NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

The discipline of theology is not only taught by the Faculty of Theology at six of the 13 regular universities, but also at five
theological universities. These can be divided according to denomination. They consist of one faculty where propedeuse and
doctoraal programmes (see I.3) in theology are offered, leading to diplomas which are legally recognised as equivalent to
those of regular universities.
The admission requirement is the VWO diploma (see II.1.2). If this does not include Greek and/or Latin, an admission
examination must be passed in these subjects.
The length of the propedeuse is one year while that of the doctoraal programme is five years. Unlike that at regular
universities, the doctoraal programme at theological universities includes all the professional and ecclesiastical subjects; this
explains the longer course length. Some theological universities also offer ecclesiastical professional courses, for example, in
order to become a pastoral assistant.
Other educational institutions
Besides the institutions offering higher education described above, there are many institutions offering different types of
higher education which fall under other legislation:
international education institutes (internationaal onderwijs, IO), designed to offer advanced training courses to men and
women from developing countries;
institutions offering courses which do not fall under the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science;
a great many private education institutions, which are recognised by the recognised educational
institutions act of 1986 (wet op de erkende onderwijsinstellingen). These institutions may offer
programmes that lead to examinations that are supervised by the ministries having jurisdiction over the
fields involved. These examinations cover a broad range of professional, vocational and academic
competencies, some of which are at the higher education level.
These types of educational institutions will be described in Section III.
Coordinating organisations
The recognised institutions of higher education have set up coordinating organisations which consult with the government on
behalf of the institutions. There is an HBO-Raad (Association of Dutch Polytechnics and Colleges) and a Vereniging van
samenwerkende Nederlandse universiteiten, VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands).
The aim of the HBO-Raad is to promote the development of higher professional education. It negotiates with the government
on behalf of the hogescholen. The VSNU’s most important aim is to promote consultation and cooperation among the
universities in order to form a common vision of the future development of academic education and research. The VSNU
negotiates with the government on matters which affect all
universities.
I.2. Number of students
In 1992 the total number of full-time students registered at universities and hogescholen was 422152. Approximately 2% of
them were
foreign nationals, nearly half of whom came from EC Member States.
Foreign students
Total number of foreign students: 7586
Total number from European States: 3864
Of the students from European States, 2257 studied at universities and 1607 studied at hogescholen.