01 - Netherlands - Historical overview
Higher professional education
Higher professional education was brought under the Secondary Education Act (WVO) in 1968. A
sharp rise in student numbers followed. From 1986 to 1993 higher professional education hoger
beroepsonderwijs came under a separate Act, the Higher Professional Education Act (WHBO).
Since 1993 it has been governed by the Higher Education and Research Act (WHW).
University education
The second half of the twentieth century has seen a massive growth in university education in the
Netherlands. University education had traditionally been confined to only a small group, but in the
Fifties the universities began gradually to expand. Government increased its spending on education
and, between 1960 and 1975 in particular, the universities grew by leaps and bounds. The expansion
of the student finance system helped to make a university education attainable for a much larger group
of students. Since 1993, university education has been governed by the Higher Education and
Research Act (WHW).
Higher distance education
In 1984, the Open University of the Netherlands was established in order to offer adults a means of
pursuing higher education without admission requirements and at their own pace, through distance
education .The Open University Act (WOU) of 1985 gave the Open University of the
Netherlands its own statutory framework. In 1993, however, it was brought under the Higher Education
and Research Act. The Open University may offer both HBO and university courses.
Higher education and the EU: the Bologna Process
In 1999, the European Union ministers of education signed the Bologna Declaration. The Bologna
Process was set up with a view to harmonising national education systems in the Member States and
creating a single European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010. Basically, higher education in all
the countries is to consist of two cycles of study: undergraduate (bachelor) and postgraduate (master).
All the Member States are committed to making their higher education degrees compatible. However,
despite efforts towards harmonisation, it is still necessary to have foreign degrees evaluated. In the
Netherlands, the Bologna Process has led to the introduction of the bachelor-master system, the accreditation system and the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
The Bologna ministerial meeting is held every two years. The next ministerial meeting will be held in
Leuven in 2009.
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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