The budget deficit at the law faculty for last year turned out to be significantly lower than expected, in part due to the widespread use of leave and vacation days. Nevertheless, significant budget cuts will be implemented in the coming years.
The deficit at the law faculty for 2024 amounted to 1.3 million euros instead of the previously expected 3.1 million euros. In the third quarter of last year, a deficit of over 2.5 million euros was still projected for the end of 2024.
The lower deficit is partly due to a reduction in the number of courses. Additionally, staff members left the faculty (a total of 18 full-time equivalents). Financial portfolio holder Hanneke van den Berg describes the outcome of the measures as ‘reasonable’.
Leave
There was also active encouragement to take leave and vacation days. ‘This is not only beneficial for employees but also financially important’, says Van den Berg. This resulted in savings of over 500,000 euros for the faculty, as unused leave days were no longer recorded on the balance sheet.
Additionally, training costs were lower than expected. The new, energy-efficient Röling Building also contributed to extra savings of another 120,000 euros.
Furthermore, there were increased revenues—around 350,000 euros higher than budgeted. The biggest financial windfalls came from higher revenues from conferences and other collaborative projects, including those with NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. This generated an additional 500,000 euros.
Compensation
The study advance funds, intended to improve education quality, also exceeded expectations by nearly 150,000 euros. Revenues from institutional tuition fees were 113,000 euros higher than anticipated.
The faculty also received 1.3 million euros as compensation for wage and price increases over the past year, but this amount was offset by a 1.4 million euro reduction in starter and incentive grants and other education-related income.
Despite these financial windfalls, budget cuts will still be necessary in the coming years to restore financial balance by 2026. As a result, at least forty-five full-time positions will be eliminated.