Humanities taking action on assessment results
Two of the 38 scrutinised programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University have been assessed as unsatisfactory by NVAO. The Faculty is already working on improvement plans. Graduates of Humanities have no reason to be concerned about their diplomas; these are and will remain fully recognised.
Two of the 38 scrutinised programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University have been assessed as unsatisfactory by NVAO. The Faculty is already working on improvement plans. Graduates of Humanities have no reason to be concerned about their diplomas; these are and will remain fully recognised.
A large number of the degree programmes in the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University have been visited and evaluated by audit panels. The NVAO’s accreditation decisions were announced on 24 June. They have evaluated 36 programmes as being ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’. Three programmes were assessed as unsatisfactory on one or two components: the Bachelor’s programmes in History and English Language and Culture and the Master’s programme in African Studies. The faculty has taken action to improve these programmes. In our view, even a single unsatisfactory is one too many.
Improvement tracks
Within each of the three programmes a project group has been set up that is tasked with translating the recommendations of the audit panel into improvement measures. Additionally, the improvement plans for History and English Language and Culture have since been approved by NVAO. These programmes now have two years to implement the required improvements. The improvement plan for African Studies will be submitted to NVAO by 1 September. A number of improvements have already been initiated, including: better supervision for writing final projects, the introduction of a standardised evaluation form and a compulsory master’s thesis seminar. Students in the programmes concerned will be informed about the changes in good time.
Diplomas
The accreditation decision has no consequences for diplomas that have already been awarded. These diplomas are and will remain fully recognised. The Bachelor’s programmes in History and in English Language and Culture are currently also accredited as normal. NVAO has expressed its confidence that, with the proposed improvement plans, these programmes will achieve the required level within the time specified.
New accreditation system
A new accreditation system was introduced in 2011. The Dutch–Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO) can now assess programmes as unsatisfactory, in which case they can grant the programme a recovery period to address problems. Since that time, degree programmes have been regularly evaluated as unsatisfactory on some components. Within higher education, there are currently 57 degree programmes that are on an improvement track for this reason. The Faculty Board is fully confident that the recommendations of the audit panel will be translated into structural improvements while the programme is on the recovery track.