Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - MATE Directorate of Education
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Last modified: 08. December 2022
Where can I arrange what is concerned about my studies?
The Educational Directorate and its departments (study departments, Registrar's Office) are responsible for the creation, existence and termination of student status, for part of the tasks related to the organisation of teaching and schedule management, and for a significant part of the tasks related to the study programmes of the institutes.
These are for instance:
- enrolment (paper-based, personal, at the start of studies)
- receiving and processing applications (via NEPTUN System, by mail or during clients’ office hours
- final exams preparation (in cooperation with Campus Directoriate of Generals)
- reclassification (both study-based and due to extension of funding period)
- providing information on study-related matters, etc.
- student loan administration
- administration of student cards, issuing of validation stickers
- scholarship transfers
- issuing certificates
- issuing documents (diploma, diploma supplement, etc.)
- managing the changes of personal data (which the student cannot set up in Neptun ES)
- providing information to students on administrative matters of their field of studies.
The Institutes are responsible for the following student-related tasks:
- transfer procedures (in the case of MATE international students, the transfer application must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office and the RO will forward the application to the responsible person)
- organising final examinations (in conjunction with the Campus Directorate General and the Registrar’s Office)
- organisation of field practice.
The Student Association (SA – In Hungarian: HÖK) assists with the following student-related tasks:
- advising on subject requirements;
- participation in the work of the institutional and university committees relating to students (Academic and Credit Transfer Committee, University Student Welfare Committee).
How can I find more information?
All relevant information is available on the website of the Educational Directorate or on the university website. Students are usually informed about current activities, deadlines, applications and other opportunities via the websites and Neptun messages, so it is very important that they keep checking the websites and Neptun messages and make sure that their regularly read email address is listed in NEPTUN System.
When do I need to enrol?
After admission/transfer, the student status is acquired by enrolment. It is essential to enrol (establish a student status) after the admission procedure, even if the student wishes to start his/her studies with a passive semester for a force major reason. Enrolment is possible at the time and place indicated in the admission information e-mail. Students may also enrol by another person authorised or at another time by prior arrangement with their international coordinator. Enrolment must be arranged no later than the statistical deadline (15 October or 15 March) of the semester in which the admission or transfer takes place, otherwise the admission or transfer will be invalid. Enrolment is always made on paper by completing and signing the enrolment/registration form. In the case of a self-funded student, at the time of enrolment, the student contract shall be completed in two copies, signed and submitted to the Campus Registrar’s Office.
When do I have to do registration?
You can be registered for an active or passive semester during the registration period of the semester, which is usually the first week of the semester. The exact period is indicated in the academic calendar or available in NEPTUN System. Registration must be completed via NEPTUN. If the student does not register during the registration period, he/she may request to complete an active or passive semester by the statistical deadline of the semester (15 October or 15 March) through NEPTUN. Late registration for an active semester is a chargeable procedure and the student's request will not be processed until the student has paid the procedure fee. A student who has registered for an active semester may request to change his/her semester passive through NEPTUN by the statistical deadline of the semester (15 October or 15 March).
How can I register for and cancel a registration for a subject?
You have the opportunity to register for and cancel registration for subjects in the Neptun System during the subject registration period, which includes the registration week of the semester and the first week of education. After the subject registration period, late registration or cancellation requests can be submitted for late fee via NEPTUN for up to 4 weeks, after which the subject registration period will be closed. (late subject registration and late cancellation of subject registration).
How can I keep my scholarship status? When will I be reclassified? (What are the conditions for not losing my scholarship status?) Stipendium Hungaricum, Scholarship for Christian Young People
The institution of higher education is obliged to reclassify students to a self-financed status who did not meet the limits set by the University for credit performance and average marks in each academic year. The University takes measures after Operational Regulation of SH and SCYP scholarships by Tempus Fund and Hungary Helps Agency.
https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/scholarship-holders/
„6. The scholarship holder is, unless otherwise provided by the institutional regulation, require to fulfil the study, examination obligation and curriculum development by earning at least eighteen credits (i.e., earns a total of 36 credits) on the average of the last two (continuous) semesters in which the student is not suspended (minimum credit requirement). The recognised credits shall be always considered separately.
7. If during the academic year it is determined that the scholarship holder has not obtained the required number of credits, the institution shall terminate the scholarship status and inform the Public Foundation without delay.
8. The credit minimum requirement applies to those commencing their tertiary education studies within the SH programme in or after the 2018/2019 academic year.
9. The minimum credit requirement does not apply to scholarship holders for doctoral schools, foundation courses, short intensive courses and preparatory courses.
10. The scholarship holders must fulfil their reporting obligations to the Public Foundation as described in the Implementation Guide.”
https://hungaryhelps.gov.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Operational-Regulations.pdf
„III.11.2. The institution shall terminate the scholarship status by a unilateral declaration in the following cases:
a) the scholarship holder has provably participated in the application process in bad faith and/or on the basis of false eligibility,
b) if the student’s status of the scholarship holder is terminated based on section 59 of the ANHE,
c) as a result of institutional disciplinary proceeding or criminal proceeding against the scholarship holder, the scholarship holder is prohibited from continuing their studies as a disciplinary sanction, even if the disqualification does not result in the final termination of the student status,
d) the scholarship holder does not reside habitually in Hungary during the study period, except in the cases specified in section III.3.2.,
e) the scholarship holder does not fulfil their obligations regarding the academic progress declared in the study and examination regulation or in the curriculum,
f) unless the institutional regulation contains stricter provisions, the scholarship holder does not obtain at least eighteen (i.e. in total 36 during the two semesters) credits (minimum credit requirement) in the average of the last two semesters where the student status was not interrupted. The credit minimum requirement applies to those commencing their tertiary education studies in or after the 2018/2019 academic year. The minimum credit requirement does not apply to students of doctoral schools and preparatory courses. At the end of each academic year, the institution is required to verify that scholarship holders have achieved an average of 18 credits (i.e. in total of 36 in the two semesters)
g) if the institution becomes aware of the provisions of Section III.11.1.i).”
What are my financial obligations to the University and what happens if I do not meet them?
A student on a self-funded programme is liable to pay a tuition fee. Each student may be liable to pay a special procedure fee for various matters if he/she uses a charged procedure provided by the University or is late in a matter. Students are also liable to pay for retaken examination and retaken for the final examination. The fees payable by students are set out in Annex 1 to the MATE Student Fees and Grants Regulations.
The most common special procedure fees are:
- late registration for an active semester;
- unjustified absence from an exam;
- a fee for re-enrolment in a course;
- late registration in a course and late submission of a course;
- repeated retaken examination;
- subject recognition fees.
A student may register for an active semester for the given semester if he/she has no overdue payment obligations to the University. If the student has a payment obligation to the University, in addition to registering for the active semester, he/she will be blocked from taking courses and registering for examinations.
If the student's unpaid payment obligation is persistent, the University will first investigate the legitimacy of the payment obligation. The University will delete the incorrectly posted items, but in the case of legitimate payment obligations, it will send the student a Neptun message and a postal reminder to fulfil the payment obligation. If the student's reminder is unsuccessful, the payment failure may result in the termination of the student's student status and the University is entitled to take legal action to recover the payment obligation following the unsuccessful reminder procedure.
When will my student status be terminated?
The University will terminate the student status of a student who:
- fails to fulfil the obligations relating to progression in studies laid down in the Study and Examination Regulations, the curriculum or the programme and outcome requirements (e.g., has exhausted the number of examination opportunities in a given subject (no further examination opportunities may be granted under equity beyond the total of 6 examination opportunities) or has exhausted the number of opportunities for registration a given subject and has exhausted his/her opportunities for equity);
- failed to register for the third consecutive active semester for the next academic semester;
- fails to start his/her studies after a break in the student status;
- if the student has been transferred to another higher education institution, the day before enrolment on the basis of the transfer;
- if the student has obtained or is obtaining a pre-degree certificate (absolutorium) by the last day of the final examination period of the semester, regardless of whether or not he/she takes a final examination in the semester;
- in higher education vocational training, if the student has become medically unfit to continue his/her studies and there is no other appropriate higher education vocational training at the higher education institution, or if the student does not wish to continue his/her studies or cannot continue his/her studies due to lack of the necessary conditions for further studies, on the date on which the decision on termination becomes final;
- if the student's student status is terminated by the campus director-general after an unsuccessful appeal by the student and an examination of the student's social situation, on the date on which the decision on termination becomes final;
- the date on which the disciplinary decision of exclusion becomes final;
- the student's (public) field practice of kindergarten education, teaching, special education, infant and early childhood education has been assessed as unsatisfactory on two occasions;
- in art courses, on the basis of a specific provision for the programme (e.g., failure to pass the ROSTA)
How can I terminate my student status if I do not wish to continue my studies?
Student status can be terminated at the request of the student. The request (notification) for termination of student status must be submitted by the student via NEPTUN.
How will my student status end if I complete the study programme?
If the student has fulfilled all his/her study obligations, for instance has obtained a pre-degree certificate (absolutorium), his/her student status will be terminated. If the student takes a final examination in the semester in which the pre-degree certificate was obtained, the student's status as a student end on the last day of the final examination period. If the student does not take a final examination in the semester in which the pre-degree certificate is obtained, the student's status as a student shall be terminated on the last day of the final examination period. If the student obtains the pre-degree certificate after the final examination period of the semester has already started, the student's status as a student shall be terminated on the last day of the examination period of the semester.
How can I transfer from one study programme to another?
You can only transfer within a field of study and only to the same level of training. In order to transfer, students must be students at a higher education institution. The transfer application form for MATE students is available on NEPTUN, for students transferring from other higher education institutions the form is available on the website of the Educational Directorate. In no case should the student's status as a transfer student be terminated during or after the transfer procedure, as the student's status must be maintained in order to enrol after the transfer procedure. Following enrolment after the transfer procedure, the Registrar’s Office will request the termination of the previous student status based on the new one.
How can I change my curriculum?
If a student is no longer able to complete his/her studies on the curriculum in use at the start of the study programme, he/she can request to continue his/her studies on the latest curriculum in use. The request for a change of curriculum must be notified to the international coordinator in the Registrar’s Office.
How can I have recognition for my previously completed subjects?
You can request the recognition of subjects you have previously studied. The request for recognition can be submitted via NEPTUN.
How can I postpone a semester?
Students have the right to take a pause, i.e., a passive semester. A student may take two consecutive passive semesters. The student can set up a passive semester in NEPTUN during the registration period (register for a passive semester) and after the registration period, the student can request to passivate the semester.
How can I register for or cancel the registration for a subject late?
You can register or cancel registration by completing and submitting the appropriate request form in NEPTUN up to 4 weeks after the normal enrolment/registration period.
How can I apply for individual study schedule?
The request for the individual study schedule must be submitted in Neptun System during the subject registration period of the given semester, indicating the reason for the request and the requested benefits. In case of not meeting the deadline, the request may be submitted with the payment of the special procedure fee until the end of the week following the subject registration period.
How many credits per semester are recommended?
The model curriculum of the programme in force at the start of the student's studies clearly states the timetable in which the student is recommended to complete the compulsory and compulsory elective (specialisation, specialisation, modules) courses of his/her training, as well as the semester in which the completion of an elective course is recommended. In general, the model curricula of the programmes are designed in such a way that, due to the number of credits available for the thesis/dissertation, it is generally recommended to complete between 27 and 30 credits in the first semesters of the study programme.
Where can I find out what the prerequisites are for which subject?
The sequence of subjects is described in the model curriculum. The syllabuses and related documents can be consulted on the website of the Educational Directorate. The prerequisites for each subject are also listed on NEPTUN.
When and how can I take the exam?
As a general rule, you can only take an exam during the examination period. Examinations can only be applied for via NEPTUN TR, there is no other way to apply.
What should I do after the exam period?
After the examination period, during the two-week objection period, it is highly recommended that all students check the registration of their subject results in NEPTUN and submit an objection request if they find any discrepancies.
How many credits do I need to accumulate to pass the final exam?
A student must have 210 credits at bachelor level (240 on some programmes), 120 credits at master level, 120 credits at higher education vocational training level, 60 credits at 2-semester-programme, 90 credits at 3-semester-programme and 120 credits at 4-semester-programme to obtain a pre-degree certificate and be eligible to sit the final examination. However, it is not sufficient to obtain the required number of credits to obtain the pre-degree certificate, and the student must also complete all the compulsory and compulsory elective (if any) subjects of the study programme. Compulsory electives are usually subjects in specializations / specialist training courses (industry technology, modules).
How many elective credits do I need to complete?
In order to obtain the pre-degree certificate, it is usually necessary to complete a number of elective credits equivalent to 5% of the total credits of the course (11 credits for bachelor's degree and 6 credits for master's degree), but the specific number of elective credits required for each study programme is specified in the model curriculum in force for the student.
What happens if I have exceeded my credits at the end of the study programme?
If the student has exceeded the total number of credits completed by the end of the programme plus 10% of the total credits of the programme, he/she will be charged a credit overage fee for the number of credits completed in excess of 110%. This means that a credit overage fee is payable for 231 credits completed for a bachelor's degree and 132 credits completed for a master's degree. The credit overage fee is not payable if the reason for the excess is the inclusion of subjects taken during Erasmus part-studies or the completion of differential subjects (credit recognition procedure) required for the Master's degree.
I have reached the pre-degree certificate, but did not submit a thesis/dissertation. How and for how long can I submit a thesis/dissertation and how and for how long can I take the final examination after obtaining my pre-degree certificate (absolutorium)?
Students who start their studies from the academic year 2012/2013 may take the final examination within five years of the end of their studies, in any examination period, according to the applicable study requirements. The University may make the passing of the final examination conditional two years after the pre-degree certificate has been obtained. Students who started their studies from September 2012 may not take the final examination after the fifth year following the end of their studies.
Students who started their bachelor or master studies before the academic year 2012/2013 may take the final examination without any time limit after obtaining the pre-degree certificate, with the restriction that the institution may make the final examination conditional after 5 years from the date of obtaining the pre-degree certificate.
What is counted towards the qualification of the degree?
In general, the results of the final examination and the student's performance during his/her studies are taken into account in the degree classification. The detailed rules for calculating the diploma grade are set out in the Study and Examination Regulations.
Can I take a final exam then finish my exams?
No, you cannot.
Can I choose the date of my final examination?
No, you cannot.
Can I take my diploma before the graduation ceremony takes place?
No, you cannot.
Can someone else take my diploma if I am unable to do so because of any problem?
Yes, it is possible by giving permission to an authorized person.