DutchNews.nl - University students slower than college-goers

Students at hbo colleges take an average of four months more than the allotted time to complete their degrees while university students take an extra 19 months on average, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS.

Hbo college students get four years to complete their primary degree course, while university students are supposed to finish their first degree in three years and then take a masters programme.

The CBS said the difference may lie in the more structured approach at hbo colleges and the fact most students still live at home.

Basic technology and civil engineering degrees take longest at university - five years and four months on average. Hbo students taking languages and liberal arts subjects take longest to finish their degrees.

Hbo colleges, which call themselves universities of applied science in English, traditionally offer more vocational courses than universities.

What an interesting observation....The more difficult the study, the longer it takes to complete. Who ever would have guessed!

By jaycee | March 29, 2010 4:34 PM

It's not a question of difficulty but of motivation. I know that hogeschoolen have a reputation for being easier, but that is a misconception. Sure, some hbo courses are very easy, but so are some university courses. I mean, after all, this is Holland, and most education is pretty easy anyway. But I know many people in education and I can say that there are plenty of hogeschool programs that are much harder than university. (In the spirit of full disclosure I admit that I studied and taught at Leiden, and now teach at the hogeschool.) Remember that the real difference between hogeschool and university is nothing more than the social class of the student! Some of these rich types at Leiden are extremely lazy and just coast through school, getting the extra "Master's" degree at the end (not a true Master's since it is just extra bachelor-level courses). Whereas many of the hbo students come from refugee families or broken homes or poorly educated parents, and bring themselves up from nothing to a fully-functioning member of society. The fact that they do it in less time than the uni students is not a reflection of the difficulty of the study but of the ambition of the students to make something of themselves.

I should add that the fact that Holland persists in making the uni/hogeschool distinction is really a morally offensive policy. They should just say that they are all "universities" with varying quality of course and programs - just like every other developed country does.

By Matt | April 7, 2010 5:34 PM