One in five Leuven first-years banned from resitting their year
A fifth of all Leuven first years are not allowed to resit their first year exams after they failed to land 30% in their exams. Leuven University believes that with such a poor performance they are clearly not in their place and should try something different.
In all some 2,500 failed first years cannot resist their first year exams during a second year of studies. The ban was introduced in 2015. Three years on it's clear that problems are concentrated in certain disciplines. Students reading law and social sciences are most likely to perform poorly: 28.6% of first year law students failed to secure 30%. Among social sciences the figure is 23.9%.
Clearly students of letters (19%), medicine (12.5%) and engineering (11%) are far more focused!
Vice rector Tine Baelmans points to the entrance exams for engineers and medicine that ensure that students possess the required skills to embark upon these studies. The vice rector would like to see the entrance exam system rolled out across other disciplines. Tine Baelmans: "You can assess if students have talent for languages or analysis. Students also get a chance to improve their skills during the holidays."