Transition Plan Update, number 8 (17 June 2025) |
Dear colleagues,
This is the last update before the summer holidays. A lot has happened since 28 October, the day we announced the transition plan. We are in turbulent times, in which we as a faculty must take major, sometimes painful, steps to make the faculty future-proof.
We are proud of the resilience and tenacity we have seen in many of you. We have confidence in the new Bachelor's portfolio, which is already moving into phase 3, and in the advanced plans to safeguard the expertise of the degree programmes that are closing.
When you see what we have achieved together over the past 10 months, it gives us hope. Moreover, we see a great deal of appreciation for our faculty, for example in the external reviews of our research and educational programmes.
But we are not there yet. A lot needs to be done before the BA portfolio can actually be implemented (September 2027), the workload remains a major concern and we are not yet sure whether the short-term measures will have a sufficient effect to keep us on track financially in the coming transition years. We expect to be able to provide more clarity on the latter point in the autumn. In this email, we will discuss the development of our BA portfolio and the fall of the cabinet, among other things.
During the informal meetings we organised recently, we received a lot of critical but above all constructive feedback on the developments and plans in the pipeline. This gives us confidence that after the summer we can continue to build together on a renewed, future-proof faculty.
Finally, we wish you all a pleasant and peaceful summer holiday. The next email to all will be sent in September.
Kind regards,
The Faculty Board |
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Scenarios and decisions BA portfolio
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On Thursday 22 May, the Faculty Board discussed the scenarios submitted and the recommendations of the BA portfolio project group. The Faculty Board has adopted the recommendations of the project group in all cases.
- The FB has decided to submit the new BA (degree) programme Politics, Culture and Religion to the Executive Board for inclusion in the University Register of Degree Programmes. If the Executive Board approves this application, the new programme can start in September 2026.
- The Faculty of Arts has decided to adopt the scenario for English and Celtic subject to conditions. The conditions include a restriction to a maximum of 75 EC components in Celtic and an amendment to the EER so that the Celtic variant meets the intended learning outcomes of the EER.
- The Faculty Board has decided that the Intercultural Communication and Mediation scenario is a promising starting point for a future degree programme. A new subcommittee will be set up to further develop this scenario.
View the detailed scenarios and decisions (in Dutch). The decisions were explained by the Faculty Board in meetings with the various subcommittees during the week of 26 May. |
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Why we must continue with cutbacks despite the fall of the cabinet
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After the fall of the now outgoing Schoof cabinet, the Faculty Board received questions about what this means for the cutbacks and for the financial assignment of the Faculty of Humanities.
The short answer is, unfortunately, that for the time being nothing will change in terms of our cutback assignment.
It goes without saying that the outcome of the elections and the subsequent formation of a new cabinet is extremely uncertain and that it is by no means certain that a future cabinet will be more favourable towards (higher) education. Naturally, we too hope that the next cabinet will reverse the cuts (at least in part). The Association of Universities in the Netherlands (UNL), also on behalf of Utrecht University, continues to emphasise the national and international importance of investment in (higher) education and is constantly lobbying in The Hague for appropriate funding. However, the reality is that there are many other social and geopolitical issues that also require substantial financial investment.
We expect that it will be quite some time before we know what the fall of the Schoof cabinet will mean for higher education and our faculty. Elections have been announced for the end of October 2025, and we will also have to wait and see how the subsequent formation of a new cabinet – which is usually a lengthy process in the Netherlands – will play out. This could have positive or negative consequences for universities. Suppose that the outcome is positive and that the (substantial) reversal of cuts in (higher) education is included in the coalition agreement, then a new cabinet will not be able to change the education budget until Prinsjesdag 2026 or 2027. So even in the most optimistic scenario, any relief from the cuts in higher education would not be implemented until 2027 or 2028.
As much as we would have liked to see things differently, we are and will remain committed to cutting more than €14 million in the period 2025-2027. Based on current knowledge, a considerable financial assignment also remains for the period thereafter. Let us hope that this assignment for the longer term may become somewhat easier through – in the most optimistic scenario – a more favourable future government policy on (higher) education. However, let us also remain realistic. Unfortunately, the fall of the government does not change our situation and our budget reduction assignment for the time being. |
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Follow-up URO application
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On 27 May 2025, the Executive Board decided to discontinue enrolment in the Bachelor's programmes in German Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Celtic Languages and Culture, and Islam and Arabic as of 1 September 2026, and to discontinue the degree programmes as of 1 September 2030 and remove them from the URO. View the official minutes (in Dutch) of this decision.
We expect a positive decision from the Executive Board shortly regarding the launch of the Bachelor's programme in Politics, Culture and Religion. |
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Vice Dean Sven Dupré on the transition plan: “We will come out of this more resilient and better”
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| Sven Dupré became Vice Dean of Research and Impact in the Faculty Board a year ago. Much has changed since his appointment. Budget cuts and the Transition Plan also affect the impact programme. We spoke to the Vice Dean about what this means and how he sees the future of our faculty. Watch the video. |
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Composition of the Faculty Board
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Miranda Jansen is fortunately fully recovered and resumed her duties in full on 10 June 2025. Frank Jan van Dijk will support her in the coming months (he will remain in his position until 1 September 2025, as agreed) and will continue to work on the transition and finances behind the scenes.
Bert van den Brink is leaving on 15 July. The Faculty Board is looking for a new project coordinator for the BA portfolio project group, who will lead phase 3 and the completion of the project. See the news item (in Dutch). |
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About the information meetings
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In May and June, information meetings were held about the undergraduate portfolio and the finances/agreement. Were you unable to attend? View the PowerPoint presentations:
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| The next news update will be published in early September 2025. It will include measures to manage the workload of colleagues in support roles. |
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