Between 2010 and 2014, the Dutch government funded the implementation of multiple honour programs in many schools and univeristies. Now the governmental funding has ended and the results are evaluated as start of a new phase in which the implemented programs are being preservered. In the last year, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has evaluated the effects of the implementation of honour programs. This study presents the results on the evaluation of the acceptance of excellence among the lecturers in Amsterdam UAS. This study is based on questionnaire data gathered among lecturers in Amsterdam UAS in February 2015. The design combines two existing models. First the notion of acceptance of excellence is framed by the Technology Acceptance Model (Griffioen & De Jong, 2014; Teo, 2009). Based on this model, the expectation is that the lecturers’ perceptions on excellence (new scale), and their self-efficacy on excellence (scale based on Bandura, 2006) will influence their attitudes (scale based on Van der Linden, Bakx, Ros, Beijaard, & Vermeulen, 2012) and behavior (new scale) towards the excellence programs. The second model adresses the organisational influences on the lecturers’ perceptions (based on Geijsel, Sleegers, Van den Berg, & Kelchtermans, 2001; Griffioen & De Jong, 2014). The idea of this model is that the direct manager can influence the culture and structure of the organisation and hence influence how teachers accept – in this case – excellence and honour programs. The data analysis will be done from March onward through full structural equation modelling (Muthén & Muthén, 2007). The results will yield new insights in the organisational influence on lecturers’ perceptions of an innovation in higher education settings, and will be used for adaptation of institutional policy intentions and actions.

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