Long-term student rate

As of 1 September 2012 you will have to pay a surcharge on top of your tuition fees (the 'long-term student rate') if you incur a study delay of more than a year. This regulation applies to all students who are registered in higher education on or after 1 September 2012.

A number of new screens will be introduced in MijnDUO (target date: April) where you can see how many years you have been registered already. You must check this yourself and make corrections where necessary. The introduction of these screens will be announced on the website , via the DUO app and on Twitter .

You can use the DUO calculator to check the consequences of the long-term student regulation and other government plans for your student finance. The results of the DUO calculator are estimates because some figures, such as the standard amounts for tuition fees and student grants for post-2013, are not yet known.

What does the regulation mean?

If you take longer than the standard programme duration plus one extra year to complete your Bachelor's or Master's degree programme, you will have to pay higher statutory tuition fees. The increase amounts to € 3,063 per year and applies to both full-time and part-time/dual statutory tuition fees.

• Bachelor's degree programme
  Bachelor's degree programme duration (3 year) + 1 extra year = statutory tuition fees (basic rate).
     
  If you are registered for the Bachelor's phase for longer than this, you will be liable for higher statutory tuition fees: full-time statutory tuiton fees + € 3,063 or part-time/dual statutory tuition fees + € 3,063 (increased rate). 
        
• Master's degree programma
  Master's degree programme duration (1, 2 or 3 year) + 1 extra year = statutory tuition fees (basic rate).  
      
  If you are registered for the Master's phase for longer than this, you will be liable for higher statutory tuition fees: full-time statutory tuition fees + € 3,063 or part-time/dual statutory tuition fees + € 3,063 (increased rate).   
       
• Students with a performance disability
  Students with a performance disability who have been granted an additional year of performance grant by DUO will also receive an extra year to complete their degree. This extra year can be used for either the Bachelor's phase or the Master's phase.
     
  Please note: This does not apply to pregnancy, family circumtances or other situations for which DUO does not award an extra year of performance-related grant.

To whom does the regulation apply?

The long-term student regulation only applies to full-time and part-time students who qualify for statutory tuition fees.

What is a long-term student?

DUO determines whether a student is a long-term student on the basis of the number of years of registration since September 1991. The following principles apply:

• Registration as a full- or part-time student on 30 September counts as a full year of registration for the regulations, even if you deregister in the course of that academic year.
• Students who are following more than one degree programme simultaneously will be judged by the degree programme offering the entitlements that are in time the shortest.

Exception

If you choose to follow a second degree programme in the field of health care or education (after having completed the first one) and qualify for statutory tuition fees, you will start building up registration years from scratch. This means you will be granted one extra year for your Bachelor's degree programme and one for you Master's degree programme.

How much do you have to pay?

You will have to pay the statutory tuition fees plus a € 3,063 surcharge - the 'increased statutory tuition fees'. If you follow more than one degree programme, you will only need to pay the surcharge once. You will have to pay this surcharge every year for as long as you are enrolled in the degree programme. If you gain your degree during the academic year, you are entitled to reimbursement of the increased statutory tuition fees already paid for the months remaining in the academic year (reimbursement of tuition fees).

Extra tuition fees credit

If you satisfy the two conditions listed below, you will qualify for extra tuition fees credit until 1 September 2014. This facility is known as long-term student's credit.

• You fall under the long-term student regulation on or after 1 September 2012.
• At that moment in time you are no longer entitled to a student grant from DUO.

More information

DUO website