Top result, difficult future and higher expense claims. The 2025 annual report in five remarkable figures

A 33 million positive result, but a stormy future. The 2025 annual report contains a wealth of interesting information about the university’s finances. How is the university doing and what about the expenses claimed by the members of the Executive Board? The annual report in five remarkable figures.

33 million euros

33 million euros

This is the amount the university had left over at the end of the 2025 financial year. It is particularly striking because a deficit of 4.4 million euros had been budgeted. The difference is largely due to an unexpected windfall of 23.2 million euros from the ministry. According to the Executive Board, the net result of 33 million euros therefore conceals a ‘perfect storm’ that could get the university into trouble in the near future: fewer Dutch students due to demographic developments, fewer international students as a result of the Internationalisation in Balance Act, the discontinuation of grants such as starter and incentive grants, and rising construction costs.

23.2 million euros

For workload and talent

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s late one-off contribution of 23.2 million euros to tackle workload and develop talent was an important reason for the better-than-expected net result in 2025. As this was a one-off amount, cuts will nevertheless have to be made again in the coming years.

10.1 million euros

Savings target for 2029

Erasmus University doesn’t need to make cuts in 2026 to balance its budget. It will have to do so in the years that follow, with the exception of 2028 because of the planned sale of property worth 13.5 million euros that year, the annual report shows. However, that sale is not going ahead, but this only became clear after the report was finalised. In 2027, the figure will be 2.8 million euros. The largest savings target, 10.1 million euros, is scheduled for 2029, after which it will fall back to 4.2 million euros in 2030.

98,165 euros

Expenses claimed by board members

The expense claims of the three members of the Executive Board were around 8 per cent higher in 2025 than in 2024. At board chair Annelien Bredenoord, the increase in domestic travel expenses stands out, from 11,975 euros in 2024 to 23,073 euros. Enquiries show that the increase is attributable to her move from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. At vice-chair Ellen van Schoten, other expenses increased instead, from 2,882 euros to 13,342 euros. A cybersecurity course at Oxford University was the main reason for this. It is also notable that rector magnificus Jantine Schuit’s expenses were considerably lower than those of her fellow board members: approximately half as much.

3.7 million euros

Delay to Oracle business operations system

The university is replacing the ten-year-old SAP business operations system with a cloud solution from Oracle. This was scheduled for January 2026, but has been postponed until 2027. Setting up the system proved more complicated and labour-intensive than expected. The delay will cost 5 million euros in total, of which 3.7 million euros was written off in 2025.