Accreditation ensures that higher education meets independent national (and European) quality standards. Thanks to this accreditation the legal recognition of the academic degree is guaranteed, are students eligible for student finance and are institutions retaining their right to public funding.

The assessment framework for accreditation of a programme is built on four standards:

1. Intended learning outcomes. The intended learning outcomes tie in with the level and orientation of the programme; they are geared to the expectations of the professional field, the discipline, and international requirements.
2. Teaching and learning environment. The curriculum, the teaching-learning environment and the quality of the teaching staff enable the incoming students to achieve the intended learning outcomes.
3. Assessment. The programme has an adequate system of student assessment in place.
4. Achieved learning outcomes. The programme demonstrates that the intended learning outcomes are achieved.

In practice, accreditation asks whether a programme is well designed, whether students are taught and assessed appropriately, and whether graduates achieve the intended level. At the institutional level, external review examines whether the university’s internal quality assurance system, in conjunction with the quality culture, safeguards that the institution gives practical shape to its own vision of good education, and consistently works to develop and improve.

At WU, accreditation is not seen only as a formal requirement. It is also a structured opportunity to reflect on educational quality, highlight strengths, and identify where improvement is needed.

At programme level, external quality assurance applies to:

• existing programmes that are periodically assessed (every six years) within the Dutch accreditation system
• new programmes that WU wants to start

Existing programmes are also externally reviewed within the Dutch accreditation system. These assessments focus on whether the programme continues to meet the required quality standards and whether accreditation can be maintained. For existing programmes in the Netherlands, accreditation is periodically determined by the NVAO.

Key elements include:

• A self-evaluation report or existing document that tells the story of the programme: what works, what has changed, and how quality is continuously improved
• An external panel reviews the report and other documents and visits the programme. They have interviews with the management of the programme, teaching staff, examining boards and study advisor(s) and students and alumni to assess the quality regarding the four standards.
• The external panel writes a report about their findings and recommendations and deliver their advice on retention of the accreditation.
• The NVAO takes the final decision (positive/conditionally positive/ negative)

This process is not only about accountability. It is also intended to support development, reflection, and learning.

When WU wants to launch a new degree programme, two procedures are relevant:

For a funded new programme, WU must apply for a macro-efficiency assessment. In this procedure, the CDHO advises the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) on whether the proposed programme fits within the Dutch higher education landscape and whether there is sufficient need for it.

In addition to programme-level procedures, WU is reviewed at the institutional level through an institutional audit. This is a periodic (once per 6 years), external, and independent assessment of the university’s internal quality assurance. According to NVAO, internal quality assurance includes both the quality culture and the quality assurance system of the institution.

The institutional audit examines whether WU, in light of its own educational vision, has an internal system that adequately safeguards the quality of education and supports continuous improvement. In other words, it looks beyond individual programmes and asks how the institution as a whole organises, monitors, supports, and enhances educational quality.

Accreditation is one part of a wider quality assurance approach. At WU, educational quality is monitored and improved continuously through different PDCA cycles (Plan - Do - Check - Act) on three levels:

1. Course level. Courses are evaluated and adjusted through course evaluations, peer reviews, reflection by teaching teams, and annual improvements.
2. Programme level. Programme directors, programme committees and Examining Boards, monitor programme coherence, results, and improvement actions via programme evaluations and reviews.
3. Institutional level. Governance and support structures help ensure that educational quality is monitored systematically and aligned with WU’s educational vision i.e., via: the Board of Education, Dean of Education, and the Executive Board and participatory bodies.

External accreditation and the institutional audit connect to this broader internal cycle. They provide an independent external perspective on how well the internal quality system is functioning and how WU demonstrates educational quality.

• In the Netherlands, higher education quality is assured within a legal and external quality assurance framework based on the WHW and coordinated through the NVAO.
• At WU, external quality assurance takes place at two levels: programme level and institutional level.
• Existing programmes are externally assessed every six years to determine whether accreditation is maintained.
• New programmes must go through a macrodoelmatigheidstoets and a Assessment of New Programmes (TNO) to get accredited and funded.
• The institutional audit examines whether WU’s internal quality assurance and quality culture effectively safeguard educational quality.
• Accreditation is not separate from everyday practice: it is part of WU’s broader PDCA quality cycle and continuous improvement approach.