University Council votes against abolishing obligation to offer honours education
The University Council voted against a proposal that would free faculties from the obligation to offer honours programmes to bachelor students (memo available with solis-ID). The request, which also came from the faculties themselves, was intended to give them room to make other choices with the money that is now reserved for this selective extra education at the time of the budget cuts. It is unclear how the intended space of 1 million can now be realised.
Utrecht University faces a tough financial challenge. Due to cuts in higher education, we already have to make do with 35 million less this year. This financial situation calls for clear choices and adjustments. Our ambitions remain the guiding principles for the future: quality education, distinctive research and good management are paramount. By making sharper choices in what we do and don’t do anymore, we want to ensure that we remain a healthy and future proof university. And thereby avoid redundancies as much as possible. Over the past few months, we have carefully examined opportunities to make savings. With input from deans and directors, seven austerity lines have been formulated. Giving faculties the freedom to offer/not offer honours programmes was one of these suggested measures.
Students concerned about ways to profile
In the University Council, this proposal met resistance from the student section. In particular, they argue that no opportunities remain for students to excel and be challenged during their studies if honours education is abolished. In addition, they are not convinced that the proposal will save money, and the communication surrounding the proposal bothers them. ‘We understand that the University Council thinks it is important for students to be challenged during their studies,’ said Henk Kummeling, Rector Magnificus. ‘The Executive Board also thinks this is essential. However, we are convinced that this challenge can be found in our regular education, and that in addition, students have countless ways to distinguish themselves outside the lecture banks through internships and board years, for example.’
Kummeling: ‘We started our honours programmes in 2008 after we received a financial impulse from the government for “excellence programmes”. When this incentive disappeared after 2014, we continued with honours programmes. Forms of education that you initially only saw within honours have now found their way into regular education and are embedded there. Based on the conviction that challenge should not only be available to a small, selective group of students, but should be reflected in the DNA of all our education. This is reflected, among other things, in our updated teaching model. This is why we think that faculty teaching now adds not much to the current educational offering.
Responsible choice to avoid more painful choices
Faculties currently collectively receive around one million euros to facilitate honours programmes. The proposal on the table at the University Council was that faculties would keep this amount, but would be given the freedom to decide whether they wanted to use that money for honours programmes or use it for other purposes.
‘It is disappointing that this first austerity measure is now stranded in the University Council. This measure, which in practice affects 800 of our 40,000 students (a number that has been declining in percentage in recent years), was seen as a responsible cut to avoid more painful choices. Very concretely, it means, for example, that at Humanities, where they had already taken this measure into account in their budget, a saving of €300,000 for this year must now be found elsewhere. We had hoped that the University Council would also be convinced that the interest of the small group of honours students does not outweigh the interest of the larger group of students and staff.’
At the university council meeting on Monday 17 February, 10 councillors voted against the plan to drop the obligation, six councillors were in favour. It is not yet clear how the intended cut of 1 million can now be realised. The Executive Board plans to discuss dropping the obligation with the University Council again next academic year. This will result in a new proposal.