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Improved logistics for testing and examination thanks to new OEAPI version

OEAPI has been upgraded: it is now possible to automate the logistics of the testing and examination process. The Open Education API is an open standard for sharing education data. The upgrade to OEAPI version 6 is the result of a pilot conducted last year by around 40 mbo institutions.

Other educational institutions can now test the new OEAPI version, as the beta specification was recently launched. The final version is expected in November.

Successful pilot in vocational education

Testing and examining can be quite challenging. For example, manually retyping results is tedious work and prone to error. This is why the "Education Examination Integration" project (OKE) was initiated. Within this project, several mbo schools developed an automated solution for the testing and examining process into a new standard. This prescribes how internal systems can cooperate with each other. Here, information exchange is based on the OOAPI standard.

The addition of OKE to the OEAPI standard gives guidance not only to institutions, but also to suppliers of testing and examination packages. Institutions can simply ask if the OKE-OEAPI profile is supported. Customised integration is thus no longer necessary.

Thanks to the successful pilot in mbo, this benefit is now becoming available for mbo, hbo and wo. By implementing OKE, the OEAPI provides broader support for educational processes within our sector.

Future-proof standard

In addition to improved support for testing and examination, this new version also includes several other enhancements requested by users in recent years.

OEAPI has thus been made future-proof. The need for major releases is reduced, meaning that modifications and further developments will have less impact on existing implementations. Institutions will therefore be better prepared for the educational ecosystem of the future.

More (international) collaboration

Simultaneously with this growth of OEAPI, the governance of the OEAPI working group has also been adjusted. The new governance is aimed at optimal support and further development of the standard, with the education sectors retaining control of OEAPI. The seats in the working group are occupied by representatives of mbo, hbo and wo. There are also some international seats, so that the standard can also be used internationally.

Planned further development

Now that project OKE has been completed, project OKx is already on the horizon. This is a similar initiative with mbo schools, focused on internal flexibilisation of education within institutions. The first steps in this project were taken in early 2025, and it will eventually result in a small update of the OEAPI.

Update 29-4-2026

International name OEAPI

The OOAPI, originally developed in the Netherlands, is also used internationally. This offers opportunities for collaboration based on a single, uniform standard with both national and international partners. This prevents fragmentation within the Netherlands and strengthens interoperability with international partners. As the educational environment of Dutch institutions extends ever further beyond national borders and students expect processes such as orientation, logging in, enrolment and the transfer of credentials to run seamlessly, the standard must align more closely with European and global requirements. For this reason, the name has been changed to OEAPI (Open Education API), whilst the content of the standard remains unchanged.