Pass mark for Erasmus University

Erasmus University may continue to determine whether the quality of its degree programmes is up to scratch. The university keeps this leeway after passing a quality test organised according to the standards set by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). Accreditation is important for both the status of the university’s programme and recognition of the diplomas it issues.

Since 2011, study programmes no longer have to be assessed individually. The Institutional Audit Quality Assurance establishes whether the parent institution is able to guarantee the quality of its individual study programmes. The first time this audit was held in 2012, EUR failed to earn a pass mark straight away.

In one go

At that time, the university’s ‘quality assurance’ did not satisfy requirements. EUR was given just under a year to get its house in order, with good results. This year the university did make the cut in one go. Nevertheless, the panel did have a few recommendations. For example, according to NVAO, EUR could offer its representative bodies more structural support when it comes to handling their substantive and strategic tasks. This extra help would enable the representatives on the participation councils to serve as true equals in consultations and discussions. In addition, NVAO recommends formulating policy objectives in more concrete terms, further developing lecturers’ teaching skills and improving the university’s career development policy.

Recommendations

“Over the next six years, Erasmus University will be using the panel’s recommendations to work toward even more challenging education, with even clearer definitions of the objectives we aim to achieve,” says Rector Magnificus Huib Pols.

EUR will be subjected to a new quality assurance assessment before October 2024. Read a full version of the report here.