Personal circumstances can seriously affect your study progress. With the student advisers you can (confidentially) discuss all kinds of situations that negatively influence your study progress: we will advise you and, if necessary, take action within  RSM to minimize study delay.

What are personal circumstances?

The following matters are considered as personal circumstance:

• (Prolonged or chronic) illness of the student;
• Physical, mental, sensory or other disability of the student;
• Pregnancy of the student;
• Serious family circumstances;
• Membership of the University Board, the Faculty (School) Board or the Programme Committee;
• Other circumstances as referred to in article 2.1 of the implementation Decree of the Higher Education and Research Act (WHW).

What can the student advisers do for you in practice?

After assessing your circumstances and situation, we can advise the Examination Board: 

• to extend validity of project and grades;
• to grant examination on a laptop or in a quiet location;
• to grant an exemption from certain standards, such as the Binding Study Advice in the first bachelor year or the Master Admission standard (only when your GPA is close to 7.0).
  

We can also advise our teaching staff in case of attendance problems or problems to meet a deadline to help you to minimize study delay. 

What can the student advisers not do for you?

We cannot help you in case you have missed a mandatory session because of short-term circumstances that do not affect your other courses and study in general (covid infection, flu other short-term illness, logistic problems, holiday, job obligations etc.). 

We strongly recommend using possible ‘vouchers’ for being absent in mandatory classes only in situations beyond your control such as an acute illness.

Assessment of personal circumstances

• the personal circumstances are reported to the student advisers as soon as possible (within four weeks of the commencement of the circumstances);
• the circumstances are supported by evidence of visit to general practitioner (huisarts), specialist or psychologist;
• the personal circumstances clearly hinder the study performance of the student concerned (causal relationship).

Referral

If necessary, we can refer you to the student counsellors of Erasmus University for issues such as study funding or choice of studies, to the university psychologists for personal guidance and therapeutic group sessions on different themes or perhaps to the spiritual counsellor for an insprational talk.