KU Leuven: 42.6% of New Students Achieve First-Year Milestone in Impressive Start
The analysis of the exam results from the past academic year 2022-2023 shows that 42.6 percent of new first-year students in a KU Leuven bachelor’s program already achieved the first milestone in the first academic year. This means that they passed their first bachelor year. This is a slight increase compared to the previous academic year and, after a downward trend, brings us back to the level of full study progress of 2010.
In the academic year 2021-2022, KU Leuven introduced a milestone for new bachelor students. The university wanted to provide additional motivation for students to pass the first bachelor’s year as quickly as possible. They have two academic years to do this. In the 2021-2022 academic year, 41.4 percent of first-year students achieved the first milestone after one year. Another 20.4 percent needed an extra year. 61.8 percent of the 2021-2022 first-year students will therefore achieve the first milestone within two academic years. The introduction of the milestone system at KU Leuven therefore has a clearly positive effect that will also remain visible during the further course of the studies:
“We see that the students who already achieved the first milestone in the first year have good to very good study progress in their second year,” says Vice Rector of Education Policy Tine Baelmans. “For those who needed an extra year to achieve the first milestone, their chances of success depended mainly on the number of subjects they still had to pass. For those with a maximum of 2, 90 percent succeeded.”
The university continues to evaluate and monitor the system, with extra attention to students with special socio-cultural characteristics (pioneer and scholarship students, students with a migration background, students with a home language other than Dutch). The first milestone has no negative impact on their study progress, but the figures show that they need a second year relatively more to achieve their first milestone.
“Overall we can say that the milestone system works. More students complete the subjects of their first bachelor’s degree in their first year, even in the first examination period. As a result, they start fresher at the start of their second year. And so the positive effect continues throughout the course of your studies. There are also no adverse effects if we compare with the full study progress in the former system,” concludes Vice Rector of Education Policy Baelmans.
By introducing the milestone system, the university aimed to ensure that students are on the right track in their studies as quickly as possible. The first milestone is at the end of the first year of their education, the first bachelor’s degree. All subjects must then be passed, although there is little room for deliberation. The milestone must be achieved within two academic years, and therefore 4 examination moments. If this fails, the student cannot re-register for that course the following academic year. The milestone system is also an encouragement for students for whom the course does not meet expectations to reorient themselves in a timely manner.