Court of Audit: money for universities calculated with 37-year-old data

Tekst Hoger onderwijspersbureau - 23 juni 2021 - 3 Minuten om te lezen

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The Court of Audit has expanded research This is done according to the so-called 'estimation models' of various ministries: these are used to estimate – on the basis of certain data and assumptions – how much money is needed for something.

Five cases are discussed, including the funding of the universities by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. And that example in particular shows that the assumptions used by ministries are 'not always up to date', according to the Court of Audit.

1984

That's how it works: the total budget for universities is based on a part for education (2,5 billion euros) and a part for research (2,2 billion euros). For education, the budget is adjusted annually based on the number of students, but the research component does not grow with it.

The distribution of this money in the 1984s was partly based on the time spent by the academic staff at the time. In other words, in the case of the universities: how many of their working hours did employees spend on teaching and research? The problem: The last research on this use of time dates back to XNUMX, and has never been updated since.

The last time use survey was in 1984, and has never been updated since then

At the time, about 35 percent of the university budget was allocated to education and 65 percent to research. That ratio has changed over time due to increased student numbers, the Court of Audit writes. The share that the universities receive for research has now fallen to 45 percent.

If the data on which an estimate is based is not updated for a long time, there is a risk that a budget will become 'a little more off balance' every year, the Court writes. 'As a result, a lot of money may suddenly be needed to restore the situation or ambitions may have to be lowered. This has adverse consequences for those involved, in this case students and teaching staff.

If the data on which an estimate is based is not updated for a long time, there is a risk that a budget will become 'a little more out of whack' each year

First aid

In a separate appendix – with the concise title 'First aid for estimates' – the Court of Audit examines the budget problems of OCW in more detail. A recent report by consultancy firm PwC is also mentioned, which states that the ministry is underfunding the universities.

The employees of OCW themselves are 'not alarmed' about this for the time being, according to discussions held by the Court of Audit. 'After all, the financial position of universities was healthy and the Netherlands scored well internationally with regard to scientific research. Apparently the universities managed to get by with the budget after all.'

The universities see this as confirmation: they want more than a billion euros more every year

But such a situation can be associated with significant 'hidden costs', the report warns, such as withholding important investments or relying on unpaid overtime for teaching staff.

The dated data from the XNUMXs are therefore not the only problem. 'If all goes well, an estimate includes all costs, including these, and the ministry makes a conscious choice about the extent to which it wants to cover these costs with its contribution.' According to the Court of Audit, the minister 'has no policy view on the extent to which she should finance the costs of university education and research.'

'Yes No'

The universities see this as confirmation: they want to add more than a billion euros annually. "We are out of the yes-no discussion," says chairman Pieter Duisenberg of the VSNU university association. "The facts are on the table. We have received the signals from our employees and there are now so many reports - politicians now have to make choices."

Read also the article from the Education magazine showing that the ministry has misjudged the number of students for years