According to university president Sibrand Poppema, 400 more students have enrolled in bachelor programmes at the RUG this year than last. The number of enrolments for master programmes has also risen by approximately 300 students.
This constitutes a ten percent increase, says Poppema. But the university president says that the total number of students has actually decreased. ‘We’re not sure what’s causing that just yet’, he said during a recent University Council meeting. ‘The most positive explanation is that people are graduating faster, but whether that’s actually true I cannot say with certainty at this point.’
Preliminary numbers
RUG spokesperson Gernant Deekens says these numbers are preliminary. ‘The definitive registration numbers are not yet known. We will be presenting them in late September or early October. I cannot currently say anything about the exact number or provide any analysis.’
Last year, the university suffered a substantial drop in enrolments: 361 fewer students began a university programme in Groningen in 2015 than in 2014. That decrease was mainly caused by fewer new enrolments in the propaedeutic phase. The total number of students at the RUG last year remained stable at 28,758, whereas the number rose slightly at other universities through the country.