1. Introduction

Contents of Charter

This Charter and the regulations governs your rights as a student and the way we treat each other at the University of Twente. This particular Students’ Charter document only covers the institutional section.

The Students’ Charter contains a description of the rights and obligations of students on the one hand and the University of Twente on the other. The Charter consists of two sections:

If important changes are made to the Students’ Charter during your studies, you will be informed either by a notification published in the university’s newsletter UT-Nieuws or directly by your programme.

As this is an official document, on the basis of which you can claim rights, most of it is written in formal legal language. This does not benefit its readability but, from a legal point of view, the use of such language is unavoidable. In an effort to make things clearer, examples are occasionally given or procedures are described in greater detail. If you would like to obtain more information on topics covered in the Students’ Charter, you can contact the Student Counselling Service. The same applies if you wish to consult the original legal wording of the Higher Education and Research Act (WHW).

Adoption and availability of the Students’ Charter

The institutional section of the Students’ Charter is formally adopted by the Executive Board after obtaining the approval of the University Council. The University Council is also consulted for approval or advice if major changes are to be made to the Charter. Such changes often affect specific parts of the Charter.

The part of the Students’ Charter which contains the student’s rights and obligations as they specifically apply to the programme for which the student is enroled (the specific programme section), is adopted by the dean after receiving approval and advice from the Faculty Council and the Programme Committee, insofar as this has been provided for in the Faculty Regulations.

When combined, the programme-specific and institutional sections contain the information you need as a student. Students, teaching staff and other staff can consult the Charter online. They are all expected to be familiar with the contents of the Charter.

The latest version of the Students’ Charter can always be found on the University of Twente’s website:

http://www.utwente.nl/so/studentenbegeleiding/en/regulations/charter/

Any changes made to the Charter are immediately implemented in the online version so that the latest updates are available. A printed version of the Charter is available on request and can be collected from the Student & Education Service Centre in the Vrijhof Building (Student Services) and in the Bastille Building (Student Counselling Service).

A new programme-specific section is available from your own programme’s Office of Educational Affairs.