Standards
Education institutions cannot do without the best possible arrangements for exchanging information. Without such arrangements, it is not possible to exchange information about students and programmes. Specific standards are an excellent way of organising this exchange of information. Standards are strict agreements within and between institutions regarding the form in which the information is to be presented and stored.
Exchanging information
When institutions exchange information about a programme, they are obliged, for example, to give the official name and length of the programme. Standardisation also involves harmonising processes and procedures. In order to make central registration possible, for example, it is necessary to coordinate (i.e. standardise) the registration procedures of the various institutions.
Advantages
Applying standards opens up a range of possibilities. The improved options for exchanging information mean that the information only needs to be saved once but can then be used numerous times. A student only needs to register once, for example. The central administration department then shares his/her details with the various local systems at the faculties. Because agreement has been reached beforehand regarding the format of the information, no additional processing is necessary before reading the information in a different system, thus saving time and money and avoiding errors.
SURF therefore encourages the application of standards. Currently, we are focusing on standards in the area of:
- tests;
- teaching materials and publication;
- personal data;
- information about programmes.
More information
Frans de Liagre Böhl, Programme Manager Information Infrastructure
T +31 (0)30 234 6600