Course registration in Student SelfService
Only your registered courses in the SelfService are official.
If you only register your courses in Canvas, you can access the course materials but you are not officially registered for them. You won't be allowed to take the exams or gain credits for these courses. So make sure to officially register your courses in the SelfService, before the deadline.
Once you successfully register your courses in the SelfService, they will appear automatically in your Canvas-dashboard.
Register your own courses or is that done for you?
Students are required to register their courses to be able to participate in the exams. Most students are responsible for the registering themselves, although there are a few exceptions.
Courses are registered automatically for
- students who enroll in the first bachelor year for the first time with a diploma contract (first enrolment in higher education)
- students who start a new bachelor with a diploma contract (for example, a student who changes their studies)
The faculty registers courses for
- students with a credit contract
- students with an exam contract
- students taking the Educational Master (this is not the same as the Master in Educational Sciences)
=> more info is sent via e-mail after your enrolment - outgoing exchange students
- incoming exchange students
- guest students​​​​​​
The Researcher Training & Development Office registers
Register their own courses
- All other students with a diploma contract (regular enrolment)
When can you register courses?
Fully (re-)enrolled? Register your courses.
- From 16 August opening course registration
- until and including 15 October for 1st semester courses and year courses
- until and including 28 February for 2nd semester courses
Attention: After these deadlines you will need the explicit permission of your faculty dean to still be allowed to register (or deregister) courses.
(De)register courses after the deadline?
After the deadline, the dean decides whether or not you can still add or cancel courses. If you want to submit an application after the deadline, this is only possible if you request permission from the dean of your faculty.
Temporary course registration
Is your official course registration not complete, but you need access to courses and materials to start following classes? If you are completely enrolled and you have activated your VUB account, you can temporarily register courses in Canvas. But be aware: this does not replace the official course registration.
Register courses yourself
This is only for students who have to register their own courses. Remember that only courses you register in the Student SelfService are official (only in Canvas is not enough). So make sure this is in order before the deadline. They will automatically synchronise with your Canvas dashboard.
Different groups in your timetable
For some courses, WPO's are organised. WPOs are the practical exercise sessions (work lectures, seminars, labs, etc.) that usually follow a theoretical lesson (= HOC/hearing lecture). So during WPOs, the theory you get during the lectures is made more concrete through exercises.
For some subjects, WPOs are given to all students together. For other subjects, students are divided into smaller WPO groups. If several WPO groups (e.g. WPO GRP 1 Statistics / WPO GRP 2 Statistics / WPO GRP 3 Statistics) are organised for a course, you must participate in one of the groups.
You will find the overview of the WPOs in the class schedule of your model year.
Depending on the course, you will have to register yourself for a specific WPO group or you will be assigned to a group by the lecturers.
Important: Your faculty or teachers will let you know their approach for each course: self-enrol or be assigned. If you need to register yourself for a WPO group, you do so via Canvas.
Are your courses not officially registered yet, but do you want access to the courses in Canvas?
Then you can temporarily register courses in Canvas (this does not replace the official course registration!)
Sign up for a group yourself
Have you received information (via e-mail, explanation during the first lesson,...) that you need to register yourself for a WPO group, then follow these steps.
-
Log in on Canvas (with your VUB account)
- Navigate to the course(s) concerned
- Click on 'persons' in the left sidebar
- Go to the tab 'Groups'. Here you can find the overview of the different WPO groups for that course.
- Sign up for a WPO group
Repeat for all other courses for which you have to register yourself in a WPO group.
Check what group you're in
If you have received information (via e-mail, explanation during the first lesson,...) that you are assigned to a group, this way you can check which group you are in.
-
Log in on Canvas (with your vub account)
- Click on 'groups' in the left sidebar
- Click on 'all groups' at the bottom of the screen to get an overview of which group(s) you're in
Elective courses
Are you taking an elective course within your programme, outside your programme or at another university? Or maybe you have to select your specialisation? Use the correct forms provided by your faculty!
Deregister courses
Deadline to deregister courses
- for 1st semester and year courses: 15 October
- for 2nd semester courses: 28 February
You can only deregister courses until the deadline has passed.
Attention! Students in their first bachelor's year cannot deregister courses. They are obligated to take up all courses of the first year. Students who have to retake courses are also not allowed to deregister for the courses they failed the previous academic year. They're obligated to retake these immediately.
Want to deregister courses after the deadline? You'll need to request an exception.
Impact of course (de)registration
Registering courses can impact your child support, tuition fees, study grants and learning account. The same goes for deregistering courses.
Paying for registered courses
When you register courses, you will receive an invoice for the credits you took on. If you register extra courses at a later time (before the deadline), you will receive a new invoice for the added credits.
If you deregister from a program, all your courses from that program must also be deregistered. Until October 15 you can do this yourself, after that date it will be done by your study path counselor. If your courses are deregistered in time, they will not be charged or refunded. The deadlines for this are:
- Before 1 December: 1st semester or year courses
- Before 16 March: 2nd semester courses
Attention! Do you want to deregister for separate courses rather than an entire program? Then earlier deadlines apply. Check those deadlines here
More about tuition fees
Child support and benefits
To qualify for child support:
- you need to be enrolled for at least 27 credits in total.
That means your course registration or deregistering courses will impact whether you qualify for child support or not.
Learn more about the Growth Package from the Flemish Government
Or Contact Financial Support for more info.
Impact on your learning account
The number of credits that you register for is deducted from your available learning account when enrolling in a initial bachelor’s or initial master’s programme or credit contract in Flanders. Any changes to your study programme can have an impact on your learning account.
Are you making sufficient study progress?
As a VUB student, we expect you to obtain credits for at least 60% of the credits you've taken on each academic year.
In case you don't meet these conditions, the examination board will impose you with binding conditions at the end of the academic year or will refuse your re-enrolment for the same programme. If your study progress then doesn’t live up to these binding conditions, the exam commission will refuse your re-enrolment in the same programme.
Do you qualify for a study grant?
To qualify for a study allowance from the Flemish Government, you need to be enrolled for at least 27 credits (exception: diploma year). This allowance is available for Flemish students only.
Do you need a residence permit?
All international students and scholars planning to stay for a period that exceeds 90 days must apply for a residence permit (Belgian ID card) at the commune in which they will reside. Non-EEA students residing in Belgium temporarily as students, have to register for a minimum of 54 credits. All enrollments containing less than 54 credits is the discretionary power of decision of the Immigration department/commune. For more information, check out the enrolment procedure for foreign students.
What if you have exemptions?
Based on previously acquired credits, you can request exemptions for certain courses. These exemptions have to be registered in your study programme.
Registering courses in case of exemption(s):
You've requested or received an exemption. How do you continue with course registration in the Student Selfservice? Find all information per faculty below.
Engineering
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.
MILO Educational Master
The faculty registers your exemption. You don't need to register for the course.
Law and Criminology
You can submit maximum 1 request for exemptions per academic year.
Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.
Psychology and Educational Sciences
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.
If the exemption has already been granted, the faculty will register it.
Languages and Humanities
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.
If the exemption has already been granted, the faculty will register it.
Social Sciences & Solvay Business School
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.
Medicine and Pharmacy
The study path counselor registers the exemption for you. You don't need to register for the course.
Physical Education and Physiotherapy
You register your courses in the Student SelfService. The exemption is processed afterwards.