The Executive Board has made it clear that the Professional Services cannot meet their 5 per cent budget cut by shifting tasks to the faculties. Vice President Ellen van Schoten suggested standardising IT facilities and eliminating duplicate software licensing and management costs as examples of possible savings. All university departments, including the faculties, must submit a balanced budget for 2025.
Reconsidering real estate use
“By working more efficiently, working together more both inside and outside the university and by making more use of external sources of funding, we believe we can get the 2025 budget in balance”, Van Schoten stated in a message on the university’s intranet. She noted that this plan does not yet take into account the outcomes of the government’s coalition agreement, which will be presented on Prinsjesdag. “For 2026 and beyond (taking the coalition agreement into account), we will develop several scenarios, including exploring alternative uses of our real estate.” What this might entail remains unclear.
The government’s coalition agreement stipulates cuts of approximately 1 billion euros to Dutch universities over the next four years. It also confirms the cancellation of starter and incentive grants, which universities had relied on to offer many permanent contracts at the behest of the former Minister of Education.
A realistic approach
Together with other universities, the Executive Board is opposing the ‘massive cuts’, stated Executive Board President Annelien Bredenoord in the same message. “At the same time, we are realistic and have been preparing for financially difficult times for some time.”
In addition to the government-imposed cuts, the Executive Board also anticipates a decline in student numbers and a reduction in international students due to the new Internationalisation in Balance Act. This will result in lower revenues. Furthermore, several essential investments are on the horizon for ICT infrastructure and real estate, such as the renovation of the Tinbergen building.
EM will speak with Executive Board member Ellen van Schoten after Prinsjesdag about the planned budget cuts. Share your questions and concerns with us, and we will include them in the discussion.
Why isnt the university opposing the government decisions with radical and multi-day strikes? Why are universities in the Netherlands act like sitting ducks on this matter? Extreme times, need extreme measures, and “preparing for it” seems like surrendering to the appetite of -an incompetent- government. We are gutted with this stance!
Why isnt the university opposing the budget cuts and the very unfavorable governmental decisions towards higher education, with multi-day strikes? Why are the universities in the Netherlands act like sitting ducks on this matter? The “preparing for it” logic, seems equal to just surrendering to the apettite of the legislator. What a shame! We are gutted by this passive stance!
I hope huge reactions are arranged and that we all (both staff/students) participate because obviously the upper management is never acting against the goverments and any issues stemming from them…
Arranged by whom..?