This academic year, Dutch universities saw a 6% drop in international bachelor’s students – and this is before the strict Government plans came into effect. The UNL university association fears an ‘indiscriminate slash and burn’.
The bike sale during OWee 2024. (Thijs van Reeuwijk)
It’s mostly bachelor’s students from Europe (EEA) who sought education elsewhere, reports UNL, with their numbers dropping by 9%. Last year marked the first decline in international enrolments.
A bright spot is the higher-than-expected number of Dutch students enrolling. The Ministry had predicted a decline in domestic enrolments, but universities actually reported a 1% increase.
Overall, when considering both first year and returning students, the 14 major universities now have slightly fewer students enrolled compared to last year: 338,400 versus 340,000. University-specific figures are not yet available as these are preliminary counts.
TU Delft
The University of Groningen already reported a 14% drop in EU student enrolments as of September. At the Free University of Amsterdam, the international intake fell by 23.5%. Currently, 21% of bachelor’s students there are international, and the administration believes this figure should not fall below 20%. They now consider the ‘balancing’ of internationalisation complete.
The decline in international students does not apply to TU Delft, according to management data in Tableau. Although TU Delft offers only a small selection of English language bachelor’s programmes, they show modest growth. TU Delft also stands out in the intake of Dutch students, which is slightly decreasing.
For students coming from outside TU Delft applying for a master’s programme (excluding those progressing from TU Delft bachelor’s degrees), the numbers of both international and Dutch students are increasing.
Less recruitment
Six months ago, universities themselves pledged to reduce international enrolment. This was at the request of political stakeholders in The Hague, but the institutions also recognised that continuous growth was unsustainable. They decided to offer more courses in Dutch and scale back international recruitment.
However, there was a different Government in place then. The new Government aims to cut EUR 293 million from spending on international students as quickly as possible and intends to enforce tighter controls on English language programmes.
UNL Chair Caspar van den Berg fears that degree programmes may become unsustainable, ‘including for Dutch students’. According to him, other countries are prioritising attracting international talent and facilitating research and innovation. “The Dutch Government is doing the opposite: slamming on the brakes and adding several major budget cuts on top of that.”
HOP, Olmo Linthorst
Delta, Saskia Bonger
Do you have a question or comment about this article?
redactie@hogeronderwijspersbureau.nl
Comments are closed.