Dropout rates on the rise

Higher education is facing a slump in enrolments, as well as an increased dropout rate among first-year students. The leniency shown by education institutions during the pandemic plays a role here as well, as there is also a sharp increase in the number of second-year students leaving without a diploma.

Blind spots in quality assurance…

Programme assessments have blind spots. For example, very little attention is paid to the impact of internationalisation and students’ language skills. According to the Inspectorate, neglecting these topics can “erode public confidence in the quality of higher education and this form of accreditation”.

… and recommendations are often not made public

Assessment committees also give recommendations on how programmes might be improved. The vast majority of programmes do not make these public, even though they are required to do so.

Writing skills have to improve

The government should provide programmes with clear guidelines on how to improve their students’ language skills. Especially in English-taught programmes, students have little opportunity to improve their Dutch proficiency.

Students expect more internship support

Three in ten students say their programmes fail to offer proper internship support. Many also struggle to find internships and indicate that they do not receive enough help with this. Internship discrimination is a problem as well, eight percent of students say.

Student participation in need of an overhaul

Despite their best efforts, programmes are still struggling to get students involved in participation councils. Meanwhile, the government believes these bodies should play a crucial role in higher education. The Inspectorate suggests a complete overhaul may be needed, to “better align student participation with today’s requirements”.

Lack of social safety

Art schools in particular have instituted policies to improve social safety, but it is still unclear if these actually work in practice. More attention needs to be paid to the effectiveness of these policies.

Students from low-income backgrounds continue to do well

Fewer children from low-income families are entering higher education, and even fewer are enrolling in programmes that apply selective admission procedures. The good news is that the academic performance of disadvantaged students who do enrol in higher education is roughly on par with that of their peers.

Law is outdated

The Higher Education and Research Act’s is on its last legs. When the law was written, higher education was not nearly as internationalised as it is today, and digital teaching did not exist yet.