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Dutch Student Union Warns Universities Too Picky About Master's Students

(Original article: http://www.wittenborg.eu/study-master-netherlands.htm )

Dutch National Student Union, LSVb, has warned Dutch universities have become too picky in admitting students to their master's programmes. The union has subsequently written to the Education Minister, Jet Bussemaker, and the Dutch universities’ association, VSNU.

Many universities have strict requirements. For example, the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), has in recent months announced that even internal students with a bachelor's degree from RSM or from Erasmus University Rotterdam will need a weighted Grade Point Average (GPA) of 7.0 or higher to be eligible for any of its master programmes.

In contrast, bachelor students who graduated from Witttenborg University automatically qualify for admission to one of its 4 Master of Science degrees related to their studies. Wittenborg’s Chair of the Executive Board, Peter Birdsall, said: “We don’t feel the English Language Testing System (IELTS) requirement is sufficient, which is why we offer free English lessons at Wittenborg for those students who need additional support. For entry into Wittenborg's MSc programmes or its MBA programme students need an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with at least a 6 in the writing component of the test.

Meanwhile, Dutch News reports Bussemaker has pledged to intervene if it transpires that students are finding it hard to get a place to take a master's degree or that selection has had a negative impact on the quality of education. It is considered standard that all Dutch students go on to obtain a master's degree. By contrast, in Britain only around 25% of students (including foreign nationals) take a post-graduate qualification.

Besides Rotterdam, students from the Vrije Universiteit wishing to do a master's in Political Science also need to attain a 7 in their bachelor studies. Additionally, students are required to write a letter of motivation and prove their proficiency in English. The same goes for political science students at Leiden University. Other institutes of higher education in the Netherlands are reportedly considering the same policy.

Source: Dutch News

WUP 23/1/2016

by James Wittenborg

©WUAS Press