Different personal circumstances can lead to study delay. Whether you are eligible for financial aid depends on the terms and conditions.
During your studies, circumstances may arise that cause you to experience study delay. If you have fallen behind in your studies, you may be eligible for a financial contribution from the Profile Fund. You can apply if, due to special circumstances, you obtained less than 60 credits in the past academic year, including resits, extra curricular courses, courses obtained at other educational institutions, etc.
The Profile Fund Regulation is divided into four parts; you can see below which one covers which circumstances.
Circumstances beyond your control, such as illness or pregnancy and birth, exceptional family circumstances or a handicap or chronic illness.
An infeasible programme, a non-subsidized Master’s programme, or student performance at the top level of sport or culture.
Work duties resulting from membership of a participation council or programme committee, or from being a Faculty Board observer.
Membership of the board of a foundation or association recognized by VU Amsterdam. Read the frequently asked questions in this document.
In some cases, listed below, you are not eligible for financial assistance from the Profile Fund, even if you have experienced study delay because of personal circumstances:
From 1 September 2023 to 15 January 2024 you can apply for Profile Fund parts 1 and 2 for academic year 2023/24.
Please use this form to apply for the Profile Fund.
Please note: if you are not longer studying at the VU, you can fill in this application form.
If you want help with your application, you can make an appointment with one of the Student Counsellors.
If you are a member of a Programme Committee, the Faculty Student Council or an auditor to the Faculty Board in the academic year 2022-2023, you can apply after the end of the current academic year from 1 September to 1 November 2023.
Below you can find the forms to apply for the Profile Fund as member of the:
- Programme Committee
- Faculty Student Council
- Faculty Board
The current board (2022-2023) of a VU-recognized student organization may apply after the end of the current academic year from 1 September to 1 November 2023.
Please use this form to apply for the Profile Fund as board of a VU-recognized student organization.
The recognition process will take place in the summer of 2024. The application for recognition must be submitted to the Profile Fund Committee between 1 April and 1 May 2024. Recognition is effective as of 1 September 2024 and is valid for three years.
The deadline for re-recognition is also 1 May 2024.
The form to apply for (re)recognition will be published here on 1 April 2024.
The processing time of a complete application by the Profile Fund Committee is 15 weeks, but the goal is to process complete applications within 10 weeks.
If you have study delay in the academic year 2022-2023, the Profile Fund Regulations valid from September 2019 apply to you.
This part contains the deadlines for applications and the documents to be submitted.
This part contains information about the grants awarded form the Profile Fund.
To be eligible for financial support, you must meet a number of general conditions. Please read the Profile Fund Regulations for any specific conditions.
a. Financial support is granted to students who have, as a result of circumstances described in these regulations, fallen behind in their studies in an academic year in which they are enrolled as full-time or work-study (‘dual’) students at VU Amsterdam on a programme, the final assessment for which they have not yet had.
b. A student taking a Bachelor’s programme is exclusively eligible for the financial support if the student owes statutory tuition fees for the programme concerned and the student is or was entitled, with respect to the programme concerned, to the performance-related grant for higher education as referred to in the Student Finance Act (WSF 2000).
c. A student taking a one-year Master’s programme is exclusively eligible for the financial support if the student owes statutory tuition fees for the programme concerned and no more than two years have elapsed since the student first enrolled on a Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam.
d. A student taking a two-year Master’s programme is exclusively eligible for the financial support if the student owes statutory tuition fees for the programme concerned and no more than three years have elapsed since the student first enrolled on a Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam.
e. A student taking a three-year Master’s programme is exclusively eligible for the financial support if the student owes statutory tuition fees for the programme concerned and no more than four years have elapsed since the student first enrolled on a Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam.
f. A student who, solely on the grounds of nationality, is not or has not been entitled to higher education performance-related grant as referred to in the Student Finance Act 2000 (WSF 2000), if he/she does meet the other requirements of this scheme. The student concerned must have paid the institutional tuition fees to VU Amsterdam.
(Conditions b to f do not apply to Part 4.)
Part 1 Force majeure is taken to mean the following extenuating circumstances:
Part 2 Specific situations of the regulations applies to the following:
Please read the Profile Fund Regulations for any specific conditions for part 1 and 2.
To be eligible for financial support, you must notify the study advisor of your programme immediately, but at least within three months after the occurrence of the circumstance in question. If the notification is given later, no claims for aid will be accepted for a delay in studies which occurred more than three months before the extenuating circumstance was reported.
The academic advisor may refer you to a student counsellor. You should therefore contact your academic advisor as soon as you become aware that your studies may be delayed.
Before submitting your request, read the Implementation Regulations carefully. They explain how to submit your application and which documents you should include.
Please note that you must send various documents, such as a doctor’s note, with your application. You can find a list of the required documents in the step-by-step plan. Request these documents in good time and do not wait till the day of the deadline!
Your application will only be dealt with by the Student Financial Support Fund Committee if it is complete.
You can submit a request for establishing and payment of aid from the Profile Fund at the end of the academic year in which the circumstances occurred (2022-2023). You will find the application form under 'Apply for Profile Fund: application forms and deadlines'.
The deadline for submitting requests for financial aid for academic year 2021-2022 expired on 15 January 2023.
Condition for financial aid on the basis of part 3 is the position of:
Submit your request via the application form 'request financial support' between 1 September and 31 October following the academic year in which the board was active of administrative activities took place, regardless of the start and end of the administrative term customary for that organization/board.
You'll find the application form under 'Apply for Profile Fund and deadlines'. The application for recognition must be submitted by a student organization before 1 May.
Please note: the year in which your recognition is honoured, you cannot apply for a board budget yet. This is only possible in the following academic year.
Please note: USR members must submit a request for payment of a board grant immediately at the start of the academic year and before 30 September.
Condition for financial aid on the basis of part 4 is the position of
Please read the Profile Fund Regulations for any specific conditions for part 3 and 4.
You can find the FAQ regarding student organizations here.
You should submit a request for establishing and payment of aid from the Profile Fund within two months after the academic year ends, but before November 1, 2023. You will find the application form under 'Apply for Profile Fund and deadlines'.
Before submitting your request, read the Implementation Regulations carefully. They explain how to submit your application and which documents you should include.
To receive a board budget from the Profile Fund, you must be a student organization (association or foundation) recognized by VU Amsterdam. To be recognized you must meet various conditions.
The application for recognition can be submitted by a student organization from 1 April until 1 May.
Please note: the year in which your recognition is honoured, you cannot apply for a board budget yet. This is only possible in the following academic year.
Before submitting your request, read the Implementation Regulations and the Profile Fund Regulations (see top right of this webpage) carefully. They explain how to submit your application and which documents you should include.
Submit your request via the application form 'request financial support' between 1 September and 31 October following the academic year in which the board was active of administrative activities took place, regardless of the start and end of the administrative term customary for that organization/board.
You'll find the application form under 'Apply for Profile Fund: application forms and deadlines'.
Click here for a list of student organisations recognised by VU Amsterdam.
Are you a full-time board member? If so, you may be eligible for additional support from the Profile Fund. Read the conditions.
You apply for additional support at the same time as your administrative grant. The Provisions for additional support application forms are sent by the Profile Fund Committee in August every year to associations and participation body members who are eligible.
The pandemic and the measures taken by the government and educational institutions in connection therewith do not apply as study delaying special circumstances for which an appeal to the Profile Fund Regulation is possible. In exceptional cases this may be different, as described below. See page 9 of the Service document HO - Coronavirus COVID-19 approach of the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science.
In general, the purpose of the Profile Fund is to provide financial support to those individual students who, due to special circumstances, experience or expect to experience a delay in their studies. This concerns students who pay statutory tuition fees and are (or have been) entitled to a performance scholarship (art. 7.51c WHW).
Students who pay statutory tuition fees and are or have been entitled to a performance scholarship and who, due to the corona crisis, have to deal with special personal circumstances that cause them to delay their studies, are entitled to financial support from the Profile Fund. This concerns students who have to deal with an incurred or expected delay in their studies because they themselves are or have been ill due to the coronavirus, or because of (informal) care for) sick family members. Student parents who have to combine education with care for children who are at home because of the coronavirus, and who suffer or expect to suffer a delay in their studies, are also entitled to the Profile Fund.
The circumstance that a student is or is expected to be delayed due to forced changes in the educational program that the institution has had to make as a result of the Cabinet measures, does not entitle him/her to the Profile Fund. This situation cannot be regarded as the special circumstance referred to in the context of the Profile Fund that the study programme is insufficiently studyable.
Institutions are not expected to provide additional grounds for entitlement in their own policy to compensate students for study delays. This is in view of the force majeure situation and the efforts they make to avoid disadvantages for students as much as possible.
Institutions monitor how much they pay out of the Profile Fund to students who appeal to the fund due to circumstances related to the corona crisis. VSNU, VH and OCW consult on the results and interim results of the monitoring.
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