Higher tuition fee for long-term, or 'slow', students

In the academic year 2012-2013 the tuition fees for long-term, or 'slow', students will be raised considerably. Students taking longer than the allotted time to complete their studies plus one year, pay an additional € 3,063 on top of their tuition fees.

The scheme applies to:

• Students following a Bachelor's degree programme who are enrolling in a Bachelor's programme for the sixth time, and who have not yet completed a Bachelor’s degree;
• Students wishing to enrol in a Master's programme for the third time while following a 60 study credits Master's programme (at the AHK this applies only to the Master of Education in Arts) and who have not yet completed a Master's degree;
• Students wishing to enrol in a Master's programme for the fourth time while following a 120 study credits Master's programme (Music, Opera, Choreography, Film or Theatre) and who have not yet completed a Master's degree;
• Students wishing to enrol in a Master's programme for the sixth time while following a 240 study credits Master's programme (Architecture, Landscape Architecture or Urban Planning) and who have not yet completed a Master's degree.

The measure applies to both full-time and part-time students.

Allowances are made for students with restricted functioning (due to a serious health condition or disability, for instance) who are eligible for an extra year's performance-linked student grant. An extra extension year (in addition to the extra extension year available to all students) applies to this group of students. This extra year can be used when necessary: either in the Bachelor phase or during the Master phase. Thus, the extension period for this group of students is a maximum of three years, instead of two. Please contact your student counsellor.

The long-term study measure applies only to statutory tuition fees. The Minister has no control over institutional fees, due to which the long-term study scheme does not apply to students paying institutional tuition fees. Institutional tuition fees are paid when a student begins a second Bachelor's or Master's programme on completion of a Bachelor's or Master's degree.

The Education Executive Agency (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs or DUO) indicates the number of 'years' a student has used. This is based on the following criteria:

• After 1 September 1991, a student who was enrolled in an academic year on 30 September of that academic year has – for the purposes of this scheme – used a full year, even if he or she de-enrolled at some point in that academic year.

For example, if you enrolled in a Bachelor's programme six times in September and de-enrolled each time in October or later that year, you pay an additional € 3,063 to enrol in a Bachelor's programme. In this case, it makes no difference if you were only enrolled for several months throughout those years. The additional fee also applies regardless of whether you were enrolled as a full-time or part-time student. It makes no difference whether you enrolled at a university or (other) HBO institution; every enrolment counts.

If you follow multiple studies simultaneously, the programme providing the fewest rights is the one that is used as the benchmark. For instance, if you enrol in a Master's programme in September for a third time and register for a 60 study credits Master's degree and for a Master's programme of 120 study credits, you pay the additional € 3,063 because you are considered a 'slow' student for the 60 study credits programme. If you enrol in a Bachelor's programme for the sixth time on 1 September and are also completing another HBO or university Bachelor's degree, you also pay the extra € 3,063 because you are considered a 'slow' student in the context of the first programme.

The scheme makes an exception which applies to students choosing a second study in the education or health care sector. For these students, the clock is re-set to zero once they begin the second study, providing that their first study was not in the education or health care sector.

If you do not receive a study grant from DUO (anymore), and you are a long-term student, you might be able to borrow the higher tuition fee from DUO. This loan is only available between 1 September 2012 and 1 September 2014: it is a transitional measure for the academic years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 only. If you want to apply for this loan, you need to have received (at least one month of) study grant from DUO. You can apply for this loan from June 2012 through the website of DUO.

You pay the extra € 3,063 once per academic year, regardless of the number of courses you take. The extra fee for 'slow' students is in addition to the statutory tuition fees that they are also required to pay.

If you de-enrol again in the course of the year, you will receive a reimbursement of the basic tuition fee and the additional fee of € 3,063 in proportion to the number of months you did not use. This restitution will not be reimbursed if you de-enrol after 1 June.