This article traces the changes in quality assurance within the Dutch higher education system. It starts with a brief history of the development of the Dutch accreditation system, which is the latest step in a process that started with an external quality assurance system. This is followed by an extensive description of the present accreditation system, its structure, its processes and its key players. Finally, it concludes with an attempt to summarise the pros and cons of the system and makes some suggestions as to how the system might develop in the future. (Contains 1 table.)