Loss of student status

How you lose your student status

According to the new Student Regulations:

• You lose your student status if you do not take exams or final evaluations regardless of the result (including failing exams and refusing marks) for 8 consecutive years from the year of your last exam (regardless of the result) or the year of your last regular enrolment, whichever is more favourable.
• You do not lose your student status if you only need to sit the final examination, regardless of the regulations governing your degree programme.

The 8 years are counted from a.y. 2020/21 included; this rule applies also to students who, based on the pre-existing regulations, would have lost their status on 31 March 2021.

When calculating the loss of student status, please be reminded that:

• The academic year ends on 31 March of the year following that of enrolment.
• If you interrupt your studies, the years of interruption count as years not aligned with the exam schedule and count for loss-of-status purposes.
• Repetition years are equivalent to years not aligned with the exam schedule.
• The years of suspension are not counted for loss-of-status purposes.
• The payment of tuition fees does not change the deadlines for the loss of student status.

Once you meet the loss-of-status conditions, you will lose your student status and will not be notified. 

Special cases: disability, SLD 

As a student:

• If you have a disability rating of 66% or higher, or
• Are eligible for the benefits provided by Law 104/1992, or
• Have diagnosed specific learning disabilities (SLD),

you can request a specific resolution regarding your loss-of-status deadlines, regardless of your year of first matriculation.

To this end:

• Complete the deadline extension application form [.pdf 239 KB], sign it and present it to the Student Administration Office in the year prior to the expected loss-of-status deadline, at least one month before (February).
• The request will be assessed by a special Committee and may involve an interview.

What to do if you lose your student status

If you have lost your student status and intend to start a new university career at the University of Bologna, you must enrol again in the first year of a degree programme. You can however ask the Degree Programme Board to consider recognising all or part of your previous credits. To do this, you will first have to pay a €100 fee.
You will find all the relevant information on the Shortening of programme page.