dr. SGA (Sanne) van Herpen

Biography

I am an Assistant Professor of Educational Sciences at Erasmus University Rotterdam. My research focuses on the accessibility of higher education from the students' perspective; in what kind of environment can young adults learn where they feel comfortable and (learn to) succeed? I have a particular interest and expertise in the transition to higher education: what makes entering higher education so challenging for first-year students?

As an educational scientist, I have been conducting research on accessible higher education for more than a decade, using various relevant methodological techniques such as questionnaire research, interview studies and quasi-experimental intervention research. I enjoy sharing new insights and ideas with educational practitioners. In this way, both science and practice gain more insight into whether what we do on the way to and in higher education actually contributes to young people's development and performance (learning & achievement).

In 2019, I completed my doctoral thesis, 'A Head Start into Higher Education. How students academically prepare and adjust for a successful transition to university'. From 2020, I have been working with several colleagues on research projects such as 'Online academic education as a result of the COVID-19 crisis', 'Self-selection at the gate of higher education by students' and 'The research consortium Wellbeing & Connection' at Inholland University of Applied Sciences.
I am currently involved in a large national research consortium on 'Accessible higher education before, through and after the gate' (NRO) and 'Tune In - Evaluation of bridging programmes that prepare students for higher education' (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences).

As Assistant Professor I teach in the Bachelor's and Master's programme of Educational Sciences at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. I coordinate undergraduate and master courses and supervise internships and dissertations. Furthermore, I coordinate the Academic Teacher Track within the Bachelor programme. I am also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Master's programme in Learning & Innovation at Inholland University of Applied Sciences.

During my career I have combined my research work with the role of educational consultant for many years. This has given me extensive experience in project-based work on educational (policy) innovations such as the Study Choice Check, transition programmes such as Pre Academic Programme (Erasmus Unversity Rotterdam) and Tune In (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), the quality of (digital) testing and activating learning.