New education programme should pull UCR out of the doldrums

Last Thursday, the UCR board published an article on the Intranet detailing everything going wrong with the university college in Middelburg, which is part of Utrecht University. Only 154 freshers joined UCR last September, while the institution needs to welcome between 180 and 200 to stay financially healthy. In addition, their English-taught Bachelor's programme suffers from a dropout rate of 22 percent in the first year. Many first-year students become disappointed in the programme as UCR is unable to fulfil their expectations of a high-quality academic environment tailored to their personal needs. This is due to a lack of student support, an inflexible curriculum and courses that fill up quickly, preventing many from taking their preferred subjects.

What's more, UCR has an inefficient organisational structure, which the board qualified as top-heavy. For example, they have seven professors and thirteen associate professors teaching at the Bachelor's level with relatively little time for research, which weighs heavily on the budget and leads to dissatisfaction among the workforce. Many get frustrated that university lecturers with lower salaries have largely the same teaching duties as professors and associate professors.

The board calculates that UCR risks a deficit of over two million euros per year from 2028 onwards, due to declining student numbers, austerity measures coming from the national government, and the possibility of restrictions to the influx of international students through the Internationalisation in Balance Act. Regarding the latter, an exemption for the Zeeland province, where UCR is located, has been discussed to allow English-taught programmes to be assessed according to added value, but it looks like the amendment will not pass.

Drastic measures
These are the main reasons why the UCR Board believes drastic measures are necessary. On the one hand, the curriculum must be revamped to attract more students (both Dutch and international) to Middelburg and, on the other hand, the university college must be reorganised to become financially sustainable in the near future.

"That is a difficult task," admits Sjef Smeekens, Interim Dean of University College Roosevelt. “But UCR is a special institution in the heart of Zeeland where people can study in a relatively peaceful environment and benefit from an academic atmosphere that is closely connected with local organisations. We have a 'living lab’ approach. UCR hopes to attract at least 160 students per year over the next few years, hence the need to tighten the belt."

Sjef Smeekens, Interim Dean of University College Roosevelt and a professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at UU. Photo: UU

Social and economic needs
Smeekens has been busy making new plans since the summer. "We need to offer something extra precisely because we're located a bit further away. One of the reasons behind the declining interest in UCR in recent years is the fact that competition is growing elsewhere. We must become attractive again."

Hence the plan to drastically change the educational programme. UCR will still retain a Liberal Arts & Sciences format, but the choices will be more focused on the interests of the younger generation: Business & Entrepreneurship, Media, Culture & Communication, Government & Society, Data Science & Intelligence Systems, Health, Cognition & Behaviour, and Environment & Sustainability.

"We chose six current themes related to social and economic needs. We deliberately included Artificial Intelligence in the programme, for instance. We are also explicitly focusing on collaborations with local organisations, such as Delta Climate Center and the Knowledge Centre for Undermining Organised Crime," Smeekens explains. He hopes that these changes will make UCR look more interesting to a broader group of students.

There will be slightly fewer courses in this new set-up, which will allow groups to be a bit larger and the semester to be extended from 15 to 16 weeks. UCR will also have a Personal and Professional Development Programme (PPD) to help students develop personal and professional skills. In addition, students will create their own Liberal Arts & Sciences portfolio with room for research courses. This will replace the final research project currently required for graduation. UCR intends to debut the new programme in the next academic year, and current first-year and second-year students will participate too.

Difficult conversations
The board cannot avoid making drastic cuts to the UCR budget. Last Wednesday and Thursday, the university college held talks with eighty employees, of whom twenty-one (14.5 FTE) were told they would lose their jobs. They can leave immediately if they find another position before the summer break. If not, they will be dismissed when the academic year ends.

Smeekens: "Those were difficult conversations. Some saw it coming, but for others, the dismissal came as a big surprise. The problem is that UCR hasn't renewed itself for years. Whenever we added something new, the old continued to exist. In the long run, this leads to an inefficient management structure, which is why it is necessary to take drastic measures now. If we didn't do anything, this could have negative consequences for UCR in the long term. We are responsible for our finances, so if we don't make it, we'll go bankrupt."

UCR's educational programme is offered by Utrecht University and its Engineering department does not receive structural financial support from the province of Zeeland. Recently, a study by the Ministry of Finance showed that it was not entirely clear who would be held responsible if UCR were to fall below the financial minimum. According to Smeekens, it is now crystal clear that this responsibility lies with UCR itself. Utrecht University is only responsible for academic quality. Smeekens: "UU's Executive Board assisted us in devising this plan and provided valuable advice. They support the plan."

UCR students and teachers protested against the planned budget cuts. Photo by UCR students

Criticism
Not everyone supports these plans at UCR, however. Students and staff have been critical of these changes since last summer, which has caused the process to take longer than anticipated. Last week, the students went on strike to manifest their support to the teachers threatened with dismissal.

The most outspoken criticism comes from the works council, which posed serious questions about the proposal. For example, they wonder whether the new programme will have the desired effect, as they claim UCR has not conducted sufficient research into this. The members fear that the academic value of the programme will be reduced and students will be insufficiently prepared for a Master's degree without a final project. The council also believes that the layoffs are too drastic in comparison to the financial challenges faced by UCR. Work pressure could increase for remaining staff members if UCR were to have fewer employees, and courses would have to be cancelled if a teacher got sick. 

The education committee was cautious in its response. Though it does not reject the plans for new educational themes, it fears that changing the curriculum on such short notice will imply major risks. The committee wonders if it is even possible to replace the old programme with the new one.

The student council is the most optimistic party. It does not reject the plan but wants to see proper transitional arrangements for current students. The council demands clear communication and more flexibility in the transition from the old to the new curriculum. The programme committee and the student council are also critical of the abolition of the Senior Project.

Students at University College Roosevelt went on strike to protest the budget cuts. Photo by UCR students

Small community
Kel Schoenmakers is a second-year student at UCR and a member of the student council. Last week, he took part in the protests in support of the teachers. "We are a small community and we empathise with each other. If 25 percent of the staff must go, that also affects the students."

He acknowledges that something must be done and says that the student council has insisted on a smooth transition that would take students into account. He feels that things haven't been communicated clearly so far and fears for the continuity of UCR's education. "The teachers who have been given notice can leave from March 7 onwards if they want to. But what will happen to their courses? This could impact students negatively."

Interim dean Smeekens acknowledges that the changes have been met with a lot of resistance. He understands that the news comes as a big shock for those involved and the UCR community. "UCR and the trade unions have agreed on an extensive social plan for the employees affected. Staff and students will cooperate closely throughout this transition to allow UCR to flourish in the future."