BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES [602489]

BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
TEACHER TRAINING DEPARTMENT

Romanian education system versus Dutch education system .
Case study regarding the comparison between Bucharest University
of Economic Studies and University of Amsterdam .

Student: [anonimizat]: Oana Cristina STOICA
Supervisor name: Maria Liana L ACATUS

Bucharest
2019

Contents

1. Introduction ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………….. 3
2. Literature review ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 4
2.1. The concept of education system ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 4
2.2. Romanian education system ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 5
2.3. Dutch education system ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……. 7
3. Research methodology ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 11
4. Study case regarding the comparison between Bucharest University of Economic Studies and
University of Amsterdam ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 14
4.1. Enrolment ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………… 14
4.2. The structure of the academic year ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………….. 15
4.3. Lectures and tutorials ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 16
4.4. Evaluation ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………… 18
5. Discussion and conclusions ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …… 19
References ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ….. 21

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1. Introduction
The education system is one of the main issues in a country because it plays an important role in
the human development by preparing the students for the real life. The level of studies is important
in determining the social results of different people. E ducation system is characterized by
nationality and history, and in this respect develops and evolves in relation to specificity of each
country, but also to the material development within it.
The educational ideal of the Romanian school lies in the free, harmonious and integral
development of each human person, in the formation of the independent personality and in
assuming values necessary for the fulfillment and personal development, the entrepreneurial spirit,
active participation in society, social in clusion and employment on the labor market (Legea
educatiei nationale, no 1, 5th of January 2011).
"The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in the Netherlands is led by a minister
and two state secretaries working for a smart, creative and creative country", the ministry works
for pupils , students and their parents, but also for artists and museum visitors, for teachers from
primary education to higher education, researchers, radio and television employees, libraries and
art institutions. The Minist ry is increasingly involved not only in vocational training, but also in
acquiring skills, emancipation, a healthy lifestyle, democratization of society, teaching of norms
and values, integration of immigrants and others (Paraschiv and Chiriac, 2010) .
The motivation of this study comes from my experience as a double degree Exchange
Master’s student in Accountancy and Control at Amsterdam Business School, University of
Amsterdam. As such, the objective of this study is to highlight the similarities and t he differences
by making a comparison between the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and University
of Amsterdam using the case -study as a research method.
This study is structured as follows. The second section presents the theory background by
explaining what education system represents, it describes the Romanian education system and
Dutch education system. After presenting the research method, the comparison between the two
universities is presented. Finally, the present study provides the discuss ion, conclusions and
limitations.

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2. Literature review
2.1. The concept of education system
The concept of education system represents the main subcomponent of the social system that is
integrated and subordinated in society and its general structure , which does not have only an
internal structure, but in addition it is subjected to some external social impulses (Diaconu, 2014).
The education system as a whole , refers to the organization of institutional education, which shows
that it includes all the i nstitutions pursuing certain educational objectives. We can also say that
education system is characterized by nationality and history, and in this respect develops and
evolves in relation to specificity of each country, but also to the material developmen t within it.
Between education systems in different countries, there are common characteristics but
also differences in economic, cultural and social conditions in that country. On a whole, we should
not regard education as an institutional body as if it had only an internal structure in terms of
interactions between its components. Moreover, it is subjected to certain social pressures that
operate independently and in interaction, th us pursuing educational objectives.
The education system comprises three types of education, namely formal education , non-
formal education and informal education, but in a narrow sense it only includes formal education .
Formal education represents all syst ematic and organized actions, designed and carried out in
specialized institutions and pursuing explicit ends with the aim of forming and developing
personality. This type of formal education is achieved through the educational process, which
means complia nce with official documents (Cerkez et al. 2009).
Official education has the following attributes: consciously, systematically,
institutionalized, regulated, coordinated, guided, planned, evaluated, so it is an expression of an
educational policy. Formal education helps a permanent assimilation of knowledge and facilitates
the development of skills and the introduction of the person into society. An essential aspect of
formal education is assessment, which is a great help to school success. The formal asse ssment
has the following limits: lack of creativity, routine, the explanation does not appear, so the
knowledge transmitted is purely informative (Apostu, 2018) .
Non-formal education represents any educational activity that is organized outside the
existin g formal system whether carried out separately or as an important element of wider activity
which has the main objective to respond to the educational needs of a certain group which pursues
clear educational objectives (Cerkez et al. 2009) .

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Informal education represents the real life -long learning process in which each individual
forms his attitudes, internalizes or clarifies certain values, acquires skills and knowledge from
everyday experience, capitalizing on the influences and educational resources of the environment
in which they live – from family and neighbors, from work or play, from the market / shop, from
the library or from the media (Cerkez et al. 2009).
The education system comprises of:
– an input stream consisting of human resou rces and material resources, such as: teachers, pupils,
students, space and school buildings, technical and material facilities, money, school time;
– the learning process that needs the whole set of resources to meet educational objectives and
combines co nsiderable educational functions such as teaching, learning and evaluation;
– an outflow that results in the product of the system: people formed, educated, endowed with the
attitudes and skills required by the demand for social education .
The functions of the education system are:
– the instructive educational function that takes part in the formation of general, professional
culture and perspective on the world and life;
– the praxiological function presupposes the application of the theoretical knowle dge in practice;
– the axiological function aims at forming a man who has the capacity to evaluate, appreciate and
valorize the real material and spiritual values.
The education system has many principles among which one can enumerate:
– the principle of guaranteeing and assuring the right to education;
– the principle of the constitution of state, private and confessional education;
– the principle of developing education on all levels in the mother tongue and in a language used
at international level;
– the principle of general and compulsory education;
– the principle of free state education.

2.2. Romanian education system
The educational ideal of the Romanian school lies in the free, harmonious and integral
development of each human person, in the formation of the independent personality and in
assuming values necessary for the fulfillment and personal development, the entrepreneurial spirit,
active participation in society, social inclusion and employment on the labor market (Legea

6
educatiei nation ale, no 1, 5th of January 2011) . The general education imposed by the state is ten
years where primary education and gymnasium education are included. High school education will
become mandatory by 2020 at the latest. At the age of eighteen, the obligation of individuals to
participate in ten -grade education does not hold anymore. In accordance with EDU Romania, the
structure of the Romanian pre -university education system is the following:
➢ Pre-school education
– children aged 3 to 6 or 7 are enrolled;
– educational institutions are kindergartens with a regular program, extended program or weekly
program;
– it is structured on two levels of education, namely level I, comprising the small and the middle
group and the level II comprising the large and the prep aratory group.
➢ Primary education
– the educational institutions in which they are organized are the elementary schools;
– it is structured on a number of four classes, namely from Class I to Class IV and functions only
as a day education;
– within this cyc le, the main purpose of the curriculum is the foundation of the general culture;
➢ Lower secondary education
– the educational institutions in which they are organized are primary schools or high schools;
– it's made of:
• Gymnasium education attended by pup ils from the 5 th to the 8 th grade and generally organized
as a day education, but can also be organized for evening or non -attendance classes for people who
have exceeded the age limit by more than two years for the class, the completion of this level of
education is achieved by supporting an examination in Romanian language or mother tongue, as
the case may be, and mathematics.
• the lower cycle of the high school where the 9th and 10th grade students are enrolled, comprises
three theoretical, technical an d vocational branches.
➢ Higher secondary education
– is organized in high schools;
– students enrolled from the 11th grade to the 12th grade;
– it comprises three theoretical, technical and vocational branches;

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– the completion of this level of education is done by supporting the baccalaureate exam, consisting
of the oral test in Romanian or the mother tongue, the oral test in a foreign language, the digital
competence test, the written test in Romanian language and literature or the mother tongue, the
writt en test to mandatory profile discipline and written test to the discipline chosen by the student
who holds the exam.
➢ Post-secondary education
– are organized for certain professional qualifications which are entered in the National Register
of Qualificati ons and are established by the Ministry of Education and approved by Government
Decision.
➢ The Romanian higher education system consisting of three levels is the following:
– Bachelor’s studies – between three and six years
– Master’s studies – one or two years
– PhD studies – minimum three years
It is carried out through several types of educational institutions, namely academies,
universities, academic schools for PhD. Higher education institutions aim at learning and research,
not just learning.
Table 1 below shows the grading scale of the Romanian education system:

Table 1 – Romanian grading s ystem
Qualifying (Primary
education) Grade (Secondary education, Post -secondary
education and higher education) Stage
Insufficient 1,2,3,4 Fail
Sufficient 5,6 Pass
Good 7,8 Pass
Very good 9,10 Pass

2.3. Dutch education system
"The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in the Netherlands is led by a minister and two
state secretaries working for a smart, creative and creative country", the ministry works for pupils ,
students and their parents, but also for artists and muse um visitors, for teachers from primary
education to higher education, researchers, radio and television employees, libraries and art
institutions. The Ministry is increasingly involved not only in vocational training, but also in

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acquiring skills, emancipa tion, a healthy lifestyle, democratization of society, teaching of norms
and values, integration of immigrants and others (Paraschiv and Chiriac, 2010) .
Compulsory education in Netherlands consists in 10 years from the age of 5 until the age
of 16. Young people aged 16 are forced to do other two years of part -time education . Primary
education is addressed to children between 4 and 12 years old, but the first year is not mandatory.
Depending on their results, pupils follow then different forms of secondary education. All forms
of secondary education start with a base period between 2 and 3 years which gives a large range
of modules that are the same for everybody. Pupils receive in this cycle both educational and
professional orientation. At the end of the s econd year, pupils receive school counseling regarding
the form of education w hich fits them in the future because they can choose between (Dumitru,
2013) :
– Higher secondary education – 5 years – havo
– Pre-university education – 6 years – vwo
– Professional se condary education – 4 years – vmbo
In the fourth and fifth year at havo and in the fourth, fifth and sixth year at vwo, pupils can
choose between many profiles , which have been introduced in order to achieve a better correlation
between secondary and supe rior education:
– Culture and society
– Economy and society
– Science and health
– Science and technology
All the profiles have a common component, a specific component of the respective profile
and an optional component chosen by the pupil s.
As well as in havo and vmo, the secondary vocational education ( vmbo), regardless of the
sector, there is a common mandatory component , which consists in Dutch language, English
language, social studies, physical education and plastic arts. The graduation exam is common and
centralized for Dutch and English language, and the social studies exams, physical education and
plastic arts are taken at the school level. The sectorial component is compulsory for all the pupils
from every sector, and the optional modules depend on what the respective pupil chose before.
Vmbo prepares the young people for the following sectors of activities: technology, care and well –
being, economy and agriculture.

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Within each sector pupils can opt for one of the four possible routes, all of them being
conducted in high secondary professional schools :
– Theoretical route, which prepares the pupils for instruction in middle management and
instruction in secondary professional schools ( mbo) or in higher education general schools
(havo) ;
– Mixed route , which prepares the pupils for instruction in middle management and instruction
in secondary professional schools ( mbo) ;
– Advanced professional route which prepares the pupils for instruction in middle management
and instruction in secondary professional schools ( mbo) ;
– Base professional route which prepares the pupils for instruction in middle management and
instruction in secondary professional schools ( mbo) .
Higher secondary education and training (mbo ) is offered on two learning routes:
– The route based on school ( bol);
– The r oute based on apprenticeship at work (bbl).
Both of them are integrated in the national qualifications structure and it offers equal
opportunities to continue the learning process, graduates acquire basically in the present the same
qualifications. In the r oute based on apprenticeship at work , pupils spent minimum 60% of the
forming time in something like a forming company, and in the route based on school, the practical
instruction varies between 20 and 60% of the forming time.
Higher professional education ( hbo) is o form of education which is based on practice, the
main objective being preparing for professional practice and entering on the labor market. This
form of superior education is offered in professional education and appl ied science universities
(hogescholen ), but the present structure, Bachelor’s + Master’s ( bama ) gives also the possibilities
to the universities of academic training (which prepares academics and researchers) to offer also
high professional education ( hbo). The duration of this high type of education is 4 years (240
ECTS) and is divided as follows: the first year is for preparation followed by a base step of 3 years.
Normally, in the last year, students are obligated to get trained in a company for a period on 9
months, after which to write a thesis or a final project. The high professional education ( hbo) gives
preparation in 7 activity sectors (Minister of Education, Netherlands) :
– Pedagogy
– Agriculture

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– Technics and science
– Health
– Economy and management
– Social and community domain
– Plastic arts and interpretative
The high academic education ( wo) offers programs that have the main objective “ the
independent exercise of scholastic activities or the professional application of academic
knowledge ” and it take s place in the universities of academic training, in the current structure
Bachelor’s + Master’s ( bama ) and could also take place in universities of applied science. A
degree of secondary general pre -university education ( vwo) or the graduation of the firs t year in
the high professional education ( hbo) constitutes the first condition for the enrolment in the high
academic education ( wo), sometimes there are required additional requests for certain modules.
The Bachelor program s have a duration of 3 years (1 80 ECTS), and the Maste r programs have a
duration of 1 year (the majority, 60 ECTS), 2 years (the technical and scientific, in stomatology
ones – 120 ECTS) or 3 years (veterinary medicine, pharmacy – 180 ECTS) (SLO) .
Table 2 below shows the grading scale of the Dutch education system:

Table 2 – Dutch grading s ystem
Grade Meaning
10 Outstanding *
9 Very good *
8 Good
7 More than satisfactory
6 Satisfactory
5 Almost satisfactory
4 Unsatisfactory
3 Very unsatisfactory *
2 Poor *
1 Very poor *
* The grades 1 -3 are hardly ever awarded and 9 and 10 are very rare.
Source – https://www.studyinholland.nl/life -in-holland/dutch -grading -system

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3. Research methodology
This study uses the case -study as a research method which seeks to identify what are the
differences and similarities between the two different education system s, the Romanian one and
the Dutch one . Specifically, this study will make a comparison between the Bucharest University
of Economic Studies and University of Amsterdam regarding my experience as a Maste r student
one year in each univeristy . The sources use d in this study are the two universities websites.
Flyvbjerg (2006) argue that there are five misunderstandings about the case -study research:
a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; b) one cannot generalize from
a single case , therefore, the single -case study cannot contribute to scientific development; c) the
case-study is more used for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for
hypothesis testing and theory building; d) the case study contains a bias toward verification and e)
it is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. The author explains and corrects these five
misunderstandings about the case -study research and concludes that a scientific discipline without
a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production
of examples, and a discipline without exemplars is in ineffective one. Social science may be
strengthened by the execution of a greater number of good case studies.
The B ucharest University of Economic Studies was founded in 1913 under the name of
Academy of High Commercial and Industrial Studies. The idea to establish a Commercial
Academy had been germinating for a while, against the background of Romania’s economic
devel opment during the first decade of the 20th century. A group of young economists who had
attended leading European universities designed the project for establishing our university, based
on the experience of Western European Commercial Academies and under the aegis of the
Romanian Ministry of Industry and Commerce, at that time led by Nicolae D. Xenopol. It is the
latter’s merit to have undertaken the responsibility to see the project to completion; before political
opposition and the public opinion, he dem onstrated the usefulness of and necessity for the
establishment of such an economic higher education institution. There were voices that were
against the establishment of the University at that time, when Romania was participating in the
second Balkan War with troops sent over the Danube. Nonetheless, the optimism and endeavors
of those who were in favor of the establishment of the institution were rewarded by the enrollment
in the first year of study of 600 students (among which 107 were foreigners), altho ugh at that time

12
the university did not yet have its own building. In 1947, the Academy of High Commercial and
Industrial Studies merged with the Academy of Cooperative Studies, to form the Academy of
Commercial and Cooperative Studies. However, after less than a year, due to the 1948 education
reform, the university was turned into the Institute for Economic Sciences and Planning. After two
decades of education according to the Soviet model, since the 1967 -1968 academic year,
Romanian economic higher educa tion has rediscovered its European vocation. During this
modernization process, our University has been reorganized, becoming the Bucharest University
of Economic Studies (in Romanian: “Academia de Studii Economice din București”, a name
similar to “Academ ia de Științe Economice” – the University of Economic Sciences – which the
founding fathers proposed in 1941). Today, there are 22,684 students enrolled in Bachelor’s,
Master’s, Doctoral, Postgraduate and Postdoctoral study programs. In its centennial history, ASE
Bucharest has moulded more than 300,000 professionals, who take pride in having graduated from
our University. Due to the endeavors and dedication of the academic and administrative staff, as
well as of its students, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies is now a research -intensive
university, institutionally accredited by ARACIS (the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in
Higher Education), which has granted a high confidence rating to the University. The Bucharest
University of Economic Studies has been granted a high confidence rating by ARACIS (the
Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in higher Education), following an external evaluation
of academic quality. ASE is the leader of high economic and public administration education from
Romania and South -Eastern Europe. The Bucharest University of Economic Studies has 26
Bachelor’s programs in Romanian, English, French and German languages and 71 Master’s
programs in Romanian and English l anguages.
University of Amsterdam was founded in 1632 under the name of Athenaeum Illustre . In
1815 the Athenaeum Illustre was officially recogni zed as an institution of higher education, and in
1877 the City of Amsterdam, which provided its funding, elevated it to the status of University of
Amsterdam. From that date, professors were appointed by the City Council, and it became possible
for doctorates to be conferred. This attracted many renowned scientists (and future Nobel
laureates) to Amsterdam, i ncluding Gerardus van ’t Hoff, Hugo de Vries and Johannes van der
Waals. The University was growing. New faculties, subjects and specialisms were added, and
between 1917 and 1931 student numbers increased from 1100 to 2500. After WWII the UvA soon
became t he Netherlands’ largest university, with 7100 students in the academic year 1950 -1951.

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The 1960s saw another expansion in the number of people going to University, and by 1970 the
UvA had 25,000 students. The UvA’s status of municipal university came to an end in 1961, and
from then on funding was mainly provided by the national government. Professors were no longer
appointed by the City, but by the Executive Board. Almost four centuries after its founding, the
UvA has grown into a University with a leading reputation in the international world of science.
The University is home to over 34,000 students, 3,000 PhD researchers, 6,000 staff and over a
hundred different nationalities and an annual budget of €850 million , making us one of the largest
broad -based research universities in Europe. The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is consistently
ranked among the world’s best universities in global rankings. It is a top 100 university in the THE
Rankings, QS Rankings and Lei den Ranking. The University of Amsterdam has 62 Bachelor’s
programs in Dutch and English languages and 102 Master’s programs in Dutch and English
languages. Amsterdam Business School consists of 1 Bachelor’s program in Business
Administration and 31 Master ’s programs.

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4. Study case regarding the comparison between Bucharest University of
Economic Studies and University of Amsterdam
The Master’s program that I followed in Bucharest University of Economic Studies is Accounting
Management and Information Systems. The program has a duration of two years and its
completion requires the accumulation of 120 ECTS. The Master’s in Accounting and Management
Information Systems is a research -based Master’s, which is oriented predominantly on the
development of scientific research competences and is addressed to candidates who intend to
pursue a career in the field of economic scientific research or have the firm intention to apply for
Phd programs .
The Master’s program that I followed in University of Amsterdam is Accountancy and Control,
specialization Accountancy. The duration of this master is one year, and its completion requires
the accumula tion of 60 ECTS. The Master's in Accountancy and Control of the Amsterdam
Business School is also a research -based Master’s, which provides students with the in -depth
knowledge and skills for a career in financial reporting and/or in financial planning and strategic
decision -making in an international environment.

4.1. Enrolment
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
The admissions contest is open to graduates with a Bachelor's or equivalent degree, regardless of
the year of graduation, provided that it is accredited or licensed to operate on a provisional basis
according to the law, suitable graduates for the profile to which they apply without any
discrimination, ensuring full eq uality of opportunity for people with disabilities. The admission to
the Master's programs is based on the results obtained in the specialty multiple choices exam /
interview test and the average grade of the Bachelor's Degree Completion Exam, in descendin g
order of the general admission average grade , in correlation with the options specified by the
candidates for enrollment and within the limit places (funded from budget and fee) approved for
the academic year for each study program. The tuition fee for Romanian students which do not fit
into the places financed by the state budget and for the EU/EEA students other than Romanian
ones for the first year is lei 5,000 and for the second year is lei 4,500.

15
University of Amsterdam
Students holding an academic Bachelor's degree in Business or Economics, with a focus on
Accountancy and/or Control are eligible to apply for admission. The following courses should be
included in the Bachelor ’s degree: Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Finance and
Researc h Methodology. All applicants need to take a GMAT test before the application deadline
in order to be considered for the Master’s program . While taking the test is mandatory, there is no
required minimum score, only a recommended minimum score. Even if students do not achieve
the recommended score, the remainder of your application will still be assessed. Instead of a
GMAT, a GRE test score will be accepted in the following cases: if the student already obtained a
GRE score and if it is difficult to take GM AT test on a short notice in the country of provenience.
The minimum score recommended for GRE is 155. Applicants are expected to have the intrinsic
motivation to test and build upon this knowledge. Coursework is designed in keeping with this
expectation a nd demands significant personal initiative and an active contribution on the part of
the student. Applicants are asked to upload a motivation letter in their online application.
Applicants are expected to invite at least one academic referee to submit thei r reference online.
There are not places financed by the state budget. The tuition fee is € 2,083 per year for EU/EEA
students and for Dutch students .

4.2. The structure of the academic year
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Thea academic year is structured in two semesters. The first semester starts at the beginning of
October and it ends at the end of February with two weeks break during the Christmas period. The
second semester starts at the end of the February and it ends at th e end of June with one week
break during the Easter period. Between the two semesters there is a week break. Each semester
consists in 14 weeks of learning followed by 3 weeks of evaluation. In each semester students
should follow 5 or 6 different modules. Each module consists of a lecture and a tutorial every
week. The students are split in two different tutorial groups at the beginning of the first year, which
is done alphabetically. Regarding the schedule for each semester, few days before the semester
starts, the secretary will display the schedule for all students on their personal page and at the
notice board.

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University of Amsterdam
The academic year is structured in two semesters . Each of them is divided in 3 different blocks.
The first semester starts at the beginning of September and it ends at the end of January with two
weeks break during the Christmas period. The second semester starts at the beginning of February
and it ends at the end of the June with on e week break during the Easter period. There is no break
between the two semesters. Each block consists of 3 or 6 weeks learning, followed by a week
period for exams preparation and a week period for evaluation. Each block consists in one or two
different modules that students should follow. Each module consists of a lecture and a tutorial
every week. Approximatively one month before the block starts, students should choose which
timetable best fits them for the tutorials and the timetable for lectures is already set by the secretary.
In this way the composition of the tutorial groups differ s depending on what time slot students
have chosen before the block started. Students can check their timetable whenever they would do
so on Canvas.

4.3. Lectures and t utorials
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
The duration of the lecture and the tutorial respectively is 80 minutes constantly. The lectures and
the tutorials take place usually during the evening from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. In this way, students
have the freedom to work during their Master’s studies. The structure of each module is discussed
by the teacher in the first lecture. Students are provided with the requirements for successfully
passing the course. As usual, the teacher is the coordinator of the lectures and the students are the
coordinators o f the tutorials. The knowledge that the students acquire during the Master’s are
preponderant practically.
At the lectures, teachers approach the classical method of teaching. Some of the teachers
use Power Point presentation and explain the theoretical p oints and others ask the students to take
notes on the paper and take breaks to explain the theoretical points. The Power Point presentations
are posted on the online site on which each student has his own account or often teachers send the
presentation to one student representant in the Master ’s program who will send then to the other
students via Facebook groups. There is not too much interaction between the teachers and the
students during the lectures, but however, if students have some questions and ne ed more
clarifications, they are free to address them to the teacher . The notions presented during the lectures

17
are more related to practice and teachers explain how the theoretical points could be applied in
practice . In this way students are more prepare d to confront the situations that they meet in practice.
At the tutorials, students should make assignments every week or only one assignment for
the entire period in groups or individually which are assessed by the teacher at the end of the
period. Also, some teachers require Power Point presentation for the a ssignments. In general,
tutorials consist of these presentations with debates between students and between students and
teacher and applications that are solved by the students on the blackboard which are randomly
picked by the teacher.

University of Amst erdam
The duration of the lecture and the tutorial respectively is 110 minutes with 10 minutes break after
the first 50 minutes. The lectures and the tutorials take place usually during the day and evening
from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. In this way, it is dif ficult for students to get a job during their Master’s
studies. Students are provided with the structure of each course and the requirements few days
before the block starts. As well as in the Bucharest University of Economic studies, the teacher is
the co ordinator of the lectures and the students are the coordinators of the tutorials. Teachers use
Power Point presentation to explain the theoretical points and the students take notes on their
laptops while the teachers are explaining the theory. The Power p oint presentations are posted on
Canvas on which each student has his own account. There is not too much interaction between
teacher and students during the lectures, but however, if students have some questions and need
more clarifications, they are free to address them. Teachers put more accent on the academic papers
and do not necessary teach things related to practice. Students are mandatory required to read
around three academic papers per week for each module.
At the tutorials, students should make a ssignments every week or only one assignment for
the entire period in groups or individually which are assessed by the teacher at the end of the
period. Students should present the assignments in groups or to make a presentation for the papers
that they should read for the respective week using Power Point presentations. The groups of
students that have to present and the presentation schedule are randomly made by the teacher and
the requirements for the tutorials are presented in the first tutorial. In ge neral, tutorials consist in
these presentations and debates between students or between students and teacher.

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4.4. Evaluation
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
In general, the assignments and the presentation during the tutorials count 30% from the final grade
and the remaining 70% is a closed book written exam. The schedule of the exams is available for
students on their personal page or at the secretary notice board few weeks before the exam period.
The exam take place in lecture rooms, and usu ally students are supervised by the course
coordinators and sometimes there are many supervisors in addition. Most of the exams are written
on the paper, with one exception for the Information Systems exams. They are more practical , and
students have to so lve applications based on real cases. Sometimes, the exams consist in multiple
choices. Often the maximum grade is given for the student that made the best exam and it is not
very difficult to get a 9 or a 10. The results for the exam are available on the personal page for
every student within minimum 3 working days and they are rounded as integer up if it is equal
with ,5 or higher and down if it is below ,5 (for example, if your grade is 7,3 it will be rounded
down at 7,0). In order to successfully comple te the course, you need to have minimum 5,0 in the
written exam and the total average grade should be minimum 5,0.

University of Amsterdam
In general, the assignments and the presentation during the tutorials count 30% from the final grade
and the remain ing 70% is a closed book written exam. The schedule of the exams is available for
students at on Canvas before the block starts. The exams are very strict and take place in
examination rooms that are specifically appointed for this and are supervised by ab out ten people
because usually in one examination room there could be many different exams in the same time.
Most of the exams are online on computers. They are more theoretical , and s tudents have to answer
open questions based on the academic articles. Ve ry rarely, the exams consist on multiple choices.
It is very difficult to get a 10 in the exam. Usually, 9 is the maximum grade that a student can get,
and it requires a lot of effort from the student. The results are available for students in maximum
18 w orking days on Canvas and they are rounded as integer or ,5 in the same way at the other
university (for example, if your grade is 7,3, it will be rounded up to 7,5). In order to successfully
complete the course, you need to have minimum 5,0 in the written exam and the total average
grade should be minimum 5,5.

19
5. Discussion and conclusions
The education system is one of the main issues in a country because it plays an important role in
the human development by preparing the students for the real life. Th e level of studies is important
in determining the social results of different people. E ducation system is characterized by
nationality and history, and in this respect develops and evolves in relation to specificity of each
country, but also to the materi al development within it. The objective of this paper was to highlight
the differences and similarities between two different education systems, especially, this study has
made a comparison between the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and Universit y of
Amsterdam and the motivation of this study comes from the author experience as a Master’s
student for one year in both universities.
As discussed in the second section, the educational ideal of the Romanian school lies in the
free, harmonious and in tegral development of each human person, in the formation of the
independent personality and in assuming values necessary for the fulfillment and personal
development, the entrepreneurial spirit, active participation in society, social inclusion and
employ ment on the labor market . The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in the
Netherlands is led by a minister and two state secretaries working for a smart, creative and creative
country", the ministry works for pupils , students and their parents, but also for artists and museum
visitors, for teachers from primary education to higher education, researchers, radio and television
employees, libraries and art institutions. The Ministry is increasingly involved not only in
vocational training, but also in a cquiring skills, emancipation, a healthy lifestyle, democratization
of society, teaching of norms and values, integration of immigrants and others .
The two universities have different histories and differ from each other form many points
of views , but th ey also have some similarities. As seen in the fourth section of this paper, the
enrollment is different for the two Master’s. While in Bucharest University of Economic Studies,
students should take a multiple choices exam for the specialization, in Univer sity of Amsterdam,
a GMAT exam is required. The structure of academic years is also different for the two
universities. While the structure in Bucharest University of Economic Studies consists of two
different semesters and the duration of the Master’s is two years, the structure in University of
Amsterdam consists of six different blocks and the duration of the Master’s is only one year. The
way that the lectures and tutorials are organized in both universities represents a similarity between
these two bec ause having that in the lectures the teachers are the coordinators and in tutorials the

20
students are the coordinators. One big difference between the two comes with respect to the
knowledge that students require during their Master’s. While in Bucharest Un iversity of Economic
Studies students acquire more practical knowledge , and in this way , they have more opened gates
to work in practice, in the University of Amsterdam students acquire more theoretical knowledge
based on research which may help students t o follow a Phd program . However, University of
Amsterdam is well recognized around the world, and students can easily get a job. Another
difference between the two is related to the way that students are examined. While in the Bucharest
University of Econ omic Studies the exams do not take place in examinations rooms and the
supervision is not very strict, in the University of Amsterdam, the examination takes place in
specially arranged rooms and the supervision is very strict. In this way, university makes sure
students cannot cheat or is very hard to do so . Also, while in the Bucharest University of Economic
Studies it is not that difficult to get a 9 or 10 in the exam, in the University of Amsterdam you
should be an eminent student to get these two grades and they are very rarely obtained.
This study should be taken in light with some limitations. First of all, the comparison
between the two universities is subjective that comes from the author’s point of view as a result of
her experience in both univer sities, leading to a lack of generalization. Also, the description that
have been made in the fourth section does not necessarily consists of all the aspects that point out
the similarities and differences between the two universities. This is because the author has done
the Bachelor’s degree in Bucharest University of Economic studies and do not know very well the
base that students in Netherlands have as a result of following their Bachelor’s program in
University of Amsterdam or other universities in Net herlands.

21
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