NVAO

A panel from the Dutch accreditation and quality assurance body NVAO will hold discussions with Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences on 9 June after postponing all its site visits in light of the coronavirus COVID-19 in March. It has now implemented a fast-track procedure for current accreditation applications.

Two weeks ago, the Dutch accreditation and quality assurance body NVAO postponed all its site visits in light of the coronavirus COVID-19 – Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences (WUAS) was its last visit to an institution of higher education last month. Its assessment procedures in the Netherlands will be suspended until at least 28 April. In Flanders all activities are suspended until further notice.

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has now added German city, Munich, as a study destination for its students - this is in addition to its main campus in Apeldoorn, another in Amsterdam and one in Vienna.

Under pressure from the populist right and facing shrinking budgets, Dutch universities are not having a stellar moment. What does this mean for the future of internationalism in the Netherlands and institutions like Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences with its high number of foreign students and where the entire curriculum is taught in English? Can it withstand the pressure from the right?

The Head of Wittenborg's Business School, Dr Rauf Abdul, recently attended the AACSB's annual accreditation conference in London where he met with peers from Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

All Wittenborg's IBA programmes have been re-accredited for the next 6 years by the Dutch Flemish Accreditation Organisation, NVAO. The body of experts singled out Wittenborg's tutor system for praise and the instituted gained special recognition for its international characteristic.

Higher education is one of the Netherlands’s major exports, but it has to import young talent and that is why educators like Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences are so important. This is according to Paul Zevenbergen, an executive board member of the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organization NVAO, who was the guest speaker at Wittenborg’s 30th anniversary gala last Friday.