1. Quality Assurance of Higher Education in The Netherlands
Organization, basic principles and examples
By Erik Martijnse, director department of Higher Education of the Education Inspectorate

2. Content Dutch Education QA of Higher Education
Inspectorate of Higher Education
Inspection and others
Inspection and management
Examples

3. 1. Education system in the Netherlands
age
Post-graduate courses
1-2yr (Ma) 22
1yr (Ma)
University
4yr (Ba)
University of applied sciences
3yr (Ba) 18
senior vocational
4 years (Ba)
education years
VWO
HAVO
Pre-vocational
education 4 years 15
6 years
5 years
Secondary education 4 – 6 years 12
Primary Education
8 years 4

4. 1. Dutch Educational system: (religious) autonomy
The School Struggle or Schoolstrijd is a historical conflict in the Netherlands between 1848 and 1917 over the equalization of public financing for religious schools.
This resulted in: the Separation of School and State by funding all schools equally, both public and private which is enshrined in article 23 of the Dutch constitution.
Nowadays:
Many special schools, not only religious, but on the basis of different ideologies on education.
Field with strong stakeholders

5. 1. The Dutch law Article 23 of constitution:
Education is task of the government
Form and content of education is free, within legal boundaries:
End levels
Quality and morality of teachers
Public and religious / special schools are equally funded by government
Government publishes yearly a “State of the education”
Laws for primary, secondary, vocational education, and also for higher education = Wet op het Hoger en Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (WHW)
Law on education inspection (Wet op het onderwijstoezicht WOT):
Unique in the world
Inspectorate is independent
Tasks and boundaries of the Inspectorate of Education
Inspectorate writes the annual State of the education

6. 3. Dutch Higher Education
age
Post-graduate courses
1-2yr (Ma) 22
1yr (Ma)
University
4yr (Ba)
University of applied sciences
3yr (Ba) 18
senior vocational
4 years (Ba)
education years
VWO
HAVO
Pre-vocational
education 4 years 15
6 years
5 years
Secondary education 4 – 6 years 12
Primary Education
8 years 4

7. 3. Higher education: Quality Assurance
Internal QA and supervision
Accreditation of programmes and institutes (NVAO)
External supervision (inspectorate)

8. 3. Work division NVAO and Inspectorate
QA of Higher Education in the Netherlands is a joint effort of the Netherlands Flemish Accreditation Organization (NVAO) and the Inspectorate of Education.
Focus of the NVAO: accreditation at institutional and program levels (every six years).
Focus of the inspectorate: supervision of adherence to laws and regulations, system level supervision, ‘fire brigade’.
Cooperation Protocol: complementarity and co-operation between NVAO and Inspectorate.

9. 4. Inspectorate of higher education: basic principles
Does
Perspective
Inspect compliance with laws and regulations;
Supervise the system as a whole, including accreditation;
‘Firebrigade’- type tasks, i.e. in case of serious complaints;
Financial supervision (legitimaticy and efficiency)
Advice over entrying new institutions
Society
Students
Works
Complementary
Independent
Transparent
Proportional
With institutions
With NVAO

10. 4. Inspectorate of higher education: Examples
Thematic reports:
Examination boards
APL in HE
Supervisory boards
Master programs
Selection and accessibility
Sector images:
Education
Others will follow
Finances
Management of real estate
Laws and regulations:
Short-cycle programs
Admissions
Information for applicants
Extra costs
Fire brigade:
Incidents
Fraud with exams
Regular board visits
Once every 4 years

11. 5. Inspection and other stakeholders
Inspection works within a field of strong different stakeholders
Government
Umbrella organizations: universities, polytechnics, non-funded institutions,
Student organizations
=> Demands communication and tuning

12. 5. Inspection and other stakeholders
Year Work plan = upcoming theme investigations of inspectorate
Information agreement= an overview of all studies done by inspectorate, governmental department of education, and others on higher education
Check on complementarity
Balances out burden on institutions
All umbrella organizations are consulted

13. 6. Inspection and management
Contact after incidents
4-annual meeting between inspection and board
Is management in control?

14. 6. Inspection and Management
Towards trust and compliance
Compliance assistance: theme reports, sector reports, conferences, invitations
Data delivery via governmental offices DUO and CBS
Towards (even) more complementarity
Stronger internal quality assurance with quality indications
More data exchange

15. 7. Example: Investigation transition Bachelor-Master system
On request of minister of education
Bologna 1999: EU adapted to Bachelor/ Master-system
Dutch study programs had to be split up into two different programs
We investigated the result of this separation
We looked at the entry requirements for master programs

16. 7. Example: investigation Transition programs
On request of minister of education
Investigation of the transition programs between bachelor and master of university
Questions:
Entry level requirements
Accessibility (of the system as a whole)
Transparency
1-2yr (Ma)
1yr (Ma)
University
4yr (Ba)
University of applied sciences
3yr (Ba)

17. 7. Example: investigation teacher education
Societal demand for better teachers: more educational skills, more knowledge
Our own initiative; main theme within inspectorate as a whole
Results:
Education teachers primary school
is improving
Teachers have more knowledge
Research about education teachers
secondary schools is now executed

18. 7. Example: investigation examination committees
On request of minister of education
Reason:
The Netherlands has no central defined end level of higher education (besides in abstract terms in Dublin descriptors) .
The law has defined examination committees to guard the end level
The composition and the tasks of the examination committees: independent, knowledgeable, exams, fraud, exemptions
Our results: examination committees have improved over 4 years, but need further improvement

19. Example: 4-annual meeting between inspection and board
With the board of an university of applied sciences of a Dutch ‘big’ city
Agenda on:
Quality control
Financial control
Fraud with exams
Student satisfaction
Radicalization of students
Is the board in control?

20. Questions? Discussion?

21. Thank you for your attention
Erik Martijnse