Key takeaways from the annual report on the state of Dutch education

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 is an important factor here, 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, they are not paying enough attention to the impact of internationalisation on 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 publicised
Assessment committees also give recommendations on how programmes might be improved. The vast majority of programmes do not make these recommendations 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. This is even more important for Dutch students enrolled in English-taught programmes, as they 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 get enough help with that. Internship discrimination is a problem as well, according to eight percent of students.

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

Lack of safety
Art schools have instituted policies to improve safety from inappropriate and abusive behaviours, but it is still unclear if these new rules actually work in practice. The report suggests institutions to pay more attention 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 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.