{"id":160248,"date":"2023-10-25T11:36:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T09:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=160248"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:01","slug":"university-to-make-cutbacks-deficit-of-20-to-25-million-forecast-for-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/10\/25\/university-to-make-cutbacks-deficit-of-20-to-25-million-forecast-for-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"University to make cutbacks: deficit of 20 to 25 million forecast for 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to its budget for 2024, the university is going to go well into the red. Price hikes and wage increases, high construction and maintenance costs and an expected drop in student numbers mean that cutbacks are necessary, according to Executive Board Vice-President Ellen van Schoten, but not \u2018blind reorganisation\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Board member Ellen van Schoten in the campus garden.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The figures are not yet final, but Van Schoten expects a deficit of at least 20 million euros next year, possibly as much as 25 million.<\/p>\n

According to Van Schoten, the central government grant will shrink by around 8 million euros next year due to a forecast drop in student numbers. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science bases the grant on the number of enrolled students. Wages have increased by 9 per cent in the past year, and the prices of nearly all products, but particularly energy, hardware and software, have risen steeply. A fourth major cost item is increased construction and maintenance costs for buildings.<\/p>\n

Although the Ministry will pay compensation for wage increases, the rest of these increases will force the university to make structural changes, and Van Schoten does not shy away from using the word \u2018cutbacks\u2019. \u201cIf your budget is being cut by 20 million euros a year, you have to take action. That\u2019s something we must do together, as faculties and service units. It may sound strange, but a tight budget offers an opportunity to sit down together and rethink how we do things, to see if there are ways to do them smarter and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becoming more resilient<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018We can talk about it publicly, so we don\u2019t have to start our reorganisation blind\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The positive news: because the university has quite a bit of capital, it has time on its side. \u201cWe can talk about it publicly, so we don\u2019t have to start our reorganisation blind\u201d, says Van Schoten. She promises that faculties and service units won\u2019t be given specific targets. \u201cLook, we could say we have to cut a couple of per cent from everywhere, but then people would just think about cutbacks instead of thinking about how we can do things differently; how we can become more financially resilient, collaborate better and be more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paradox is that the university is actually getting more money from the Ministry, around 50 million euros each year. \u201cBut that money is earmarked \u2013 we have to spend it on starter grants for assistant professors and incentive grants for professors\u201d, Van Schoten explains. \u201cIt can\u2019t be used to cover rising IT and energy costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fewer rented spaces<\/h2>
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Ellen van Schoten.<\/span><\/p>

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So where should the money come from? Van Schoten gives the example of renting external spaces. \u201cWe recently measured the occupancy of teaching spaces and offices, and found that it wasn\u2019t that high. At the same time, we\u2019re renting expensive spaces off campus. We have to look at whether there\u2019s a smarter solution.\u201d The renovation of the Tinbergen Building, a multi-million euro project due to start in 2024, will also be re-examined.<\/p>\n

Another cost item Van Schoten is looking at is software \u2013 both licences and service costs. \u201cWe\u2019ve created an inventory of all applications used by the faculties, which allows us to look at things like double licences, as well as service contracts we\u2019re paying for twice. If we do something about that, we can both save money and improve quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Schoten also wants to look at how the university can increase its income, for example by \u2018getting more money from society\u2019 via indirect funding (from Dutch Research Council grants, for example) and the \u2018third flow of funds\u2019 (money from private institutions). \u201cOther opportunities include \u2018lifelong learning\u2019 (courses for graduates, etc.) and strategic partnerships such as the Convergence Alliance with TU Delft and Erasmus MC.\u201d A new working group with representatives from various faculties and service units will identify options to both increase income and reduce expenditure.<\/p>\n

Fall of the government causing uncertainty<\/h2>

The collapse of the government has created uncertainty for universities, including with regard to their budgets. Among other things, the proposals to lower the binding study advice (BSA) and to put the brakes on internationalisation have been shelved, and it is not yet certain whether either will continue, and if so, in what form. \u201cAs well as affecting us in financial terms\u201d, says Van Schoten with concern, \u201creduced internationalisation affects our people. The good news is that we have very few Bachelor\u2019s programmes that are taught exclusively in English. At the same time, we continue to be very dependent on direct government funding. Under the current model, a decline in student numbers means less funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Schoten has similar concerns about any lowering of the binding study advice. Lowering the BSA \u2013 which the EUR largely opposes \u2013 is expected to result in students taking longer to complete their studies, which would cost more money. \u201cI don\u2019t yet know how that will play out, but it makes sense to put structural measures in place now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Schoten is very interested in the results of the upcoming elections. \u201cIf you look at the parties that are ahead in the polls, I don\u2019t know whether quite as much money is going to be invested in education and research over the next few years. But we\u2019ll have to wait and see.\u201d According to the most recent polls, the People\u2019s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and Pieter Omtzigt\u2019s new party, the New Social Contract (NSC), are on track to win the most seats.<\/p>\n\n\t

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