Portability of financial student support all over the world

Background

The Netherlands has made its financial student support portable, which means that students can participate in programs all over the world with financial support.

It shows how to organize portability of national student support safely (prevention of misuse by persons who aren’t meant to benefit of it).
The organisation of the quality assurance of the study programs abroad, students want to attend.

The enhancement of the number of students which are studying abroad was one main goal. The Netherlands has far more foreign students studying inside than nationals studying abroad. Increasing student mobility and the level of internationalization in the higher education sector has been a goal of the Bologna Process from the beginning and The Netherlands started with plans to make student support portable even before that time. According to that The Netherlands are highly active in the Bologna Process especially in the field of higher mobility through portability of grants and loans. The Netherlands did change its law on student support with the presumption that other countries will change their rules on student support in a similar manner.

Aims and targets

Increasing mobility of students in the higher education sector;
Facilitating the freedom of choice of individual students;
Fulfilling the Bologna Goals;
Taking the first step towards a development of a more international and flexible higher education system in Europe, so that other countries can follow the Dutch example.

Strategy and actions

It was important to emphasize the great public support to make student support portable. Both in organization of students and in most political parties. Communicate with the higher education institutions, because more Dutch students will study abroad. The consequence is: fewer students in Dutch higher education facilities. Important was to tell that the change in The Netherlands is not expected to be single case in Europe. When other countries which are participating in the Bologna Process follow the Dutch example more foreign students will come in return for the leaving Dutch students. Background: Parallel approach in Bologna Process. Striving for cooperation with other countries in order to successfully implement the respective national support systems. Important is a big base of students which is willing to follow a whole study program abroad. Close cooperation with the agency that operates the support schemes (IB-Groep) and Nuffic (the Dutch ENIC-NARIC).

Monitoring and evaluation

The IB-Groep gives the Dutch Ministry of Education regularly updates on the numbers of students which apply for student support abroad. Besides this, a study is planned which is going to evaluate the level of internationalization in higher education institutions in The Netherlands.

Note: there is a lack of international valid data on mobility. Hopefully Eurydice will provide these in the future.

Funding/Cost effectiveness

Sustainability/Transferability

Outcomes/impacts

Achievements

Access: Access to programmes abroad widened
Mobility: The number of students which applied for portable Dutch student support for the first time, doubled compared to a year ago. Realised numbers in 2007/2008: 5500

Success factors

Great public support to make student support portable

Unintended impacts

Spin off to secondary vocational education. In the future there will be an extension of portability of grants and loans to this sector. Because the need of portable grants and loans is modest, the geographical area will be more restricted than in higher education.

Strengths and weaknesses

The challenge was ‘how to fit the world into your own student support system or vice versa’. For example: Dutch students can take their ‘Dutch’ support abroad (in terms of amount, number of years, performance). That doesn’t always fit the costs and number of study years in the host countries. One solution found is that students are able to get a flexible loan for their study costs that varies with the study costs in the host country.

Another question was: how to make the system compatible with the law of the European Union without unbearable risks. So the arrangement is based on a thorough analysis of (the current state of) the law of the European Union. Future cases at the European Court are monitored carefully.