‘No more performance agreements’

Dutch universities do not want any new performance agreements, even though such deals have turned out to be successful thus far, reports Dutch university association VSNU.
By Peter Keizer / Translation by Sarah van Steenderen

Drop-out rates have fallen, staying on track with courses and graduation has increased, many more teachers have educational qualifications (BKO), and ever more excellent students are participating in advanced study tracks. In short, the performance agreements that the universities made with minister Bussemaker four years ago are a success, says VSNU. But the institutions themselves are not up for new agreements.

That is because the performance agreements were drawn up under excessively short time constraints, says VSNU president Karl Dittrich. As such, the plans did not sit will with staff members. ‘What’s more, the government didn’t fulfil their end of the agreements in certain areas’, according to a VSNU press release. The minister had promised to increase institutions’ discretion in developing policies through expedited legislation.

‘Resist’

Earlier, the RUG said that they had no faith in new agreements. ‘We will resist them to our utmost capability’, said president Sibrand Poppema late last year. ‘These kinds of agreements and thinking in terms of profitability have been discussed in both Amsterdam and Groningen over the past few months.’

In 2012, minister Bussemaker and the universities agreed that seven per cent of government financing (out of a total of 325 million) is dependent on, educational quality and study success, among others. The RUG agreed to improve study results in particular and meant to do so by implementing a more demanding binding study advice, more advanced education and more learning communities, among others.

Objectives

In the future, the universities would rather formulate their own objectives ’in dialogue with teachers, students, and the co-determination board. That will truly increase support and our own ambitions’, according to Dittrich.

Not all performance agreements have been achieved, especially when it comes to drop-out rates. Almost all universities (only just) failed to achieve their objectives, with the exception of Maastricht and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Dutch

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