Accreditation of Higher Education in the Netherlands and Flanders Guido Langouche vice-president NVAO Arab European University Association Groningen, 3-6 July 2011

PRESENTATION I.What is NVAO ? II.Higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders III.What kind of accreditation ? IV.Results so far V.Internationalisation VI.INQAAHE

I.INTRODUCTION What is NVAO? The accreditation organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) Set up by international treaty (°2003) Independent (in procedures, methodologies, decision making) Funded by the Netherlands and Flanders (60/40)

I.INTRODUCTION Organisation of the NVAO Board: 12 members Appointed by Dutch and Flemish ministers Meets monthly Executive Board: 4 members (2 NL, 2 FL) Part of Board Meets weekly Director: 1 Policy advisors: ca. 25 Administrative staff

I.INTRODUCTION Some key figures The NetherlandsFlandersTotal Inhabitants 16 million6 million22 million Universities Hogescholen Students > > Bachelor progr Master progr

II.HIGHER EDUCATION The Netherlands: professional bachelor degrees academic bachelor degrees professional master degrees academic master degrees Flanders: professional bachelor degrees academic bachelor degrees master degrees (one level, two orientations possible)

II.HIGHER EDUCATION Degree structure in line with Bologna Process Dublin descriptors European Qualifications Framework (adopted in Bergen, 2005) Bachelor degree of at least 180 ECTS Master degrees of at least 60 ECTS Doctoral studies of 3 to 4 year Under development: accreditation of 2-year (120 ECTS) professional programmes in higher education

III.ACCREDITATION SYSTEM First phase ( NL / FL) programme accreditation Second phase (from 2011 NL / from 2013 FL) institutional audit + light programme accreditation

III.ACCREDITATION institutional audit negativepositive vast programme assessment restricted programme assessment no institutional audit

III.ACCREDITATION Legal framework of accreditation accreditation not obligatory BUT accreditation necessary to obtain: recognition of degrees (official register) public funding student support (grants) visa for foreign students

III.ACCREDITATION Site visit and evaluation by external panel panel composition proposed by institution panel composition approved by NVAO panel contains expertise in study field, in education, in evaluation process, student, certified secretary panel follows NVAO protocol for evaluations

III.ACCREDITATION Institutional audit panel checks whether institution is “in control” of quality assurance process evaluation panel of study programmes 3 basic checks: Check of the intended learning outcomes (international benchmarking) Check “how do you do it ?” (staff and facilities) Check of the acquired learning outcomes (exams, thesis work)

III.ACCREDITATION “Initial” accreditation (of ‘new’ programmes) extra first step: assessment of macro-efficiency by ministry for publicly funded new programmes assessment by NVAO of the potential quality of a new programme (intended learning outcomes / staff & facilities)

IV.SO FAR … Today NVAO has assessed a total of 3135 programmes: 2 from the Netherlands Antilles, 2677 from the Netherlands and 456 from Flanders.

IV.SO FAR … Strengths An enormous drive for quality, especially within universities of professional education Bad quality providers are being detected Increased international credibility of Dutch and Flemish HEIs Huge political support for the system Information tool for students and stakeholders

IV.SO FAR … Challenges in some HEIs more concern for public image than for genuine internal quality culture (window dressing !) institutions’ QA staff main task is not to establish quality culture but to pass the external test “Safety first” behaviour production of a lot of paperwork by HEIs external QA costs and administrative load NVAO can only “promote” the quality of HEI but not “guarantee” it (recent scandal in one accredited HEI)

V.INTERNATIONALISATION Objectives of NVAO: 1.Active membership of umbrella organisations (ENQA, EQAR, ECA, INQAAHE) 2.Promotion of the NVAO accreditation system and the higher education systems under its responsibilities 3.Mutual recognition of accreditation decisions 4.The establishment of a ‘European Qualification Area’ where diplomas from accredited programmes are automatically accepted 5.Pro-active approach to international developments in HE and QA

V.INTERNATIONALISATION Active membership of international umbrella organisations ENQA (European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies) NVAO (KD) is member of the Board EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register) NVAO (LB) is vice-president ECA (European Consortium of Accreditation Agencies) NVAO hosts secretariat INQAAHE (International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education) NVAO hosts secretariat, NVAO (GL) is Secretary

VI.INQAAHE mission aims activities publications services capacity-building World Bank supported initiatives 19

INQAAHE Established in 1991 NGO Status with UNESCO > 240 members (2011) Six continents >80 countries 20

INQAAHE mission The main purpose of INQAAHE is to collect and disseminate information on current QA practices and to develop theory and practice in the assessment, improvement and maintenance of quality in higher education. 21

INQAAHE Aims promote good practices in the maintenance and improvement of quality in HE; facilitate research into the practice of quality management in HE; provide advice to new QA agencies; facilitate links between accrediting bodies; enable members to be alert to dubious accrediting practices 22

INQAAHE Activities INQAAHE holds: A biennial conference and general assembly in Bangalore 2001, Dublin 2003, Wellington 2005, Toronto 2007, Abu Dhabi 2009, Madrid 2011, Taipei A biennial INQAAHE members’ forum for representatives of member agencies in Budapest 2000, Kingston 2002, Muscat 2004, The Hague 2006, Buenos Aires 2008, Windhoek 2010, Melbourne

INQAAHE General Assembly Abu Dhabi

INQAAHE Publications Journal: Quality in Higher Education Published 3 times per year Internal and external quality assurance Theory and practice 25

INQAAHE Electronic Publications Regular news updates from members and the Board Electronic Bulletin: 4 times per year 26

INQAAHE Services Website, with proceedings, discussion papers, etc Rapid answer query service Clearinghouse Reviewers and consultants database (in cooperation with APQN) Good Practice Database 27

INQAAHE Membership 3 membership categories: 1. Full 2. Associate 3. Affiliate (individual) 28

INQAAHE Arab Membership Members from: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, … INQAAHE Board member: Badr Aboul-Ela, Commission for Academic Accreditation, United Arab Emirates 29

INQAAHE links to other QA networks INQAAHE works not only with its member agencies but also with and for other networks of agencies Various regional networks have signed a Memorandum of Co-operation with INQAAHE 30

INQAAHE supports capacity building Guidelines of good practices (GGP) Alignment with GGP Review Database of Good Practices in QA (GPQA) Global initiative for QA Capacity-building (GIQAC) 31

INQAAHE GIQAC activities Funds provided by the World Bank through UNESCO Supports various INQAAHE activities: 1. Education and training courses (QAP) 2. Good practices in QA 3. Small States-Internship programme 4. Support for staff in developing countries 5. Impact study of cross-border QA 32

academic programmes about internal and external Quality Assurance in Higher Education Through joint efforts of an international network of QA agencies and a HEI (University of Melbourne) The courses are meant for both practising QA professionals and individuals who wish to play a role in QA of HE Credits validated in some master programmes Course materials available online 33 INQAAHE World Bank funded activities 1. Education & Training courses

INQAAHE World Bank funded activities 2. Workshops on good practices in QA Topics: trainings for external reviewers and the development of QA standards Manuals available online 34

INQAAHE World Bank funded activities 3. Small States Internship Programme Investigating the specific needs for quality assurance of small states Giving representatives of small states the opportunity to carry out an internship at a more developed QA agency 35

INQAAHE World Bank funded activities 4. Support for staff in developing countries Financial support for attending INQAAHE Conference To facilitate a dialogue on practical experiences To link INQAAHE’s QA knowledge, experiences and services to the local contexts Provides excellent networking opportunities 36

INQAAHE World Bank funded activities 5. Impact study of cross-border QA Case studies on the impact of cross-border QA Impact of agencies’ (operating cross-border) external QA processes on the policies of institutions regarding their operations abroad Literature review, Materials and Interviews Publication 37

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