The campus. Photo: Spread the WURd Nine WUR-programmes were awarded the predicate ‘top study’, down from fifteen last year. WUR’s total score is down by one point from 74 to 73. Second to WUR is Twente University (68.6) followed by the Open University (67) in third place. Radboud University Nijmegen scores highest among the classical universities with 63.5 points.
Like last year, Wageningen Plant Sciences was rated best Bachelor in the Netherlands with 95 points, followed by Archeology in Groningen (93). The other top studies in Wageningen are Biology (86), Molecular Life Sciences(86), Agro-Technology (80), Business and Consumer Sciences (78), Forest and Nature Management (78), Food Technology (78), International Land and Water Management (75) and Soil, Water and Atmosphere (75).
New method
The Guide to Higher Education 2021 was created differently than usual. Due to the corona pandemic, the National Student Survey (Dutch acronym NSE) was cancelled. The NSE is an annual survey in which almost all students in higher education are asked to give their opinion on all aspects of their education. Last year’s assessments were used for this year’s guide, which results in a ranking that is largely similar to that of last year. The differences in the guide result from the fact that the so-called expert-opinions of the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (Dutch acronym NVAO) were not included in this year’s edition. Moreover, student success, measured by the number of students that enrol for a two-year trajectory and how many graduate without delay, carries more weight
Dean of education Arnold Bregt is content. ‘We have seen an increase in student numbers. With nine out of nineteen programmes qualified as top study, we are doing well. Particularly if you take into account that the guide employs a different method.’ Bregt expects the lower number of top-studies to be the result of excluding the expert opinions of the NVAO. ‘We had many programmes that were labelled “good”. That is now no longer included in the score, which shows immediate effect. The measuring instrument you use determines what you see.’
List of the Wageningen bachelors
| Plan Sciences | 95 |
| Biology | 86 |
| Molecular Life Sciences | 86 |
| Agro-Technology | 80 |
| Business and Consumer Sciences | 78 |
| Forest and Nature Management | 78 |
| Food Technology | 78 |
| International Land and Water Management | 75 |
| Soil, Water and Atmosphere | 75 |
| International Development Studies | 74 |
| Health and Society | 73 |
| Environmental Sciences | 73 |
| Biotechnology | 73 |
| Animal Sciences | 73 |
| Nutrition and Health | 69 |
| Communication and Life Sciences | 69 |
| Economy and Governance | 64 |
| Tourism (joint degree) | 63 |
| Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning | 62 |