Literature & commentary
Vereniging Hogescholen
The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences represents the 36 government-funded universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. It advances the sector's interests with government and parliament, concludes the sector's collective labour agreement, and publishes position papers, annual plans, annual reports, programme profiles and the sectoral advice produced by its sectoral advisory boards. It also maintains the Facts and Figures knowledge base, with dashboards on enrolment, registrations and degrees, study success and drop-out, staff, and graduate labour-market outcomes.
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What this source does not give you
This is an interest group: position papers are the sector's stance in a political debate, not neutral analysis and certainly not regulation. Legislation on higher education comes from the legislator and the minister, quality judgements come from the accreditation organisation NVAO, and the association speaks only for the government-funded institutions — private providers fall outside both its figures and its mandate.
Frequently asked questions
- What can I use this source for in a case file?
- Mainly for sector context and figures. The Facts and Figures knowledge base offers dashboards on enrolment, registrations and degrees, study success and drop-out, staff, and graduate labour-market outcomes through the HBO Monitor. The annual plans, annual reports and position papers are useful for establishing what stance the sector took at a given moment — relevant background in governance, funding or participation questions. For the norm itself you look to higher education legislation.
- Is the higher education collective labour agreement available here?
- Yes. The association is the employers' party to the sector's collective labour agreement and publishes the agreement and related documents on its site. That is a relevant source in employment matters at universities of applied sciences, with two caveats: a collective agreement operates alongside and within statutory employment law, and the text on the site is the sector's publication — in a dispute what counts is the version applicable to the period concerned, including any extension order and interim amendments.
- Does the association speak for all universities of applied sciences?
- For the 36 government-funded institutions. Private, non-funded providers of higher professional education are not members and fall outside both the positions and the figures in the knowledge base. Anyone needing a market picture or a complete sector comparison is therefore missing part of the field with this source. The board comprises eight people including the chair; positions adopted there are an association position, not the sum of individual institutions' views.
- How often is the information updated?
- News items and position papers appear continuously, each with a clearly visible date. The figures in the knowledge base follow the academic-year cycle: enrolment and degree data become available in fixed annual rounds and therefore, by definition, lag the current academic year. The annual plan and annual report appear per calendar year and remain online for several years, which also makes it possible to point to a shift in position over time.