High-quality higher education for and by students
As a student, you want to be able to rely on the quality of your programme and the value of your degree.
The NVAO safeguards and promotes the quality of higher education in the Netherlands, Flanders and Luxembourg. Programmes and the degrees they award are only accredited if they meet established quality standards. This ensures that degrees are widely recognised and valued in the labour market.
Students are not only the primary stakeholders in maintaining quality, but also active partners in the process. Their experiences and feedback contribute to the continuous improvement of higher education.
In this way, institutions, students and the NVAO work together to deliver education that is relevant, reliable and future-oriented.
The information below relates to participation as a student member in Flemish assessment procedures. If you are interested in taking part as a student member in procedures in Luxembourg, you can find further information via the button below:
The NVAO’s quality assurance has three core objectives
ACCountability
Programmes and institutions must demonstrate their quality. They can do so through NVAO assessments and by meeting predefined quality and level standards. Only programmes that meet these requirements are accredited, meaning that your degree is officially recognised. The NVAO bases its accreditation decisions on an assessment of programme quality carried out by a panel of independent experts.
Information
The NVAO aims to inform everyone about the quality of programmes and institutions. To this end, both the NVAO and institutions publish information on programme quality through channels that are accessible to all: prospective and current students, parents, employers, and society at large. This enables you to make well-informed choices about your studies.
Enhancement
Programmes and institutions are responsible for their own quality. They are therefore expected to continuously evaluate their performance and make improvements where necessary, while also consolidating their strengths and enhancing where possible. They achieve this not only by collecting input from lecturers, quality assurance staff, and students, but also by involving external stakeholders. In addition, external assessments conducted by the NVAO provide institutions and programmes with valuable impulses to further enhance their quality.
What does this mean for you?
Through this cycle of accountability, improvement and informing:
- programmes are continuously monitored and further developed
- you can be confident in the value of your degree
- you can rely on the quality of your education
Perhaps most importantly, as a student you are part of this quality assurance system yourself. Your feedback helps institutions and programmes improve and enhance their education—for your benefit and for future generations.
NVAO and quality assurance for international programmes
The NVAO carries out institutional and programme assessments in the Netherlands, Flanders and Luxembourg. In certain cases, it also conducts assessments in other countries and regions, for example for joint programmes under the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes and in EU pilot projects.
To support this work, the NVAO collaborates with the European Students' Union (ESU). The NVAO may draw on ESU's QA Pool, from which ESU nominates student experts at NVAO's request. These nominations are made in accordance with criteria established by the NVAO and from the pool of quality assurance student experts selected by ESU.
Interested in becoming part of the ESU QA Pool? Keep an eye on the ESU website. You can apply for the next academic year until mid-July using the button below.
How are students involved in the Flemish quality assurance system?
Usefull information for students
DIPLOMA RECOGNITION
Are you planning to work or continue your studies abroad and want your diploma to be recognised at the same academic level? Within the Benelux and the Baltic States, higher education degrees benefit from automatic mutual recognition of level. Here you can find more information about the relevant organisations.
System-wide analysis
A previous NVAO system-wide analysis ‘Student participation: from representation to impact’ explored how students can have a meaningful impact within their higher education institution. The analysis examines the evolution of participation in Flanders and highlights examples of good practices. (publication only available in Dutch)
If, as a student, you have a complaint about the quality of education provided by your institution or programme, there are several ways in which you can raise your concerns.
In the first instance, complaints about your programme or institution should be submitted through the appropriate channels within your institution. The procedure for doing so is set out in the 'Onderwijs en examenreglement (OER), which can be found on your institution’s website. Before lodging a formal complaint, we recommend that you contact your institution’s ombudsperson service. This service can help students resolve problems and rectify material errors before a formal complaints procedure is initiated.If you nevertheless wish to submit a complaint through the NVAO, please note that the NVAO cannot intervene in individual cases on legal grounds. The NVAO does, however, discuss complaints relating to educational quality with the institution concerned and may bring such matters to the attention of the review panel during the institutional review process.