Photo: Marte Hofsteenge The investment plans had already been announced but still had to be evaluated by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). An accreditation panel visited the university on Thursday 7 November for this purpose. That panel has now given its approval. The NVAO’s recommendations are usually adopted.
The loan system money is money that became available due to the abolition of the basic grant. It is being shared among the universities and has to be invested in teaching quality. Students, staff and the university board decide jointly what the money should be spent on. The accreditation panel concluded that this process was conducted properly in Wageningen and that the investment plan aims are realistic.
Over half the money will be invested in small-group teaching, by taking on additional staff. One sixth will go on support and professional development for teachers. A further sixth will be spent on educational differentiation — for example, skills teaching and student challenges. One tenth will be for additional study advisers and student psychologists. The rest will be spent on teaching facilities such as MyWorkspace for students and other software licences.
Over half the money will be invested in small-group teaching
The accreditation panel was impressed with the dashboard that is used to monitor progress in the teaching quality investments. Policy officer Eva Verschoor: ‘It lets you see exactly how many of the measures have been implemented in each quality theme and how much of the budget has been used.’ The dashboard is due to be published online soon.