Universities reach general agreement

The Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and State Secretary Halbe Zijlstra have reached a general agreement on the universities’ performance which should be attained by 2015 and the measures Zijlstra will take to realize this.

The agreement should lead to improved study success rates, a more sharply defined research profile and research results being put to better use. The agreement will be further fleshed out before the summer of 2012 in performance targets for the individual universities, which are linked to provisional funding. ‘Universities failing to meet their targets will feel it in their wallet’, according to Zijlstra.

The general agreement sketches the framework within which individual universities must come to terms with government. ‘We now have clarity about the subjects we need to reach agreement with the Ministry on’, says Sibrand Poppema, President of the Board of the University of Groningen, who was present at the signing ceremony.  The agreements will be in line with present ambitions of the universities.

It is of the utmost importance for universities that government allocate the funds earmarked for them in the coalition agreement as intensiveringsmiddelen (intensification funding). This is meant to compensate the effects of the Long-term Student Regulation (langstudeerdersmaatregel) for universities.

The universities have agreed to take measures to increase the numbers of students ultimately completing degree programmes and to reduce the numbers dropping out or switching degree programmes. Measures will include more variety in teaching with regard to levels, content and types. This could entail broad Bachelor’s degree programmes, special programmes for excellent students or creating graduate schools.

To bolster the international position of Dutch academic research, the universities will move forward on collaboration and focus. Each university should belong to the global top in at least a few fields. Based on their academic focus, universities will actively contribute to the national innovation policy (top sectors) and to meeting the European Grand Challenges.