The inspection system for the quality of higher education costs too much time and does not improve education, according to research carried out by Leiden university.

A new system of accreditation was introduced in 2011 aimed at cutting the time taken for inspections. Under this system, set up by the higher education accreditation agency NVAO, universities judged to be of high quality would have their individual courses inspected less intensively. This would save time which in turn would give more time for teaching, so improving education.

But Leiden university’s research shows that inspections remain an enormous burden for teaching staff, the NRC reports.

Report

The university will present a report this week showing the new accreditation system does not work. This is in contrast to an earlier report by the NVAO, the schools inspectorate and the national auditor which says the system functions well.

‘That report is based on research carried out among university management, with little attention paid to teaching staff,’ Leiden’s vice rector Simone Buitendijk told the NRC.

‘We have spoken widely with teaching staff because they know better than anyone what an inspection involves,’ she said.

According to Buitendijk, teachers are still losing too much time on inspections.