Coalition agreement likely to save English-taught Psychology bachelor’s

The international Psychology bachelor’s programme will likely be allowed to continue after all. Marjolijn Antheunis, dean of the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB), informed staff of this on Friday in response to the new coalition agreement.

“We are scrapping the language test for new foreign-language programmes and maintaining the current offering”, coalition parties D66, CDA and VVD wrote in the agreement. However, the parties do want binding agreements with institutions regarding an intake restriction, for example for non-European students.

In other words, programmes currently offered in English may, as far as the new cabinet is concerned, continue to exist. That is especially good news for the international Psychology bachelor’s, which was originally scheduled to end in 2027 due to the previous cabinet’s plans to drastically reduce the number of international students. That deadline had already been postponed to 2028.

Cautious optimism

“This would be fantastic news”, writes dean Marjolein Antheunis in an email to ESSB staff. In a written response to EM, she calls it “certainly hopeful news that the mandatory language test has been scrapped in the new coalition agreement – also for existing programmes”.

Still, a great deal remains uncertain. “However, I do realise that this agreement, presented on Friday, was drafted by a minority coalition. Support will need to be found from other parties for each part of the agreement. Moreover, the targets for universities regarding the number of international students per institution remain in place.” For example, it is still unclear how many students the programme will be allowed to admit.

Relief

Marjan Gorgievski, director of the international Psychology bachelor’s, is pleased with the change of course, which is likely to save her programme. “Everyone here is incredibly relieved. Especially because the sacrifice of the programme was seen by many as extremely unfair.” She too remains slightly cautious. “Some colleagues fear that parties such as Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), who were involved in the earlier agreement with the government, will not go along with it. But the coalition agreement explicitly states we do not have to stop, and the UNL’s position paper on the coalition formation stresses the autonomy of institutions.”

Executive Board president Annelien Bredenoord addressed the staff of the programme in April with the news that the international Psychology bachelor’s would have to end as of 2027. The programme had been sacrificed by university association UNL as part of the so-called ‘self-regulation’ plan, with which universities hoped to keep control over which foreign-language programmes would be discontinued to reduce international student numbers. The minister had intended to introduce a ‘language test’ which programmes would have to pass in order to be allowed to continue, something the universities sought to avoid. “You’re being offered up, like being thrown under the bus”, Gorgievski said at the time.

Further consequences

It is still unclear what the exact consequences of the coalition agreement will be. What is certain is that the planned 1.5 billion euro cut to education funding has been scrapped. The cabinet also wants to actively attract top scientific talent. The language test has been definitively abandoned. Nevertheless, several faculties at Erasmus University are still struggling with financial shortfalls. These may also affect other faculties if they are required to cover those deficits.