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
Privacy Policy