Student Support Regulation

Study delay due to force majeure or specific situations

• Introduction

  The Student Support Regulation is a VU Amsterdam regulation that allows students experiencing study delays due to special circumstances to apply for financial assistance.

  Study delays due to force majeure or specific situations are covered by Force majeure (Part 1) or Specific situations (Part 2) of the Student Support Regulation.

  Force majeure (Part 1)

  ‘Force majeure’ is taken to mean the following special circumstances:

  • Illness
  • Pregnancy and childbirth
  • Special (including family) circumstances
  • A disability or chronic illness

  Specific situations (Part 2)

  The term ‘specific situations’ is taken to mean the following special circumstances:

  • Following an ‘insufficiently feasible’ degree programme.
  • Following a programme that is not fully funded by the government.
  • Combining a course of study with elite competitive sport or achieving cultural excellence, for which VU Amsterdam has granted Top performance status.
  • Occupying a board position in a music society supported by VU Amsterdam.

• Under what circumstances would I be eligible for support?

  To qualify for financial assistance under the Student Support Regulation you must have reported your circumstances to your academic advisor within three months, and you must have met the following basic requirements:

  • In the pertinent academic year, you obtained fewer than 60 credits, including those from extra-curricular subjects and/or credits obtained in another programme;
  • You notified your academic advisor about your special circumstances in the pertinent academic year, by email or by scheduling a meeting within 3 months when the circumstances occurred (reporting to a student counsellor, study coordinator or thesis supervisor etc. is not valid as a notification);
  • You were a full-time student and paid tuition fees to VU Amsterdam;
  • You were entitled to receive a basic grant (from DUO) during the pertinent academic year.

• When am I not eligible for financial support?

  In some cases, listed below, you are not eligible for financial support from the Student Support Regulation, even if you have experienced study delay because of personal circumstances:

  • You were not entitled to receive a basic grant (from DUO) during the pertinent academic year;
  • You are a part-time student, a premaster student or you are taking contract education or an exchange program (you are only eligible if you are enrolled as a full-time bachelor's or master's student at the VU in the academic year for which you are applying for support);
  • You didn't report your study delay to the academic advisors in the relevant academic year;
  • You have obtained 60 credits or more in the academic year for which you are applying for support (regardless of which program year the subjects you passed are from);
  • You are a 3rd-year student or higher in a 1-year master's program;
  • You are a 4th-year student or higher in a 2-year master's program;
  • You are a 5th-year student or higher in a 3-year master's program.

• What should I do?

  In every year where special circumstances cause a study delay, you are required to complete the following two steps:

  1. Report any special circumstances to your academic advisor

  In the academic year when special circumstances arise, you must report them to your academic advisor within three months. You can do so by email or by scheduling a meeting. At the start of the next academic year you will receive an email from your academic advisor about the procedure for the next steps.  

  2. Register study delay that you have experienced

  Following the end of the academic year, you must register your study delay with your academic advisor by completing and submitting the Registration Study Delay form between 1 September and 1 December (see 2 paragraphs below). You must do so even if you are no longer registered at VU Amsterdam, in which case you should use the offline form.

  In every academic year when special circumstances cause a study delay, you are required to complete the two steps mentioned above. Even in the event of chronic circumstances, be sure to report and register your study delay each year.

• Verifying a study delay and granting support

  After study delay can be verified at the end of the basic grant period.

  The end of your  basic grant period

  At the end of your  basic grant period, after being notified by email, you must arrange an appointment with the student counsellor to review your personal situation and registered study delay. The student counsellor will, together with you, explore options for obtaining financial assistance from the Student Support Regulation in relation with possible extension of your DUO basic grant.

  Following your meeting with the student counsellor, the request for financial assistance can be submitted. The student counsellor will inform you about this during the meeting.

  Discontinuing your studies

  Have you withdrawn from your degree programme before completing it? And did you register any study delays with VU Amsterdam during your degree programme? If so, be sure to make an appointment with the student counsellor. You can even do this before the end of the basic grant period. During the meeting, the student counsellor and you will explore various options for obtaining support.

• Registering a study delay in 2024-2025: forms and deadline

  Have you experienced a study delay in the 2024-2025 academic year due to force majeure or specific situations and have you reported this to the academic advisor? If so, then be sure to register your study delay. You must do so between 1 September and 1 December 2025.

  Forms 
  The deadline for applying to register your 2023-2024 study delay has passed.
  From 1 September 2025, the 2024-2025 study delay registration form will be available here.

  It is not possible to apply retroactively to the Student Support Regulation for previous academic years.

Grants & Tuition fee waivers board membership (Parts 3, 4 & 5)

• Advisory work and student participation activities (Part 3)

  If you are involved in student participation activities or work for a VU Amsterdam advisory body during the 2024-2025 academic year, Part 3 of the Student Support Regulation applies.

  You are actively involved in the role of: 

  • member of representative council at university (USR) or faculty level (FSR)
  • member of a program committee (OLC)
  • auditor of a faculty board (FB)

  When and how should you apply for financial support?

  Fill in the application form below and submit it from 1 September to 1 November 2025, following the end of the academic year in which the board activities took place.

  Forms
  As of 1 September 2025, the application form for 2024-2025 will be available here.

  For more detailed information on the requirements for this provision see Part 3 of the Student Support Regulation.

• Student Organisations (Part 4)

  This part of the Regulations is applicable to student organisations recognised by VU Amsterdam.

  List of student organisations recognised by VU Amsterdam

  Administrative budget

  If you serve on the board of a student organisation (association or foundation) recognised by VU Amsterdam, you are most likely eligible for an administrative budget.

  Your organisation’s board must submit a request using the form below from 1 September to 1 November 2025. This must be done following the end of the academic year in which the board activities took place.

  Form 
  As of 1 September 2025, the application form for 2024-2025 will be available here.

  Recognition of student organisations

  To receive an administrative budget, you must be a student organisation (association or foundation) recognised by the VU. To be recognised, you must meet several conditions. For example, a student organisation must exist for at least one year from the date of the notary's deed of incorporation. Furthermore, an organisation must have at least 75 contribution-paying student members who are enrolled as full-time undergraduate or graduate students at VU on the reference date of 1 January in the year in which recognition is applied for. Recognition takes effect from 1 September of the year in which it was granted and is valid for a period of three years.

  When and how to apply for recognition as a student organisation
  The application for (re-)recognition can be submitted from 1 April to 1 May. Please note that in the year the recognition is granted, the sitting board is not yet entitled to an administrative budget. This means that if the organisation is recognised in the summer of 2025, the 2025-2026 board will only be entitled to an administrative budget (and can apply for it between 1 September and 1 November 2026). 

  With an increased number of VU student members, it is possible to request an interim review (recount) of the allocated number of units. A request can be submitted from 1 April to 1 May. This will only be granted if the student association's board demonstrates that the membership has grown to 10% above the minimum number of members required to receive a larger administrative budget. A granted change (budget increase) takes effect from 1 September of the relevant academic year.

  Form
  Fill in the application form and send it in together with all the required documents.

  For more detailed information on the terms and conditions for recognition and the allocation of an administrative budget see Part 4 of the Student Support Regulation.

• Supplementary grant or Tuition fee waiver for board membership (Part 5)

  In the 2025-2026 academic year, those taking on a full-time role on the board of one of the associations or student organisations listed below can choose between the Provision for Additional Support or Tuition fee waiver for board membership. You must decide on this before the commencement of the academic year (1 September). Once you have made your decision, it is final. You are not allowed to use both provisions. You can use one of these two provisions for up to one academic year.

  Do you wish to attend classes, sit exams, or graduate during your board year? If that is the case, you should opt for the Provision for Additional Support because you're not allowed to do before mentioned activities when you opt for the tuition fee waiver.

  Eligible associations and student organisations:

  • USR (president, vice-president, three coordinators)
  • AUCSA  
  • Aureus 
  • Gyrinus natans 
  • MFVU 
  • QBDBD 
  • Storm 
  • VSPVU

  Provision for Additional Support

  If, during your board year, you want to be able to attend lectures, sit exams, and register your grades, you should opt for the Provision for Additional Support. You will be eligible for a one-off payment of €1.768,- for a period of up to one academic year. Following your year in a board, your board will submit the application for this provision and for your board grant.

  Tuition fee waivers for board membership

  Are you planning not to attend classes, sit exams, or graduate during you board year? If so, you can opt for a tuition fee waiver for board membership.

  To qualify for a tuition fee waiver for board membership, you must register for your degree programme before 1 September in Studylink and submit your application for the waiver before that date.

  When applying for a tuition fee waiver for board membership, you need to submit a declaration waiving your right to attend classes, sit exams, graduate, and receive supervision for study and research activities at VU Amsterdam or any other funded institution for the entire academic year in which you serve on the board. You must complete the declaration concerning Tuition fee waivers for board membership and upload it with your application.

  At the end of the academic year in which you served as a full-time board member while registered as a student, your compliance with the requirements will be verified. If this verification procedure reveals any non-compliance, you will be required to pay the tuition fees for this academic year.

  In case the online application form is not available to you: Application form tuition-free boards

  For more detailed information on the requirements for these two provisions see Part 5 of the Student Support Regulation.

More about study progress or study delay