The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam, HvA) has asked an independent commission to launch an inquiry into degree fraud.

The probe has been ordered in response to media reports that since 2002 the institution has awarded thousands of unlawful degrees, HvA President Jet Bussemaker said.

Ms Bussemaker stressed that the university had found no indications of fraudulent degrees but wanted an independent commission to conduct a thorough investigation in order to allay any possible concerns.

Prior probes carried out by the university did not find any evidence of fraud, an HvA spokesperson said in a statement. Nor had the HvA received any reports of wrongdoing from its faculty or students, the statement added.

The teaching staff of the Economics and Management departments have voiced grave concern regarding the quality of its programmes. The HvA administration says it has since taken measures to improve its educational standards.

The National Union of Students (LSVb) and the Amsterdam Student Union (ASVA) are both calling for an inquiry so as to address concerns students have expressed regarding the quality of their degrees. Student organisation ISO, however, has dismissed the allegations as ludicrous. In a statement, the organisation says it sees no reasons to suspect that anyone has ever received an unlawful degree.

Last year, a scandal at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences revealed that students who had failed to complete their studies within the prescribed timeframe had been given simplified tests and tasks so they could be given their degree.

Universities receive substantial amounts of government funding for each student who earns her or his degree. As a result of a significant drop in matriculations, the Inholland University of Applied Sciences is going to axe hundreds of posts in the coming years.

(cl/tt)

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