The case for associate degrees in Curaçao

Abstract

The Dutch utilitarian education structure has undergone multiple paradoxical changes. In the past, paradoxes resulted in the current binary system of higher education in the Netherlands, drawing a rigid distinction between degrees awarded by the research university (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (WO)) and those awarded by the professional education university (Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs (HBO)). As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Caribbean island of Curaçao has founded its system of education based on the European Dutch system of higher education (Fig. 15.1&15.2), yet through the years opted for a more progressive reform by adopting a comprehensive model of higher education that integrates both the applied bachelor's/master's degrees (HBO) and the more scientific bachelor's/master's (WO) into a single institution of higher learning (Fig. 15.2). At the current crossroad, attrition in the bachelor-degree-granting institutions in the Netherlands and in Curaçao has made the American model of academic associate degrees a possible alternative for adoption. However, the idea of transforming public postsec-ondary non-tertiary schools (Middelbaar Beroeps Onderwijs (MBO) or (Secundair Beroeps Onderwijs (SBO))1 into Associate Colleges suggests yet another paradox for the Dutch system of higher education. The Netherlands has taken the first step forward by piloting the associate degree as part of the applied bachelor program HBO Raad, 2007 should be HBO-raad, 2007 (Nuffic, 2004, 2005a, 2005b; HBO-raad, 2007; Moens, 2005). Curaçao is closely watching the outcome in the Netherlands and examining the option at the local public university. In this chapter, we will make some modest attempts to shed some light on where to introduce the American model of Associate Colleges (Vocational Associates) and/or whether to follow suit and adopt only the Dutch approach to associate degrees (Liberal Arts Associate) in Curaçao. The main questions posed in this chapter are: 1. What is the purpose of postsecondary non-tertiary education? 2. Would the Dutch alternative address the education needs of the new generation of the vocational inclined in Curaçao? 3. Or should the American path to higher learning be the alternative of the future? © 2009 Springer Netherlands.