Tuition free Board year

Who qualifies for a tuition free board year?

Are you a board member of a student association or organization in Groningen that is included in the University of Groningen's Profileringsfonds? Then, in addition to the grant you receive, you may be eligible for a tuition fee boardyear.
If you meet a number of conditions, you may be able to claim a tution free boeardyear. In that situation, the RUG will grant you exemption from paying the statutory tuition fees. The conditions can be found in article 25 of the Regeling Profileringsfonds.

IMPORTANT: CUOS cannot make exceptions or advise you on your personal situation. For any questions about the exact documents, personal cirumstances, etc. please reach out to the UFC under ufc@rug.nl.

Who can do a tuition free board year?

• Committee/board members of student organizations listed in Appendix 2a (Recognized student organizations) or 2b (Membership of consultative bodies and the committees/boards of University bodies) of the Regulations for the Garduation Fund who are registered as Bachelor’s students at the UG if:

a. second-year Bachelor’s students: as per the request date, they have earned at least 60 ECTS in a maximum of two UG degree programmes since they first registered in a Bachelor’s degree programme

b. for third- or fourth-year Bachelor’s students: they have earned at least 120 ECTS in one single UG degree programme since they first registered in a Bachelor’s degree programme

• Committee/board members of student organizations listed in Appendix 2a (Recognized student organizations) or 2b (Membership of consultative bodies and the committees/boards of University bodies) of the Regulations for the Garduation Fund who are registered as Master’s students at the UG if they gained their Bachelor’s degree within four years from the first time they registered in a Bachelor’s degree programme

• Students who qualify for at least six committee grant months (board grant months). This requirement does not apply to the student assessors in the Board of the University and the faculty boards; they qualify for waiving of tuition fees if they are granted five committee grant months.

• Student organizations in the category Sports associations or UG Study associations, as mentioned in Appendix 1 of the Regulations governing the Recognition and Re-evaluation of UG and Hanze UAS Student Organizations may nominate two additional board members to the Board of the University to be considered for waiving of tuition fees if:

a. the student organization is listed for the maximum number of committee grant months (40) for the category (Sports or Study) concerned in Appendix 2a of the regulations for the Graduation Fund: part B, and

b. the nominated student is eligible for at least 2 committee grant months as shown by the documentary evidence referred to in Article 27, paragraph 2.

Who can NOT do a tuition free board year?

• Bachelor’s students who have not gained their Bachelor’s degree within four years from the first time they registered in a Bachelor’s degree programme are not eligible for waiving of tuition fees
• Committee/board members of student organizations that are not listed in Appendix 2a (Recognized student organizations) or 2b (Membership of consultative bodies and the committees/boards of University bodies) of the Regulations for the Garduation Fund
• Committee/Board members who do not qualify for a minimum of 6 board grant months (except for the exceptions listed above)

Important to know

• This is a one-off exemption that applies to one academic year
• In order to be eligible for exemption from payment of statutory tuition fees, at least nine months of the committee/board year during which the student is a committee/board member must fall within the academic year for which the exemption is being requested
• The student may not follow course units or sit examinations or final assessments during the academic year for which the exemption is being requested

• The deadline to apply for a tuition free board year is on the 1st of September. This is a strict deadline!

How can I hand in an application?

1. In order to qualify for waiving of tuition fees, students must submit the digital request form to the UFC before 1 September, together with the application for a provisional committee grant as referred to in Article 20 of the Regulations for the Graduation Fund. The form can be found on the website: www.rug.nl/studievertraging. To be taken into consideration, requests must be complete, i.e. accompanied by all the required documentary evidence, and submitted before 1 September
2. In the event that the student is prevented from submitting their request on time due to force majeure, they must report this to the UFC as soon as possible, but no later than 1 October, via ufc@rug.nl. If the UFC comes to the conclusion that the student was affected by force majeure, then the request for the waiving of tuition fees will still be assessed in terms of content
3. The documentary evidence listed in Article 27 must be enclosed with the request
4. Students must satisfy the payment obligation in order to be registered or reregistered as of 1 September. If the request for the waiving of tuition fees is approved and the student has already paid some or all of the tuition fees, the amount paid will be reimbursed.

What documents do I need for the application?

1. A notification from DUO stating that the student is or was entitled to a performance-related/committee grant
2. An appointment decree that proves that the student is eligible for six board grant months (five for student assessors) and states the start and end dates of the student’s board/committee year
3. The most recent printout of the student’s study results in chronological order, showing that they meet criteria as stated in article 25 or that they have completed a UG Bachelor’s degree programme within four years. This must be a certified printout from the Student Administration Office (i.e. not the student’s own printout from Progress WWW)
4. Clear documentary evidence that the student was registered at the UG in the academic year preceding the committee/board year

My own situation is different and I cannot find an answer on this page, what should I do?

Send an email to ufc@rug.nl.