Education Agenda 2023-2028
At VU Amsterdam, we work with an integral Education Agenda. This document provides a summary of all education plans as formulated in the Educational Vision, the VU Amsterdam Strategy 2020-2025, the Quality Plan 2.0, and the guidelines for undergraduate and graduate education.
The Education Agenda 2023-2028 (available in Dutch) sets out the four main objectives for education for the next five years. These main objectives build on those of previous editions and are a continuation of the direction taken earlier. We are working towards an innovative mindset, by which we mean that we are constantly looking to improve the quality of education. We continue to develop and improve ourselves.
The goals for 2023-2028 are:
- Strengthening and renewing our educational profile and portfolio
- Increase student success and student well-being
- Strengthen teacher development and teacher welfare
- Optimise teaching facilities and integral support
For questions, please contact Isabella van Ophem (Education Programme Manager).
Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance (ITK)
The Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance (ITK in Dutch) is a periodic external and independent assessment of an institution's internal quality assurance system. This assessment establishes that the internal quality assurance system in conjunction with the quality culture ensures that the institution's own vision of good education is realised.
The assessment is carried out on the basis of peer review. This is a peer review by a panel of independent experts. VU Amsterdam has prepared a so-called Self-Evaluation Report (ZER in Dutch) in preparation for the visit (only available in Dutch).
This external committee assesses whether the university has an effective system to ensure educational quality. For more information on the Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance (ITK), see the NVAO website.
Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance panel visit result
VU Amsterdam passes Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance
On 10 June 2020, the NVAO decided that VU Amsterdam has passed the Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance (ITK). In its advisory report, the panel chaired by Janke Cohen-Schotanus found that the internal quality assurance system in conjunction with the quality culture ensures that the university's own vision of good education is realised.
The panel found that VU Amsterdam has a clear, ambitious vision of education and educational quality that fits its identity and enjoys broad support among students, staff and external stakeholders. The VU has made a large number of positive changes in recent years. Based on the educational vision, the institutional plan, the educational agenda and the annual plans of the faculties and departments, VU has visibly put a lot of energy into the quality processes within the institution in recent years. The efforts to improve quality assurance have resulted in a solid quality culture with a strong focus on implementing improvements.
We are proud of the fine report and take the panel's recommendations to heart. We will work on key recommendations in the coming years:
- Improve the translation of the educational vision into educational practice by clearly formulating at central level what VU Amsterdam wants to achieve by integrating the core values and design principles into education
- Investigate what the most optimal balance is between which evaluation and measuring instruments are really needed for an effective quality assurance system and which instruments can be dropped
- In the area of innovation, provide more central guidance to better streamline developments within our university.
Institutional Audit of Quality Assurance, 31 March 2020 (only available in Dutch)
NVAO Netherlands
Advisory report VU Amsterdam
Final decision to grant positive asessment, 10 June 2020 (only available in Dutch)