‘Membership in student associations declines due to slow-progress penalty and housing shortage’

Student associations have enrolled 170 fewer new members compared to last year. They attribute this to the looming slow-progress penalty and the high number of students living at home. ‘Slut lists’ are not thought to play a role.

As it does every academic year, the National Chamber of Associations (LKvV) surveyed its 49 member associations on the number of new members they had registered. This turned out to be around 8,330, down from 8,500 last academic year.

High student debt

According to the LKvV, the most frequently cited reason for the decline is the announced slow-progress penalty. From next year, students who take an extra year to complete their studies will have to pay an additional 3,000 euros in tuition fees. Many prospective students are already fearful of accumulating high student debt.

Additionally, as more student houses are being sold and few new ones are being built, the housing shortage is severe, with increasing numbers of students staying at home with their parents. “An active student life that allows room for social development, volunteer work, leadership experience, and making friends is being discouraged on all fronts”, the LKvV states in a press release.

A study recently commissioned by the student organisation ISO confirms these concerns. Financial worries are a reason for many students not to participate in activities that are not directly related to their study programme.

‘Slut list’

This past March, news broke that members of the Utrecht student association (USC) had created a PowerPoint presentation detailing the appearance and alleged sex lives of around thirty female society members, listing their names and phone numbers. This ‘slut list’ spread across the country via WhatsApp and Telegram.

Did this not also have a negative impact on the associations’ image and new member intake? LKvV president Wouter Oldenhof has seen no evidence of this. “Our associations haven’t mentioned it as a reason, including the Utrecht associations. Besides, it was mostly male members whose numbers declined this year.”