FSS Teaching Information

If you have any questions, please contact the FSS Education Office.

Academic calendar

The academic calendar contains information on teaching weeks, exam weeks (including resits), weeks in which no classes are scheduled and holidays.

• Academic calendar (FSS) 2023-2024
• Academic calendar (FSS) 2024-2025
• Academic calendars VU 2023-2026

You can find the final timetables on rooster.vu.nl. For more information about scheduling, see: Teaching Schedule.

Course preparation

Follow this roadmap to efficiently start and complete your course. The roadmap consists of: the course preparation, during the course period and the course completion If you follow this and use the format for the course manual, the Education Office can compile your course file.

• The responsibilities of the course coordinator are outlined here.
• A teaching and study load norm has been set for each course. The norm consists of a fixed number of credits/study hours, a standard reading load and a fixed number of contact hours.
• Per semester, schedule wishes are requested via UAS. The study guide texts are also collected via UAS.
• Canvas is the VU Amsterdam electronic learning environment. For more information about Canvas please go here.
• The VU.nl candidate list application will show you how many students have signed up for your course. You can also find the distribution of students among the study groups (if applicable). If you wish to assign students to study groups yourself, then this must be announced before course registration opens. This is because the method for dividing students into groups must be fixed before the registration period opens.
• Study materials (such as a study guide, syllabus or reader) must comply with the standard formatting requirements for user-friendliness: they must be written in a sans serif font (such as Arial, Verdana, or Calibri) with font size 10 and line spacing of 1.5. Also see the style guide for VU lecturers (pdf in Dutch) or the accessible education manual.
• Dealing with students who are studying with a (functional) disability.
• When using online study materials, for example within the Canvas environment of a course, you must take into account the copyrights. Violating these rights is punishable by high fines. Also read the guidelines on the use of audio and video (information available in Dutch). 
• If you want literature to be available for students at the University Library, please inform the subject librarian Social Sciences. The library makes the literature available online or as day loan. The teacher can place a link to the literature in the Canvas course.
• As a teacher, in the event of an evacuation, you are responsible for evacuating the room or area you are in at the time. For instructions, see the Evacuation Fact Sheet.

Course and exam registration

• Students must always register for courses, exams and resits in every teaching period.
• When the registration period is closed, you will find the number of students you can expect for the course or the (partial) examination in the list of candidates. After the registration deadline has passedstudents can still be added to your course via post placement or by sending a motivated request to be registered.
• Students who have registered for a course are automatically granted access to the relevant Canvas course and will be assigned to the study group (if applicable) that they chose when registering. Do not add students to Canvas yourself, but refer students who ask to be allowed to participate to 'too late to register' on VU.nl.

Exams and resits

The study information system distinguishes between two types of courses: 'standard courses' with an examination 'in the narrower sense' (with a time lock, digital or in an examination room) and 'NAOs' (no-assessment), courses that conclude with another form such as essay, assignment, presentation, etc. In the case of NAOs, no examination is scheduled, but the course coordinator sets the deadline conformity with the academic calendar. 

• General information about setting up courses and exams is available on the Testing and Assessment theme page (information available in Dutch). Also see the Faculty Testing Policy Guidelines.
• Make a point of reading important points regarding exams and exam preparation. 
• The Student & Educational Affairs service in the department of Educational Quality Assurance offers fee-based exam services (information available in Dutch) such as assistance in authoring multiple-choice exams or item analyses.
• There are fixed examination time blocks; two long blocks (2:45 hours) and two shorter blocks (2:15 hours). On this page, you will find information and a guide, which helps to ensure the quality of short blocks.
• Exams are scheduled in the exam halls on campus or in the Tent and large-scale exams are scheduled at extern locations (the RAI convention centre (information available in Dutch), Sportcentrum VU, Emergohal). Specific examination rules apply during an examination at these extern locations.
• During VU exam weeks (or UniJaKa exam weeks) Corporate Real Estate and Facilities organizes invigilation for exams at the external locations (RAI convention centre, Emergohal and Sportcentrum VU) and for the Tent. Specific examination rules apply during an examination at these locations.
• The application for digital examination is TestVision. Access to TestVision is via VUweb. Teachers who have a digital (partial) examination will be contacted from the faculty's test supporters. TestVision can also be used for online home tests (e.g. practice tests). Teachers who want to know more about this can contact the test supporters via tentamenorganisatie.fsw@vu.nl.
• Exams are to be marked and grades have to be submitted within ten working days. Please note that for papers, assignments or workpieces there is also a review period of 10 working days.
• You can record grades electronically, in the VUweb Registration of Results module.
• For at least ten working days after the announcement of the results of a written exam, the student can, on request, inspect his/her assessed work. For regulations concerning the right of inspection refer to Article 4.9 of the Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER).
• Deviations from standard exam procedures may be possible in certain situations:
  • Students with a disability who have been granted the facility 'low-stimulus room during examinations' by the study advisor should sign up to make it in the provision room using this form at least 14 days before each examination/re-examination.
  • Options for students if two or more exams are scheduled simultaneously.
  • What constitutes academic misconduct or plagiarism (or suspected academic misconduct or plagiarism)?

Graduation

• Students receive a graduation notification by e-mail (student and private e-mail) within two weeks after the full quota of EC have been registered. In the busy summer months of July and August this may take a little longer.
• Students must indicate within two weeks after receiving of the graduation notification via the link in the notification whether they wish to graduate, or whether they wish to request a postponement. If a student has not responded after two weeks, the Education Office will start the graduation process.
• For more information about the requirements, graduation dates and degree award ceremonies, see the VUweb page (Graduation and degree conferral).

Course report

• Each study programme sets up an assessment plan and creates a course report for each course. The course report contains general educational information and information with regard to the examination and evaluation of the course. As from the academic year 2021-2022, the course report will be composed by the Educational Office FSS. It is important that the format course manual is used when composing the course manual so that as much information as possible is available and you will not receive an e-mail afterwards to supply information. More information about the testing policy can be found in the FSS testing policy.

Evaluations

All digital evaluations on education are done through Evalytics. Questions about digital evaluations within FSS can be sent to: evaluaties.fsw@vu.nl. Besides digital evaluations, alternative forms of evaluation are also used to evaluate education, in line with the evaluation policy and quality assurance policy at the VU.

Regulations

Lecturers who teach at FSS must be aware of the regulations mentioned below:

• The Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER), which govern the main points of the study programme and the associated examinations.
• The Rules and Guidelines of the Examination Board set rules and guidelines on grading, exams and academic misconduct. The most important points from the rules and guidelines are summarized in this poster of the Examination Board.
  
• The FSS Programme Committee Regulations (pdf) include information about the composition, duties, recommendations and order of meetings of the Programme Committees. (see also Programme Committees)
• The Policy on studying with a disability (information available in Dutch). For more information about studying with a disability, click here.

For Bachelor's students:

• The Bachelor’s Internship Regulations governs student/work placements (internships) as part of the free-choice component. Each degree programme has its own student/work placement guide.
• The Bachelor’s Thesis Regulations (information available in Dutch) govern the Bachelor's thesis that Bachelor’s students write in the final phase of the Bachelor’s degree programme.

For Master's students:

• The Master’s Thesis Regulations govern the Master’s thesis that Master’s students write in the final phase of the Master’s programme. This also contains information on embargo.

Other VU Amsterdam policies (only in Dutch).

• On the VU website, you can find the retention period list for education (only in Dutch). Think for example of the retention period of assignments, exams and assessment forms.

At the gate – from Open Day to the VU Orientation Days

• Prospective students who are considering Bachelor’s programmes can participate in Open Days and information activities.
• Prospective students who are considering Master’s programmes can participate in Open Days and information activities.
• EU students can enrol for the upcoming academic year via Studielink as of 1 October. For EU students the enrolment deadline for Bachelor’s programmes is 1 May and for pre-master’s and Master’s programmes the deadline is 31 May. Other deadlines apply to international Bachelor’s, pre-Master’s and Master’s students.
• Prospective students who have enrolled in a Bachelor’s programme are invited to VU Study Choice Check. The matching activities take place in the Spring.
• The VU Orientation Days (for Bachelor’s) take place one and half weeks before the start of the academic year. FSS organizes Faculty Orientation Days for new pre-master’s students on the last Friday before the start of the academic year. Master students receive all the necessary information during the first lecture. After registration, all students get access to the prestudent environment where a lot of practical information can be found.

Professionalization

VU Centre for Teaching & Learning (CTL) supports groups of teachers and employees to stimulate knowledge exchange and development of best practices; so-called Special Interest Groups (SIGs).  Events and workshops are to be found in the agenda, please join. Or visit the VU Education Lab (NU 1A-25), initiated by the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning. Open on workdays, 9.00 – 17.00h.