According to the Executive Board, it is a basic requirement that everyone must be able to have a short conversation in English with a foreign student or employee. OBP employees will be offered courses comparable to the proficiency courses for lecturers. This is part of the official languages policy that the Executive Board recently adopted.
When recruiting new staff, English language proficiency will be an explicit part of the selection process. The job description should include what level of English is required for the role.
It was also agreed that communication to students and employees should be in both Dutch and English. This may be waived if there is a clearly defined English-speaking target audience or the target audience do not speak Dutch.
Signage on campus will also be tackled. The college has earmarked up to three hundred thousand Euros to make all signs on campus bilingual.
