The recruitment freeze for international students does not apply to specific institutes that focus on international higher education, such as the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. These institutes have a different financial status and offer post-initial programmes, mostly for students who have already completed other studies and often have working experience. ISS and IHS, which mainly train students from Asia, Africa and South America, may continue to actively attract international students. This has been confirmed by ISS Rector Inge Hutter.
SAIL institutions
“A recruitment freeze does not make sense for ISS as the institute was established with the specific purpose of providing education to international students,” says Rector Hutter.
ISS participates in the SAIL platform, an alliance of international higher education institutes focusing on international knowledge exchange and research. In collaboration with the six other SAIL institutes, ISS lobbied the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to be allowed to recruit international students. Hutter did this in close consultation with Executive Board President, Ed Brinksma, and EUR policy staff.
‘It’s good that the Ministry looked carefully at the nature of our curriculum which is very much in line with international cooperation. Many people who study with us contribute to progress in their countries’
Concession
“It took a long time, but we received a concession from the Ministry last week”, Hutter says. “That means the call to stop the active recruitment of international students doesn’t apply to SAIL institutes. It’s good that the Ministry looked carefully at the nature of our curriculum which is very much in line with international cooperation. Many people who study with us contribute to progress in their countries.”
Late last year, the House of Representatives demanded that Minister Dijkgraaf call on higher education institutions to stop actively recruiting international students. The recruitment freeze was initially set to last until February, but in June Dijkgraaf said that it would remain in effect. He wants to use the freeze to ‘bring internationalisation back into balance’. The Minister will introduce a bill this summer.
