The Executive Board shared this intention in an email to all staff on Tuesday afternoon. Staff from the relevant faculties, ESSB, ESE, and RSM, were informed earlier that afternoon. The Dutch-taught programmes in Psychology, Economics, and Business administration will remain unaffected.
No organisational changes expected
The university’s message further notes that ‘no major organisational changes within the faculties are expected in the short term’. Current students of the mentioned programmes can complete their studies as normal. Each year, between 200 and 250 students commence the English-taught bachelor’s in Psychology in Rotterdam.
The announced measures form part of a larger package that Dutch universities intend to implement under the banner of ‘self-management’. They hope to alleviate the stringent aspects of the new Internationalisation Balance Act (Wib) and save other English-taught programmes. The proposal has been submitted to the ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Psychology in English disappearing from the Randstad
All universities in the Randstad will discontinue their English-taught bachelor’s in psychology. In border regions, these international programmes are allowed to continue to exist. The choice to sacrifice the international bachelor’s in psychology is driven by ‘the explicit statements from both the minister and the House of Representatives regarding the English-taught bachelor’s in psychology’, according to the message. “According to the ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the high influx of international students doesn’t correspond to the relatively low likelihood that these students will remain in the Netherlands after graduation. […] A self-management scenario without this specific intervention was unthinkable.”
Language test could cause more harm
The universities are making this proposal on the condition that the generic language test for all international programmes, as stipulated in the WIB, is removed from the law by the minister. “The outcome of that would be too uncertain and would cause more harm to Erasmus University”, said president of the Executive Board Annelien Bredenoord.
Bredenoord negotiated with the other universities within the UNL (Universities of the Netherlands). She states in the message that this is a way to ‘respond to the political pressure to reduce our international intake’.
Solidly behind internationalisation
She further emphasises that the university has not taken this step lightly in drawing up this plan. “We are doing this carefully and in dialogue with the faculties and the shared governance, but this undoubtedly has a significant impact on us as a university.”
She adds that Erasmus University remains ‘solidly behind the added value of our international classroom’. “Although the law compels us to reduce international intake, it does not diminish how welcome our international students and staff should feel at our university.”
Frequently asked questions online
An intranet page with answers to frequently asked questions indicates that much will depend on the response from the minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, regarding the measures universities have to take. For example, the effects on international staff of the affected programmes are difficult to determine, according to one of the answers.
Measures from the package at other universities include lowering intake restrictions on international programmes, maintaining and strengthening intake in shortage sectors, particularly in the STEM fields, improving the Dutch language skills of international students, and increasing attention to housing and the job market for this group. Overall, all measures should lead to an 11 percent decrease in the influx of international students compared to 2022-2023.
Rectification: in an earlier version it was mentioned that the english track of Business Administration would restrict the student intake. However, it already had an intake restriction, it will instead be lowered.
