Dutch universities plan to take matters into their own hands to curb internationalisation in higher education, offering an alternative to the government’s current bill.
They are unhappy with the administrative and organisational strain that the government’s current approach places on universities.
Instead, universities believe they themselves can stem the international influx in a “faster, better and more targeted” way, NU.nl reports.
Which courses must be in Dutch?
There are three key measures that universities are taking to strengthen the Dutch reputation in higher education:
- Psychology programmes in the Randstad must all be taught in Dutch.
- A maximum student limit will be set for economic programmes.
- Improving Dutch language proficiency among international students and staff is a priority.
We can expect to see these changes take effect as soon as the next academic year. This is truly assimilation time, students.
Opposing the government
There is a condition to the universities’ changes: the government must adjust their bill on internationalisation.
That’s mainly due to the regulations surrounding the Test for Other-Language Education (TAO), which determines which higher education programmes can also be taught in a language other than Dutch.
The test is currently applied to both existing and new programmes.
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This means a lot of work for universities: the umbrella organisation Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) calls the method “far too rigorous” and claims that it “places a heavy administrative burden on universities without contributing to the quality or accessibility of education.”
Instead, universities request that the test only be applied to new programmes, not existing ones, due to the logistical and administrative burden this causes.
What do you think of the new efforts to keep international students out? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
