Objection to judgment of performance agreements
Six universities of applied sciences received an unsatisfactory mark because they have not fulfilled all their performance agreements with the minister. Falsely, finds some of them. The judgment of the review committee would be unfair.
'Our lecturers and students deserve better', writes Hogeschool Leiden in a letter to Minister Bussemaker of Education. Other universities of applied sciences do not simply accept the assessment of the review committee.
In 2012, colleges and universities concluded performance agreements with the then VVD State Secretary Halbe Zijlstra. Six universities of applied sciences have failed to fulfill part of their agreements, according to the review committee that supervises it. Too many of their students failed prematurely or were delayed in their studies.
Calculation error
Leiden argues that an outright calculation error was made with a teacher training college that was split off in the meantime: the students were included, but the diplomas were not. This makes study success seem even lower.
But more importantly, the committee took insufficient account of special circumstances.
The university of applied sciences grew very fast and the committee had no eye for the 'growing pains' that accompany it. The Randstad University of Applied Sciences also attracts many students from secondary vocational education and students from ethnic minorities, who simply have a hard time in higher education.
Also chairman of the board Ron Bormans of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences is disappointed of the insufficient and fears that 45 fewer teachers will be used for education. “The financial damage would not be so bad,” said the chairman of the committee in an interview with the Higher Education Press Office. I don't think so. 45 FTEs means that we can hire an extra teacher for 45 courses to supervise slow students, which is largely our real problem. ”
Disappointed
Inholland is also disappointed. The university of applied sciences is recovering from a deep crisis, with quarreling board members and a number of very weak study programmes. The committee saw that too, but it still gave an unsatisfactory. 'We ourselves believe that Inholland University of Applied Sciences could not have done more within the term of the performance agreements to achieve the stated ambitions in the area of study success,' wrote chairman Jet de Ranitz. on the website of the university college.
The final assessment of the committee came as a surprise to Vilentum Agrarian University of Applied Sciences. “We are not a bad university of applied sciences, it is a pity that the penny has just fallen in the wrong direction”, says president of the board Bastiaan Pellikaan. "We score enough on seven points, but not on one."
The Association of Universities of Applied Sciences wants to work with the minister talk. The six universities of applied sciences should not be punished, says chairman Thom de Graaf. "After all, they have made every effort and moreover did what the minister himself said: quality takes precedence over study success."
