Inspectorate: Universities must track social safety, 4% report inappropriate behavior

The Education Inspectorate called on research universities and applied sciences universities to keep a continuous eye on social safety, both in their own institution and together in the entire higher education sector. There is as yet no national system to monitor safety in higher education.

According to research by the Inspectorate, students currently experience universities and colleges as safe. But 4 percent of the 1,500 people surveyed reported experiencing transgressive behavior during their studies. If this percentage is translated to all students in higher education, it will come down to more than 30,000 students, the Inspectorate estimated. 

Half of the students who experienced transgressive behavior reported that it came from staff at their educational institution. Of the students who reported unacceptable behavior on the survey, most discussed it with someone inside or outside the institution. A quarter discussed the incident with the institution's confidential adviser. A few filed a police report. A quarter did nothing. 

It is the first time that some figures are available on social safety in higher education in the Netherlands. There was not much enthusiasm for the Inspectorate's questionnaire. Only 15 percent of those approached completed the survey. The researchers also cannot say whether the coronavirus measures might distort the figures.