22 November 2021 | EQAF Paper

From quality assurance to a quality culture: four Dutch universities of applied sciences on their experiences with an experiment on institutional accreditation

Martin Prchal (University of the Arts The Hague), Edwin Löring (LOI University of Applied Sciences), Anneke Vierhout (AUAS), Martin de Wolf (Fontys University of Applied Sciences)

This paper describes the experiences by four Dutch universities of applied sciences in the context of a pilot project organised by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. This development suggests an important shift in the Dutch accreditation system from programme accreditation to institutional accreditation.


The institutions have been experimenting in the last few years with a new approach to quality assurance at programme level. This new method offers considerable freedom and scope for the review of individual programmes within the framework of a broad and robust quality audit at institutional level. The method is closely connected to the theme of this year’s EQAF, as it addresses what information is meaningful and relevant for stakeholders in higher education with regards to the review of programmes and institutions, and how this information is collected and analysed.

This paper was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.

ISSN: 1375-3797

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