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PART 1: FACULTY PERSONALISED LEARNING PATH REGULATIONS (GIT in Dutch) / CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

1. Personalised Learning Path 

Definition: retaking all remaining courses from your previous year(s) and meanwhile trying to obtain some credits for courses from the next standard learning track.

Regulations & conditions for personalised learning path

  1. When entering into a personalised learning path, you are obliged to take courses from the lower years first. If you have not yet passed all courses from the first bachelor year, we recommend that you discuss the feasibility of a GIT with second-bachelor courses with one of the student counsellors.
  2. A personalised learning path can be implemented in a bachelor’s programme, between a bachelor’s and master’s programme and between a linking or preparatory programme and master’s programme.
    • Beware: a personalised learning path in the master programme is not allowed if the first bachelor year is not yet fully completed! Please contact the learning path counsellor if you find yourself in this situation. This does not apply to students in a linking or preparatory programme.
  3. Take the starting competencies of the courses into account. Try to compose your curriculum in such a way that you have passed all the previously required courses. Please consult course sheets.
    • Please note: if the previous course (see starting competencies) takes place in the 1st semester and the follow-up course you want to take falls in the 2nd semester, you may not include this follow-up course in your personalised learning path proposal at the start of the academic year! A personalised learning path curriculum can be extended with the follow-up course from the 2nd semester (see point 5) when the first semester has ended.
  4. Changes to a curriculum have to be explicitly requested from the learning track counsellor by email (tb.psw@ugent.be) no later than 15 November for first-semester courses and 28 February for second-semester courses. These changes are implemented upon approval by the FSA (Faculty Student Administration). An expansion of your personalised learning path never happens automatically!
  5. Take the deadlines into account! These are strictly applied and can be consulted on the FSA page.
  6. If you start in the first bachelor year, you are required to take all 60 credits of that year. The curriculum committee can allow exceptions for those who reorient their studies after the first semester and students with a special status who have a "smaller curriculum" or working student status. In exceptional, motivated cases you can also contact the curriculum committee. You can send this application to the personal track counsellor.
  7. For practical reasons, the course unit 'internship' cannot be included in a regular personalised learning path, and is, therefore, only possible in the graduation year or for those who combine years (see combi personalised learning path).
  8. The course 'research paper' is a final part of the programme and has to be followed at the end of a personalised learning path. It is, however, permitted to include the research paper and postpone up to 20 credits from the third bachelor year to the following year, so that a combi personalised learning path with the master programme is possible. This prevents that master's dissertation and the research paper are written in the same academic year. In this case, only courses from the 3rd year can be postponed. Students following a linking or preparatory programme can also do this, but only with bachelor courses from the third year.

Tips & facts about personalised learning path:

  • Personalised learning path regulations ensure flexibility when composing your trajectory. A major responsibility lies with yourself. Try to estimate the difficulty of a personalised learning path and ask your learning track counsellor for advice in time.
  • The main purpose of a personalised learning path is that you pass all subjects from the year that you have to retake. Credits for the following year are a nice bonus, but may not be the main goal!
  • An ordinary personalised learning path, similar to a combi personalised learning path (see below), may never exceed 80 credits. Preferably, an ordinary personalised learning path does not exceed 60 credits. Those with slower study progress are advised to include a lighter curriculum set in function of his / her learning account and / or binding condition.
  • When composing your curriculum, please take the timetable and semester distribution into account so that you have as few overlapping lectures as possible and do not have too many subjects in one semester. More than five to six courses per semester is not recommended!
  • It can happen that two or three exams follow each other without a day in between. Please keep this in mind. This is specific to an adjusted learning path. Only when two exams fall on the same day, can an alternative date be requested for one of the two exams. You have to give priority to the exam from the lowest year.
  • If you complete the entire programme in the personalised learning path system, you only have a number of courses left in the last year. This gives you more room to work on your master's dissertation. If you only have your master's dissertation and / or first semester courses left in the master year, you can also receive your exam results after the first semester and obtain your degree (you have to submit your master's dissertation in the middle of December in this case). You need to discuss this with your supervisor first.

2. Combi personalised learning path

Definition: Combining the remaining courses from your previous year with the entire following year, with the aim of passing both years at the end of the academic year.

Regulations & conditions for combi personalised learning path:

  1. Combining with a complete following academic year of a model track is permitted if you only have to take 20 or less credits from the previous academic year (or years) of this model track.
  2. A combi personalised learning path is possible both within a bachelor's degree programme and between bachelor's and master's programme (on condition that the 1st bachelor year is completed), as well as between a linking or preparatory programme and master's programme.
  3. When following a combi personalised learning path in the master of communication sciences, you may only do an internship if you have only have to take 12 credits (preferably in the first semester) or less from the bachelor or the linking or preparatory programme. Those who do not meet this requirement can, therefore, only opt for a combi personalised learning path with elective course units or for a regular personalised learning path, during which the internship and the master's dissertation course can be followed the next academic year in the remaining master's programme.

Tips & facts about the combi personalised learning path:

  • Combining two years is feasible if you only have one or two courses left from the lowest year. From 3 courses onwards, the study burden becomes too high. Keep a close eye on your semester distribution!
  • Since you are combining courses, the exam period will be difficult. During the exam period, students usually only have five exams, while you have to take six or seven exams.
  • Because of the combination of two different exam schedules, it is in this case also possible that you have different exams on subsequent days. If two exams fall on the same day, an alternative date can be requested for one of the two exams. You have to give priority to the exam from the lowest year.
  • With a combi personalised learning path between 3rd bachelor / Linking Course / preparatory programme and master programme, you may have to write the research paper and the master dissertation in the same academic year. In this case, you have to individually discuss with the supervisor(s) involved how you will handle this in practice and which parts you will submit consequently.
  • A combi personalised learning path is a possibility, but not an obligation. Those who qualify, but nevertheless prefer to include a less demanding study package for the sake of feasibility, can still opt for an ordinary personalised learning path.

3. How to apply?

  • Enter your personalised learning path proposal yourself by editing your curriculum in OASIS. Make sure that you add all courses correctly and take the above described personalised learning path regulations into account.
  • If you put your curriculum in proposal status, please do not forget to mention that it concerns a “PERSONALISED LEARNING PATH” or “COMBI PERSONALISED LEARNING PATH” in the reason / motivation section, depending on your situation. If you have additional questions or comments, you can also submit them in this section. The more information you provide, the faster your curriculum can be checked.
  • The learning track counsellor will review your proposal in OASIS and, if necessary, provide it with comments or invite you for an interview in the event of problems or inaccuracies. In conclusion, you have to strictly comply with the personal learning path regulations, otherwise your proposal will be rejected!
  • If your curriculum complies with the regulations, the FSA will approve it.

4. Internal appeal procedure

  • If you disagree with the personalised learning path decision taken in Oasis, you have to contact the learning track counsellor first and a solution will be sought in mutual consultation.
  • In the event of permanent disagreement, you can appeal to the faculty appeals committee, consisting of the dean, the ombudsperson and the department chairmen.