AUC is unique for its small-scale and intensive Liberal Arts and Sciences programme. Students are expected to complete the programme (180 EC) in six semesters, thus the norm is to complete 30 EC per semester. To achieve this, students must enrol in a minimum of five courses per semester.

AUC’s Academic Standards and Procedures (AS&P) allow students to deregister from one or multiple courses during the semester. You can do this yourself via GLASS during the first 2 weeks of the course. After these 2 weeks you must submit a request to the AUC Digital Service Desk (AS&P, article 2.8.6). 

Reasons to deregister from a course vary, but commonly include exceptional personal circumstances that make a full course load too challenging. Before a student decides to deregister from a course, it is important to discuss this request and its implications with a tutor (for academic planning) and the student life officer (in case the circumstances require additional support).

Important things to consider when deregistering from a course:

• Credit deficiency: When a course deregistering request leads to a credit deficiency, students and tutors are expected to complete an academic progress plan (AS&P, article 3.6). The academic progress plan outlines how the credit deficit will be filled, defines performance related goals, and specifies commitments to meet such goals. Students with a credit deficiency must complete this form with their tutor. 
• Binding Study Advice: AUC’s BSA standard is 54 EC in the first year of studies. This means that to receive a positive BSA, students must obtain no less than 54 EC (AS&P article 3.7.4). Withdrawing from (a) course(s) in the first year, can result in a negative BSA, which means that a student is required to deregister from the AUC programme (AS&P article 3.7.5).  
  • Please note that if you are dropping a course for medical or personal reasons, you should collect and save any supporting documentation ( a doctor's note, for example), as this will be important during the BSA procedure.
• Study Abroad permission: Credit deficiencies can also impede the options to study abroad. Students who want to study abroad for a semester cannot have a shortage of credits at the time of departure (AS&P, article 2.11.3). Hence, deregistering from courses can negatively impact access to study abroad opportunities.  
• Meeting prerequisites for higher level courses: AUC’s 200-level and 300-level courses have prerequisites, which must be fulfilled at the time of starting the course. Some courses have a specific number of EC, such as 30 or 60 EC, as a prerequisite. Deregistering from courses and their attendant credit deficiencies can prevent students from accessing advanced courses within their preferred tracks.  
• Housing: Campus housing is only available to students for the six semesters in which they should complete the AUC programme. After living at AUC for six semesters, housing contracts end on 15 July at the end of the third year of study, and students then need to independently find off-campus housing if they want to continue living in Amsterdam. It should be noted that deregistering from courses in the second or third year usually lead to credit deficiencies by the third year. If such credit deficiencies have not been resolved after six semesters, and a student needs to continue their AUC studies for a 7^th semester or more, students are responsible for organising their own housing whilst completing the programme.  
• SIS records: If a student deregisters from a course before the teaching period has ended, no record of participation within this course will be maintained in SIS.

Note that it is not possible to deregister from all of one’s courses for the semester and remain enrolled in AUC. Such cases would require a student deregister from AUC. Please visit this page for more information.

Resources

• Academic Progress Plan (.docx)