception of extracurricular courses. Please see the Course and Examination Regulations (OER) appendixes for additional information.

Note: GPA 2.00-2.99 = Bachelor’s degree without Honours         

For more information on LUC’s honours and grading system, see the Course and Examination Regulations (OER), in particular Article 4.12 and the OER’s Appendix 1. 

Students with a disability or chronical illness that influences their ability to study can request extra facilities during their studies. To make these arrangements, students must contact the Fenestra Disability Centre of Leiden University in Leiden. After consultation of the student, the Fenestra Disability Centre will advise the LUC Board of Examiners and Study Advisors on the extra facilities the student needs during his or her time at LUC. The Board of Examiners decides which extra facilities can be granted, usually fully accepting the recommendations from Fenestra. It is advised to make these arrangements as soon as possible. Arrangements are only made following the assessment at Fenestra.

The student needs to show decision letter of the Board of Examiners to the instructor of each course a student takes. The Study Advisors can help to arrange granted facilities and offer extra guidance if needed. 

More information and contact details can be found on the Fenestra website.