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international

Minister: universities should have power to implement numerus fixus for English courses

Henk Strikkers,
26 oktober 2018 - 14:00

Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Education, Culture & Science) wants to implement a numerus fixus for courses given in English, she wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives.

 

It is no longer news that Dutch universities are attracting increasing numbers of international students, nor that the influx has become difficult to manage. In her address at the UvA dies natalis Rector magnificus Karen Maex asked for the instruments to help stymie the flow.

 

Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Education, Culture & Science) seems to be on board. In a letter to the House of Representatives, she wrote that it ‘should be possible for institutions to set a capacity limit for courses on the English-language track’ but that such power shouldn’t be made too readily available for courses in Dutch unless they could prove sufficient need.

 

Work pressure 

In September, minister Van Engelshoven said she wished to implement a binding study advice (BSA) that requires students only need collect a maximum of 40 study points in order to continue their studies because she felt that first-year students were facing too much work pressure. The universities, however, did not like this proposal, arguing that the longer students take to complete their studies, the less money they receive from the government. Moreover, they claim the current requirement (with most courses requiring over 40 points) helps prevent students from continuing the wrong studies.

The National Student Union is outraged: ‘The minister states accessibility is important, but does not dare to take appropriate measures’

Van Engelshoven made no mention of this earlier proposal in her letter, but did state that she wants to speak with universities about the way in which the binding study advice is applied. The National Student Union is outraged. ‘The minister states accessibility is important, but does not dare to take appropriate measures or hold her promises.’

 

Confusion 

In her letter, the minister also notes that fewer bachelor students continue to follow a masters track. She says this is, ‘something to keep an eye on, especially since universities are increasingly applying admission requirements’. It is this point on admissions that leads to confusion. The ‘adminission requirements’ of universities are mostly seen by students as a selection procedure. In recent months, universities and student unions had tried to create clear guidelines to make it clear to students what exactly is happening. No guidelines were ever published, however, which makes it difficult to monitor how many selective masters there are in the Netherlands.

 

A spokesperson from student union ISO (Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg) is cautiously positive about the letter, but believes that there are some potential issues. ‘Her focus on encouraging students to graduate as quickly as possible may well result in an increasing numbers of students from certain groups dropping out or choosing not to continue their studies.’