The academic education is governed by the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act (Act, in Dutch known as WHW). It sets out global rules on the objectives of scientific education and governs the governance structure of universities. The Act regulates the duration of the academic programmes, states the enrollment procedures and regulates the admission to the various final programme examinations.
The Act gives a central task to the dean of the faculty with respect to the arrangement of faculty education and research. The dean certifies the Education and Examination Regulations (EER, formerly known as Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER)), as well as the faculty regulations which governs the management and organization of the faculty.
A number of key issues regarding education and exams/examinations are arranged in the EER, which contains the Program Specific Section (PSS), including:
- The content of the programme
- The study load of the components (subjects, practicals, projects, internships, assignments)
- List of exams
- The number of occasions per academic year that examinations and exams can be done
- The validity of assessments.