Low-credit progress proposed to increase student wellbeing

Ministerial letter suggests reduction of study credits required for progress to tackle university drop-out rates

The Dutch education, culture and science minister has put forward a proposal to lower performance pressure by reducing the number of annual credits students need to obtain to continue their studies.

The reduction is expected to improve student welfare at Dutch universities, and would come into effect in the 2025/26 academic year, minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said in a policy letter to the Dutch parliament. If the minister’s plan gets a majority in the Dutch parliament, students will only have to obtain 30 out of 60 credits in their first year to continue their studies, instead of the current norm, which is around 45.