The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) concluded that students have not started school faster or slower since the introduction of the loan system in 2015, after conducting research on student years for hundreds of thousands of young people. HBO and WO alumni are also changing programs as before.
The Netherlands Statistics Office says that relatively fewer students have made the transition from a bachelor’s program to a master’s program. For example, in 2014, a year before the loan system was introduced, 85 percent of students started a master’s degree after earning a bachelor’s degree. In 2018, that decreased to 70%.
Of these, students from less wealthy families often complete a master’s degree in one year than students from wealthier backgrounds. The Netherlands Statistics Authority suspects that students from the first group may be pressured to complete their study program within the officially specified time.
The loan system
The college and university student loan system was introduced in 2015 as an alternative to the core scholarship. HBO and WO students can borrow an amount from the government each month and must pay off their accumulated debts within 35 years. Students from less wealthy families can still receive an additional scholarship.
At the end of last year, it turns out that about 70 percent of higher education students are borrowing money to study. In 2019, this averages 700 euros per month.
