This document presents the most recently revised guide to the protocol and review process for external review of universities in the Netherlands. Part 1 consists of a description of the review process, an explanation of the protocol, and the roles of the parties involved, with further discussion of the actions of the visiting committee, the…

Concern about the legitimate role of the government in evaluating higher education institutions has developed as a result of a 1985 Dutch proposal for decentralization that combines a formal national quality control system with increased institutional autonomy through self-regulation. The issues are outlined. (MSE)

Discusses higher education quality and its evaluation in Europe from historical and political perspectives, tracing the concept of quality control from medieval university models to the modern research university. Examines recent changes in the political context of European education and analyzes their consequences in three national contexts:…

A model of quality assessment for higher education that incorporates both accountability (representing extrinsic values) and peer-review/collegiality (reflecting intrinsic values) is outlined. It is presented in both a historical context and the context of experiences with quality assessment in North America and Western Europe. (Author/MSE)

This paper discusses quality as a theme for teacher education in the Netherlands, focusing on definitions of quality, national policies for quality control and quality assessment, the state of the art in educational quality, the future of teaching, and measures to maintain and increase quality. (SM)

First, the role of the association of universities in the Netherlands in external institutional evaluation is examined. Then, three basic tenets of program assessment are discussed: (1) university programs must be of academic quality; (2) program content must not be too compressed; and (3) programs should be challenging for students. (MSE)

This paper offers a broad look at accreditation and quality assurance in higher education and how these issues are addressed around the world. Section 1 is an overview of accreditation and addresses the aims and objectives of accreditation, standards, accreditation bodies, stages of the accreditation process, the quality of that process, the role…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of assessment practices of educational quality at universities in the Netherlands. The project involved analysis of questionnaire responses from 239 study programs at all 13 Netherlands universities followed by 12 case studies. The paper first provides a brief account of the theoretical background of the…

In 2001, the authors assessed the quality of care provided to children in 51 care groups from 39 child-care centers in The Netherlands using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. M. Clifford, 1990) and compared the results with the quality of child care assessed in 1995 (M. H. van IJzendoorn, L. W. C. Tavecchio,…

With the release of each edition of Education at a Glance, the Office for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) prepares a press briefing to be used for the international press release and which individual countries in preparing their national press releases can also use. Similarly, the European Union prepares a summary, not for use at the…

This guide provides advice and recommendations on designing a system of external quality assessment (EQA) for systems and institutions of higher education. Based on a Dutch national model, key features of the suggested system include: ownership by higher education institutions themselves although sanctioned by the government; primary aims of…

These two papers look at international aspects of quality in higher education from contrasting perspectives. The first paper, "Higher Education Quality: A European Dimension" by John Brennan asks whether there is a distinctive European dimension to quality in higher education and, if so, what are its implications for British institutions…

A procedure, the Topic Checklist, is described that is used to assess student learning through student ratings. Results with 142 medical students suggest that the Topic Checklist is a reliable and fairly valid procedure to evaluate course content coverage and detect problems in course content coverage. (SLD)

This article presents seven reports on the interviews about reception and use of international indicators among respondents from Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and United Kingdom. The first report is based on interviews with 5 respondents occupied with different aspects of the macro level of the Flemish educational system.…

The ultimate purpose of education indicators can be described as providing a basis for monitoring the quality of education. Even though the current indicator sets have become quite comprehensive, and there are clear signs of their use in policy-debates, there are still some important aspects in which their impact on educational policy and…