The Slovak Agricultural University offers a possibility to study to all the citizens of the Slovak Republic as well as to those foreign students who meet the university requirements and have been accepted by the appropriate faculty. The university also welcomes disabled students and provides them with all the necessary conditions according to their needs without any decrease in requirements. The student is defined as a person who has registered for study in each appropriate academic year and at the time determined by the Dean of appropriate faculty.

Only those prospective students who meet the criteria stated by law as well as by the SAU rules and regulations can be registered.

Foreign students are expected to cover the costs connected with their study at the SAU, provided that relevant intergovernmental agreements do not state otherwise.

FORMS OF STUDY

1. The following degree study programmes are offered at the SAU:

1. Bachelor`s study
2. Master`s study (Engineer`s)
3. Doctoral study

Bachelor's study

1. The Bachelor's study is an integral part of the university study, usually consisting of six semesters (3 years). It is completed with a state examination. The graduates are awarded the academic degree of ”Bachelor” (abbr. Bc).
2. The Bachelor's study is offered in the form of full-time and part-time study.
3. If they meet the criteria stated by the Dean, the graduates of the Bachelor's study can continue with the Engineer study that regularly lasts 4 semesters (2 years).

Master`s study (Engineer`s)

1. After the Bachelor's study, the university offers the Engineer`s study (equivalent to MSc.), which usually lasts 2 years. The study is completed with a state examination. The graduates are awarded the academic degree of ”Engineer” (abbr. Ing).
2. The Engineer study is offered in the form of full-time and part-time study.

Doctoral study

1. Doctoral study is the highest form of university study. It is a continuation of an Engineer study and its aim is to train students for independent scholarly work in a particular field.
2. In its full-time form the Doctoral study lasts three years, in the part-time form it lasts five years. It is organised in accordance with the Decree of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and with the SAU Rules for Doctoral Study.
3. Individual Faculties of the SAU are authorised to award to the graduates of the Doctoral study the degree of ”:philosophiae doctor” (abbr. PhD).

SYSTEM OF STUDY

Study program

1. The student is responsible for the organisation of his/her study programme. The programme gives the student a basic profile in a given area of study within the structure of subjects set out by the faculty.
2. The subjects included into the study programme can be divided into:

1. obligatory
2. obligatory elective
3. elective

The list of the subjects requisite for students is prepared in accordance with the requirements for the profile of a faculty graduate as well as for the profile of a graduate from an individual field of study. The obligatory elective subjects represent an alternative choice resulting from a student’s majoring in a certain field of study or specialisation. Electives are the subjects included in the study programme, which are chosen by a student in order to reach the required number of study subjects.

3. Students can choose more subjects than is required by their study programme from the list of the obligatory elective or obligatory subjects. Students are obliged to meet the requirements of the study programme, even in the case when they choose a subject (which then is entered into their individual study records) not required by the study programme.

Credit evaluation system

1. The university has a flexible system of study complying with the ECTS criteria for credit evaluation of subjects.
2. Upon the completion of every course the students earn credits. The minimum number of credits earned by a student per one academic year should be 60.

ORGANISATION OF STUDY

Organisation of the academic year

1. The academic year commences on the 1^st of September of the current year and ends on the 31^st of August of the next year.
2. The academic year is divided into Autumn and Spring semesters. The instruction during the semesters follows the timetable set by the Rector of the SAU for an individual academic year.  

Organisation of educational activity

1. The basic forms of instruction are lectures, seminars, workshops, consultations, practice, and excursions.
2. The students who miss some classes as a result of illness or serious personal reasons must comply with the requirements of their instructor to substitute for the absences.
3. The attendance of full-time and part-time students at individual forms of instruction is compulsory.
4. The students are responsible for proper registration for individual courses set out by the study programme and a valid timetable.

 Student registration

1. Through registration the accepted prospective students become regular students, with all the rights stated by law and based on the status of the university.
2. The registration of students for the first year is conditioned by the Dean's or, in the case of an appeal, the Rector's Letter of Acceptance.
3. The registration for individual years of study is done on the dates set by the Dean of a particular faculty and it is entered into the students’ study records.
4. The registration for the next year can be done only after a successful meeting of the requirements stated in the study programme. The deadline for full-time students is 31^st August.

Students can also be registered for the next year if they still have not finished one of the required courses. In such case the course must be finished in a regular way by the end of a particular academic year.

CONTROL OF STUDY AND ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The following are the main forms of study evaluation: continual control, credits and exam.

Credits

1. The credits are given for active participation at the lessons and the fulfilment of the conditions stated in the pedagogical documentation at the beginning of the semester by the professor in charge of the subject.
2. The teacher awards the credits and enters it into the study report usually during the final week of the classes.
3. Students who have not obtained the credits can be given one more possibility by the teacher to meet the subject requirements. The date set for it should allow students to sit for an examination later in the examination period of the given semester.
4. The awarded credits are recorded by the teacher in the Examination Book as well as in the Information System Student (ISS).

Examinations

1. The aim of an examination is to check students' knowledge in a particular subject as well as their ability to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge and skills in a creative way.
2. The examinations can be: oral, written, practical, or combined. In the case of disabled students they can be modified according to the type of disability. Each examination should be carried out in one day and students should be informed about the results usually on the same day, but not later than within five days time, in the term which has been previously announced by the teacher.
3. Full-time students can take examinations up to 31^st August of the appropriate year.
4. In extraordinary cases the Dean of a faculty can prolong the examination period. However, the extra time cannot exceed the commencement of the instruction of the next academic year.
5. The final year students take their examinations in accordance with a timetable included in the study programme of a given faculty.
6. The teacher must announce the terms, time and place of an examination not later than two weeks before the end of the semester.
7. The students must apply for the examination via the ISS. Only those students who have obtained the credit can go for an examination.
8. At an examination the students are classified by the following grades: excellent (1), very good (2), good (3), fail (4). Upon request, they can also be marked by the ECTS degrees.

Retaking of examinations

1. Students who fail an examination during the regular term have the right to ask for two retaking attempts during the time determined by the examiner.
2. Upon the request of the student or the examiner the Dean may decide that, in accordance with section 1, the retaking examination will be done before a three-member commission appointed by him/her.

RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF STUDENTS

1. The SAU students have the following rights:

1. to organise their study programmes in accordance with legal rules, the SAU status, and the status of individual faculties,
2. to also study at a different faculty, college or university in the Slovak Republic as well as abroad,
3. to use the SAU facilities in accordance with the rules determined by these institutions,
4. to have representation in the faculty self-government bodies,
5. to create independent associations at a faculty in accordance with an assembly law,
6. to take part in a faculty research and to publish its results,
7. to freely voice opinions and remarks on the education at a faculty,
8. to elect academic bodies of self-government,
9. to have different philosophical opinions and religious beliefs,
10. to use academic freedoms which must be in harmony with the principles of democracy, humanity and law.

2. The following are the duties of the SAU students