Dutch tracks will not be introduced anytime soon

Utrecht University recently announced its intention to investigate whether Dutch tracks could be introduced to four programmes that are currently taught in English. That would be one of the ways UU would contribute to the ambition of limiting the influx of international students and reducing the "anglicisation" of higher education. These goals were set by UNL, the association of Dutch universities. 

The four programmes in question are Economics & Business Economics, Molecular & Biophysical Life Science, Global Sustainability Science (GSS) and Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE). These are the only Bachelor’s programmes in Utrecht that are fully English-taught. Others already have Dutch tracks. 

An enrolment cap for English-taught tracks
The announcement did not come as a surprise for the economists at UU, says Educational Director Niels Bosma. It has been clear for some time now that Dutch universities want to do something about "major" English-taught programmes. What "major" means is not defined anywhere but around 500 students join the programme in Utrecht each year, 210 of them from abroad.

The different Economics programmes in the Netherlands have been in touch about the possibility of introducing Dutch tracks. “This isn’t an ideal scenario for most programmes,” Bosma acknowledges. “We too are fond of our international classroom.”

At the same time, the programmes have stated that they are aware that the influx of international students is leading to societal bottlenecks, and that they can play a role in limiting that. “With the introduction of a Dutch track, we can regain more control of the number of students,” Bosma expects. 

An important requirement is the ability to establish an enrolment cap for the English-taught tracks (a practice best known in the Netherlands as numerus fixus). This requires the law to be changed, an idea that enjoys widespread political support at the moment. After the change comes into effect, the Economics programmes will have to discuss how to deal with those limitations, the director warns. “Nobody wants to run the risk of maintaining a strict enrolment cap and then see all the students go to a different programme elsewhere, where they have higher chances of being accepted.”

Tough nuts to crack
The economists will soon study what a Dutch-taught track should look like and what its relationship to the English version should be. It was only ten years ago that UU decided to teach the entire Economics programme in English. Before that, students could still attend work groups in Dutch.

There are some tough nuts to crack with the Executive Board as well. After all, who will pay for the introduction of the new track? Besides, workloads are already high among Economics lecturers. 

Lastly, Bosma points out that creating a good programme and a possible accreditation process would take time. “It’s clear that a Dutch track could not start operating before 2026-2027.”

In the dark
The GSS and PPE programmes have quite different responses. When visiting the Educational Director for GSS, Karin Rebel, and Programme Coordinator Margien Bootsma, DUB learns that they are still in the dark about what will happen.

“This is new information for us, which makes it hard to respond", says Rebel. "We will start thinking about that if and when we are asked to study the options for a Dutch track.”

But Rebel is not that excited about the idea anyway. “We started this programme eight years ago with a conscious and clear international vision. We're dealing with global issues, so, for us, the presence of international students is crucial.”

Around 180 first-year students join the programme each year, a third of whom from abroad. “The thing we’re most worried about is what this type of message does to our current students and lecturers. They are feeling less and less welcome in the Netherlands and that’s the last thing we want.”

Maurits de Jongh, Programme Coordinator for PPE, also says he is unaware of any study into Dutch versions for his programme. He wonders whether the measures announced by UNL would apply to PPE.

PPE has the so-called BKK, a special hallmark for small-scale, intensive education, which makes it possible for them to select their students. They allow a maximum of 75 students each year, of whom two-thirds are from abroad. They pay double the regular tuition fees. De Jongh: “We’ll wait until we know more.”

PPE's introduction week at UCU. Photo: DUB

Not enough information
When asked by members of the Humanities Council last Friday, the faculty board stated they did not know what the announced plans would mean exactly. There are several interpretations of the announcement both inside and outside UU. Together with other faculties, the Faculty of Humanities hopes to obtain clearer information from the Executive Board soon.

A UU spokesperson states that it isn’t surprising that programmes and faculties have little information to go on so far. After all, an "impact analysis" needs to be made at the administrative level first. That means the university will study the consequences of the announced measures for its specific case. 

Once that study is completed, the university will be able to talk to the concerned deans in more detail. The spokesperson cannot say how much time the university will need for its analysis. At this stage, the university can't say much about how new Dutch-taught tracks will be financed, either. 

Molecular & Biophysical Life Sciences, another English-taught Bachelor's programme, is also awaiting more information. Although the programme has grown exponentially from 66 students to 162 students in three years, the university says it is not in the same category as "major" programmes like Economics. 

Programme Director Eric Huizinga prefers not to talk to DUB at this stage. “We’re currently looking into what actions to take and that takes time,” he declares in an e-mail to our journalist. 

UU also wants to look into the option of providing more bilingual Master’s programmes. One-fifth of its 48 English-taught Master’s programmes should also be offered in Dutch over the next ten years, according to a press release. It’s unclear what programmes will be concerned as that also depends on the studies that are currently being conducted.

The Faculty of Social Sciences has since taken a first step. This past spring, two Master’s programmes in Educational Sciences and Orthopedagogy announced they would switch to Dutch. 

It isn't known yet whether more Master’s programmes will follow. Vice-Dean Jan van Tartwijk says they will take a pragmatic look at whether or not it makes sense for programmes to be taught bilingually. “So far, it’s been about Master’s programmes where the majority of internships require proficiency in the Dutch language. In that case, it makes sense to also write a thesis in Dutch. There are also many people in the field interested in the Master’s, but who prefer not to do it in English.”

The English-taught Master’s in Psychology, a discipline often mentioned in discussions about language policy, is not considering a Dutch-taught track at this time, according to the vice-dean. 

Van Tartwijk emphasises that the faculty will keep doing its best to maintain an international outlook, even in its Dutch-taught programmes. An important concern for him is that international staff keep feeling appreciated in Utrecht. “We’re getting a lot of questions from them about what will happen, and rightly so.”