Battle for brains
Internationalization has become a way of maintaining education. At the same time, Dutch students are losing out in some studies. Meanwhile, the taxpayer pays for the costs.
Picture: Rosa Snijders
'Dutch universities are popular with foreign students' was the headline nos.nl in March 2017 when it was announced that a record number of international students are studying in the Netherlands. More than 81 thousand foreigners followed a full bachelor's or master's degree that academic year. That was good news then. According to the prevailing narrative in those days, international students ensure an ambitious study climate and make an important contribution to the Dutch economy. According to internationalization organization Nuffic, a quarter of foreign students continue to work in the Netherlands after graduation. This brain gain generates about 1,5 billion euros annually for the state treasury, nos.nl reported.
A year later, the mood changed. Suddenly, internationalization no longer mattered go into, but for the displacement of Dutch students. It started with the rush for the bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Amsterdam. The training started in September 2018 with an English-language course track. Because a lot of interest from abroad was expected in advance, the program immediately introduced a numerus fixus. 600 registrations were received for the 1853 available places; 564 from the Netherlands and 1289 from abroad, the university magazine noted Folia. Because selection on the basis of nationality is not permitted, a large proportion of Dutch interested parties would miss out on a place to study.
In her Dies speech that year, Rector Karen Maex argued in English for 'limits to growth in internationalisation', but without affecting the international character of the UvA's degree programs
In her Dies speech that year, Rector Karen Maex argued in English for 'limits to growth in internationalisation', but without affecting the international character of the UvA's degree programmes. Because they are not international classrooms can suggest where 80 percent of the students come from Germany or China, or workgroups without Dutch students, she asked the Minister of Education to give universities instruments to maximize the number of foreign students. With her speech she unleashed a fierce, polarized discussion between proponents and opponents of internationalization that even reached the international higher education media.
(The article continues below the illustration)
Picture: Rosa Snijders
Panic atmosphere
Five years later, peace has not yet returned. Last academic year, the influx of foreign students reached a new record. In 2021-2022, 115 thousand international students were enrolled in higher education, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. One in four first-year students is an international student, and 40 percent of the intake at universities comes from abroad. Universities are once again attracting more international students this academic year, according to provisional intake figures. The growth is expected to continue in the coming years. Especially in university education.
Due to the continued growth, tensions are rising. Overcrowded lecture halls, overburdened lecturers and a shortage of student rooms create a panicky atmosphere. Universities in the Randstad, the UvA and TU Delft in the lead, are begging the minister for a quota for foreign students. While universities and universities of applied sciences in the border region, where the Dutch student population is shrinking, warn that limiting the international intake will lead to a reduction in the range of education in their region.
Last summer, Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf withdrew his predecessor's bill that makes it possible to set a numerus fixus only for English-language tracks and that Anglicization must be stopped. He is looking for measures that make the intake of international students manageable, without compromising accessibility and internationalisation. He wants to take his time, but has promised under pressure from the House of Representatives that he will come up with concrete measures this month.
Dutch institutions were fully present at recruitment events within and outside Europe last autumn
Until then, universities and colleges promised to exercise restraint in recruiting international students, but they do not appear to be keeping to that agreement. Dutch institutions were fully present at recruitment events within and outside Europe last autumn. Much to the chagrin of the House of Representatives, which was also annoyed by universities complaining about the excessive international intake, while they themselves are starting new English-taught programmes. This led to a motion in November in which the House demands a recruitment freeze.
In an opinion piece NRC Eight regional universities and colleges subsequently accused the House of getting them into financial trouble 'with a show of hands'. The institutions have become dependent on international students, with Maastricht University, where 56 percent of students come from abroad, leading the way. 'Not recruiting will lead to considerably less influx. And less inflow results in a decrease in funding of up to tens of percent,' the eight chairmen wrote. The House has therefore not made it any easier to break the stalemate with the motion.
(The article continues below the illustration)
Picture: Rosa Snijders
Gas pedal
“In the Netherlands, internationalization has become synonymous with recruiting international students and teaching in English,” says Hans de Wit, emeritus professor of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. “It has become a way of maintaining programs that do not attract enough Dutch students.” Cause? “There is a lack of vision on what we want to achieve with internationalization. There is no policy and that is responsible for the current proliferation”, says the scientist who has been involved in internationalization policy for forty years.
Sander van den Eijnden, former chairman of the board at the Open University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences agrees wholeheartedly with him. Three-quarters of international students come from Europe. Thanks to the free movement of students within the eu, they have the same rights as Dutch students, the director who was also director of International Policy at the Ministry of Education and director of Nuffic knows. According to him, this has created “a leak on the demand side. The government has failed to make agreements about how institutions should deal with this. Universities and colleges each determine for themselves how many students they bring here and for which fields they recruit internationally. They do not have to indicate the social interest in offering a psychology course in English. While the taxpayer pays for the costs.” Fortunately, Minister Dijkgraaf sees that the problem lies in the lack of direction, notes Van den Eijnden. “In interviews, he compares the internationalization policy to a car that has no steering wheel or brake, but only an accelerator.”
Universities and colleges each determine for themselves how many students they bring here and for which fields they recruit internationally
Van den Eijnden thinks it wise that Dijkgraaf has withdrawn the Bill 'language and accessibility' that is already before the Senate. “Straightening the international influx through language policy is steering around a corner. Then we are still not talking about why we are doing internationalization. Are we recruiting international students to alleviate labor shortages in technology, healthcare or education? Is it about strengthening European citizenship or about international citizenship? battle for brains? You have to answer that question before you choose measures.”
(The article continues below the illustration)
Picture: Rosa Snijders
Spaans
“Recruiting top foreign talent is necessary for internationally oriented sectors such as technology, art education and agriculture, and that requires English-taught education,” says De Wit. “But really only at master and PhD level and even there it is not always desirable.” In the Bachelor's phase, English-taught education is generally not necessary to do internationalization, he believes. “You can also organize international classrooms through short exchanges. Then you only have to provide part of the program in English.” It can even be done without physical exchange. “I have seen very nice online internationalization projects where the interaction with international students is better than during physical lectures. It doesn't always have to be in English either. You also have other options, such as teaching in Spanish, Arabic or German.”
Van den Eijnden also thinks it makes sense to “give bachelor's programs in Dutch “with a few exceptions, and to arrange internationalization in that phase through exchange programmes.” It will not be easy to get universities and colleges on the same page, he thinks. The interests between Randstad and the border regions and between higher professional education and university differ considerably. “But it starts with the question of what we want with internationalization”, concludes Van den Eijnden. “Then we have to make choices. In higher education, as in other areas, we are reaching the limits of growth. To quote Johan Remkes: Not everything is possible everywhere.”
