International student mobility: European, Dutch and institutional policies

Dutch policies for international student mobility have been stimulated by the Erasmus programme. But to what extent does the Dutch policy correspond to European mobility policies? This was one of the questions posed during the conference sessions.

EU and Dutch policy convergence?

A recent study of EU and national policy documents undertaken by ACA, Nuffic and DAAD, revealed both similarities and differences between European and Dutch mobility policies. At EU level, international student mobility is considered to be positive (the more, the better). Dutch policy documents also treat mobility as positive, but equally look at the negative consequences of mobility (such as an imbalance in incoming nationalities at certain institutions and between incoming and outgoing student mobility). EU and Dutch policy documents prioritise the same kinds of mobility: outgoing credit mobility (at bachelor’s level) and incoming diploma mobility (at master’s and PhD levels).

Logical targets?

The Dutch education ministry appears to be setting two different targets for outgoing student mobility. Under the first target, 25% of the total Dutch student population is to study abroad or do an internship abroad in 2013. The education ministry has also committed to the Bologna goal, which states that in 2020, 20% of all graduates should have studied or done an internship abroad. Yet there is not much logic to the order of these two targets, since the 2013 target is more ambitious and will likely be harder to achieve than the 2020 target.

Influence at the institutional level

Another issue concerns to what extent European and Dutch policies are influencing the international student mobility policies of higher education institutions. Monique Swennenhuis, international marketing policy advisor at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, discussed this question from an institutional perspective.

Swennenhuis indicated that EU mobility policy, particularly in the form of the Socrates, Erasmus and Leonardo programmes, formed an important stimulus for the development of further student and staff mobility to and from regions outside Europe. These EU funding programmes have facilitated student mobility in terms of both funding contributions and making arrangements with the host institution. The EU programmes have also strengthened the institutional ambitions in terms of developing further mobility policies.

Dutch regulations offer students the opportunity to take their public study grants abroad – under certain conditions – thereby (in principle) facilitating study abroad. At the same time, Dutch policy also inhibits international student mobility. Shrinking public study grants are making it more difficult for students to study abroad. The € 3,000 tuition fee raise for students who have already taken one additional year to complete their studies is making them reluctant to also study abroad. According to Swennenhuis, higher education institutions have to take their own responsibility to ensure that course credits obtained abroad are recognised at home. A last hindrance are the national standards that are part of professional frameworks; these standards result in full curricula in programmes such as nursing and physiotherapy, making it difficult for students in these fields to study abroad for any period of time.

So despite European and national measures to increase international student mobility, there are still some obstacles to overcome.

Erasmus for All

The proposed Erasmus for All programme will likely expand Erasmus mobility to non-European countries and include intra-European diploma mobility and mobility at master’s level. This may lead to more complex forms of mobility, making it increasingly important to distinguish more clearly between different types of mobility at EU and national (and perhaps institutional) policy levels, and perhaps to formulate policy targets for different mobility types, as our recent study suggests. Ideally, this would form part of a more systematic policy approach to improve international student mobility.