NVAO - International Policy

International Policy

The treaty signed by the Dutch and Flemish governments by which NVAO was set up explicitly refers to the international dimension of NVAO’s activities. In the explanatory note the importance is underlined of international transparency and independent quality assurance. The ministers therefore stated that "a well functioning and internationally recognised accreditation system is a prerequisite to advance international comparability in higher education". The choice for co-operation between the Netherlands and Flanders fits in with this international perspective.

Hence, from the outset, NVAO was assigned the task of playing an important role in internationalization. In order adequately to fulfil this international role, NVAO formulated five objectives that outline its international policy. These objectives are:

1. Active membership of international networks in accreditation and quality assurance (INQAAHE, ENQA, ECA);
2. Promoting the Dutch and Flemish accreditation system and Dutch and Flemish higher education systems in order to strengthen the international position of Dutch and Flemish higher education;
3. Mutual recognition of accreditation decisions;
4. Promoting a European Higher Education Area in which degrees from accredited programmes are automatically recognised;
5. Pro-actively following up on international developments in quality assurance and higher education.