There can be different reasons for things not going as planned: the progress of the student, unmatched expectations in the topic or previous experience, the capacity for supervision in the research group, the student’s motivation, communication issues, etc.

If in doubt who to contact, please do not hesitate to contact the research project coordinators. You can informally discuss your case with them, so they can advise you on which steps to take or who to contact. 

Student with personal problems

If you notice that your student is having any personal problems, but does not want to discuss this with you or other group members, or neither of them can help him/her, please send the student to their programme coordinator or academic counsellor for help. 

If the problem affects the students’ chances of finishing the project in time and/or with a passing grade, please also contact the research project coordinator. 

Disputes

If a (personal) dispute arises between the student and supervisor/examiner during a research project, please consider these steps: 

• Try to work out what caused the dispute and if you can resolve it, e.g. during the interim assessment meeting.  
• If this fails to resolve the dispute, you and/or the student can consult the programme coordinator or academic counsellor. A conversation with the academic counsellor is confidential. With the prior approval of the student or supervisor, the academic counsellor contacts the other party or other experts (for example the programme coordinator or institute director) for further mediation.  
• If the dispute is not resolved after consulting the programme coordinator or academic counsellor, the student (but not the supervisor) can submit an appeal to the Board of Examiners or the complaints coordinator in case of a dispute on personal grounds. The Board of Examiners will assess whether any procedural mistakes were made in handling the dispute. 
• Lastly, the student is entitled to submit a complaint with the university ‘Examinations Appeals Board’. This board is solely charged with assessing procedural mistakes.  

Premature termination of the project

No credits will be allocated to prematurely terminated research projects.

Termination by supervisor

A research project may be terminated by the supervisor. This can be the consequence if the student fails to honour agreements or does not remain in contact with the supervisor without giving substantiated reasons. The following guidelines should be used: 

• The student has failed to honour the agreements laid down in the application form (and the internship contract if applicable) and has been reprimanded clearly on several occasions in writing (letter or email) by the supervisor. 
• The student has been granted at least two opportunities to redeem him/herself by continuing the research project in the agreed manner. The student must have been notified in writing (letter or email). 
• The supervisor has stipulated a clear deadline in the second notification, warning the student that the research project will be terminated in the event of continued non-compliance. The student will be notified in writing if the research project is deemed to have been terminated. 
• The supervisor has sent copies of this correspondence to the programme coordinator and academic counsellor. 
• The student is entitled to submit an appeal against this decision with the Board of Examiners. 

Termination by student

The student is entitled to terminate the research project prematurely. Before deciding to terminate the project prematurely, the student is advised to contact the academic counsellor first to discuss the matter. The academic counsellor will also advise the student on further progress of the study programme. The student must notify the supervisor as soon as possible on the decision to terminate the research project, and inform the programme coordinator and research project coordinator as well.