Department of Higher Education

• Curriculum and course development
• Quality assessment and accreditation
• Staff development
• Educational technology

The department originated as a support unit for the university, but nowadays realizes an increasing number of projects for external clients (e.g. institutes for higher professional education). The work of the Department of Higher Education can be roughly divided into four sub-areas: curriculum and course development, quality assessment and accreditation, staff development and the didactic possibilities of educational technology (ICT in higher education).

Curriculum and course development

Now that the bachelor-master structure has been introduced, higher education in the Netherlands is undergoing considerable change. New national accreditation procedures have been developed, and these stimulate the discussion on the quality of the education programmes. Furthermore, competence-based education and active learning are important focal points for educational change. The Department of Higher Education advises on how educational programmes can be improved in order to meet the newly formulated quality standards. This involvement consists of curriculum development, course development and the development of student tests. Consultancy is provided both for project teams and faculties.

Quality assessment and accreditation

The department advises the University Board on the introduction of new quality assessment procedures; these have become necessary because of the Dutch Government’s new policy on accreditation. Within the faculties, the department is involved in various projects with the objective of supporting the implementation of the new assessment procedures.

As an element of quality assessment, the department is involved in various types of evaluation studies. Examples include:

• Collecting information on study motivation, student origin, previous education of first-year students.
• Evaluating the academic courses on a regular basis as part of the quality assessment programme.
• Evaluating the effect of a newly implemented curriculum or the effect of the introduction of educational technology into the teaching programmes.
• Evaluating the opinion of graduates after some years of work experience.
• Analysing the students’ results and study progress.

The results of such analyses often form the starting point for curriculum or course development so that education can be organised more efficiently and effectively. Finally, the department offers assistance with the design and processing of written and digital questionnaires and test and exam results.

Staff development

In the area of staff development, the department organises several short courses that aim at specific teaching skills, such as giving engaging lectures, applying the opportunities offered by virtual learning environments, supporting workgroups or supervising thesis writing. In addition to these training programmes, tailor-made courses are realized for the teams or individual teachers both inside and outside the university. The tailor-made courses often support innovation projects in education. For example, the workshop ‘How to prepare and support the application of projects in higher education’ and the workshop ‘How to apply principles of active learning (competence-oriented education) in modular education’. For teachers new to the profession, courses are also organised on elementary pedagogical skills. For experienced teachers there is a workshop on how to support PhD students. Finally, the individual coaching of teachers is becoming more popular.

Educational technology

The department supports the implementation of educational technology in higher education through training programmes and support in curriculum or course development projects. We also advise on implementation strategy and carry out university-wide projects e.g. online acculturation for foreign students planning to study in Leiden. Furthermore, the department is actively involved in the E-merge Consortium. Four institutes of higher education are co-operating in the consortium in the implementation of educational technology into higher education, for example, with regard to the use of the student portfolio, an online training on learning technology for university staff or e-coaching.

Please note:Not all information about ICLON activities is available in English, as most of our activities are carried out for Dutch target groups. If you have any questions concerning our work, please contact us.