Accreditation and Quality Control
Feb 03, 2012
The high quality of higher education in Holland is achieved through a national system of regulation and quality assurance.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for legislation pertaining to education.
www.minocw.nl The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
www.qa-in.nl Quality assurance in Dutch higher education
Responsibility for accreditation has been allocated to the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). Students will be awarded recognised degrees only after completing an accredited degree programme. Only degree programmes can be accredited by the NVAO. Accredited programmes will be listed in the Central Register of Higher Education Programmes (CROHO).
www.nvao.nl the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.
Institutions may also offer bachelor’s, master’s or other programmes that have not been accredited by the NVAO, but by a body in another country. For example a master’s programme offered by a Dutch university of professional education, but validated by an accredited British university. In the database of international programmes and courses at course catalogue, the status of each individual
programme is indicated by icons. www.internationalstudy.nl
Accreditation of degree programmes
A degree programme leads to a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD degree. The system of accreditation in higher education aims to guarantee that study programmes meet the highest standards. The law (the Higher Education and Research Act) requires that all degree programmes offered by universities and universities of applied sciences are evaluated against a specific set of criteria. Bachelor’s and
master’s programmes that meet the criteria are accredited by the NVAO (i.e. officially recognized). PhD programmes are the responsibility of the university concerned and cannot be accredited by the NVAO.
Quality control of specialized courses
A specialized course does not lead to a degree, but to a certificate or diploma. As these courses do not lead to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, they cannot be submitted for accreditation by the NVAO. The fact that a specialised course has not been accredited does not therefore mean that it does not meet quality criteria.
The quality of specialized courses that are part of an accredited master’s programme is assured through the accreditation of the main programme. For other types of specialised courses, a procedure is currently being prepared so that institutions are able to declare that the course meets a minimum set of quality criteria.
Code of Conduct for institutions
On 1 May 2006, the Code of Conduct with respect to international students in Dutch higher education came into effect. This Code of Conduct is an initiative of the Dutch institutions, and sets out standards for Dutch higher education institutions in their dealings with international students. By signing the Code of Conduct, the institutions are offering international students a guarantee of the quality of their programmes, student recruitment, selection and counseling procedures. Only institutions that have signed up to the Code are allowed to recruit international students.
Students from outside the EU, seeking a course at an institution of higher education that has not signed the Code of Conduct, will not be able to obtain visas. The full version of the Code of Conduct can be found at www.internationalstudy.nl. This website provides a list of the institutions that have signed the Code and also provides information on what to do if you feel that your institution is not meeting the terms of the Code of Conduct.
Besides those universities who had signed CoC, some institutions, such as berlage institute, is called "organisations involved", which will receive grants from the Dutch Ministry of Culture. They are officially permitted to host foreign artists. If you've been selected by one of these organisations, you can o btain a visa and a residence permit for the Netherlands for the duration of your activities in the Netherlands.