NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

I.3. Organisation of courses of study
The university academic year runs from 1 September to 31 August and the academic year in HBO runs from 1 August to 31
July. The open university academic year, like that in universities, runs from 1 September to 31 August. However, due to the
unique character of the OU, students can register at any time during the year for the course or courses they wish to take at that
particular moment.
Teaching, including periods of practical training and examination periods, takes up 42 weeks per year; there are holidays at
Christmas, New Year, Easter and in the summer.
Since the implementation of the new higher education and research act (WHW), study programmes which began in the autumn
of 1993 at both universities and hogescholen have shared a similar structure. The law has provided for a four-year adaptation
period (until 1997) to allow institutions and students to complete programmes of study begun before 1993. Under the WHW,
institutions have been given even more freedom to determine the content and educational objective of each study programme
offered. The result is that no two programmes in the same field offered by two different institutions need to be exactly alike.
Hoger beroepsonderwijs, HBO (higher professional education)
The purpose of HBO as defined by the WHW is to offer theoretical instruction and to develop the skills required for practical
application in a particular profession. The focus is on one specific professional field, and practical experience is an important
part of the training.
The disciplines within HBO are divided into the following seven sectors:
hoger pedagogisch onderwijs, HPO (education);
hoger agrarisch onderwijs, HAO (agriculture and natural environment);
hoger technisch en natuurwetenschappelijk onderwijs, HTO (engineering and technology);
hoger gezondheidszorgonderwijs, HGO (health care);
hoger economisch onderwijs, HEO (economics);
hoger sociaal-agogisch onderwijs, HSAO (social studies);
hoger kunstonderwijs, KUO (fine and performing arts).
HBO programmes
HBO studies are four years in length, and the study load is quantified by means of a system of studiepunten (credits). One
credit represents one week of full-time study, i.e. 40 hours. As the academic year consists of 42 weeks, one year of full-time
study is worth 42 credits. An entire HBO programme consists of 168 credits and is concluded with a final examination. Upon
completion of all requirements, graduates are awarded the HBO degree known in Dutch as the getuigschrift hoger
beroepsonderwijs. Since the implementation of the WHW, the diploma is officially referred to as the getuigschrift van het
afsluitend examen. Both terms, getuigschrift hoger beroepsonderwijs and getuigschrift van het afsluitend examen, are,
however, in use.
The first year of HBO study programmes is an orientation year comprising 42 credits, and is referred to as the propedeuse.
The propedeuse is in most cases concluded with an examination (propedeutisch examen). There is often a common
propedeuse year for study programmes in related fields, at the end of which students branch off into individual
specialisations.
In the second and third years the student receives a more advanced level of theoretical instruction, and, typically during the
third year, completes a period of practical training (stage) of up to one year. This period of practical training is usually spent
in business, industry or government.