Trends in Student Population and in Curricula Design for the Netherlands Open University

Abstract

European countries intend to move towards one European Area of Higher Education. This so-called Bologna Process aims at comparable, compatible and coherent systems for higher education. In practice this means harmonization of course credits, program degrees, and program accreditation. In order to come in line with the Bologna Process all these elements needed to be changed in the Netherlands. In the last decades this had a great impact on the number of institutes, the content of the programs, and the composition of the student population for lifelong professional learning. Open University in the Netherlands felt that, due to a combination of changes in the student population and declining student numbers, the own policy towards the deliverance of distance education needed to be changed. A new teaching model will have to be developed in order to get lower dropout, higher persistence and higher graduation rates. This model will have to embrace relevance, actuality, commitment, challenge and interaction as leading design principles. With the implementation of this model the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs are to become more structured and more professionally relevant.