Parliamentary questions about application fees for Master at Erasmus University

Member of Parliament Mohammed Mohandis (PvdA) has requested clarification from Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education about application fees charged for Master’s at the EUR.

In particular it is the Business Administration/Master of Management. The RSM-Master asks for a 100 euro application fee from all students who have not studied at EUR. According to Mohandis, this is not allowed.

Mohandis said that the fee “”is contrary to the legal principle that students with a Dutch Bachelor in principle no need to pay other personal contribution than tuition”. Mohandis asked Bussemaker in previous parliamentary questions about other Masters, and she stated that ‘in general’ additional charges were not allowed.

No distinction between Dutch bachelors

Bussemaker distinguishes between students in possession of a Dutch Bachelors and those who have studied in other countries. “For the first category of students, in order to assess whether a certain level of knowledge is present, a registration fee may be charged,” she wrote to the House. The second category is lawful because it is less clear what level of knowledge they already have, meaning to verify that costs extra money. Bussemaker makes no distinction between ‘own’ EUR students and others with a Dutch Bachelor.

Erasmus University is currently investigating whether the fee is legal, and are unable to provide comment at this time. It is unclear whether more EUR programs require similar application fees. Mohandis has asked Bussemaker to conduct a nationwide inquiry into this phenomenon.