Faculty of Law, Economics & Governance wishes to keep Economics English-taught

Tempers ran high at the Faculty of Law, Economics & Governance in December. The Executive Board announced that month it intended to discontinue the English-taught Bachelor's programme in Economics as of 2029 and to offer it only in Dutch thereafter.

This announcement came as a complete surprise to the economists. Until then, the Executive Board had stated that the current programme, ministered in English, would be supplemented with an additional Dutch-taught track. However, it emerged in December that, contrary to these statements, the Executive Board had already agreed with the Association of Dutch Universities (UNL) in April 2025 that the English track would be discontinued after a certain number of years, and the programme would switch entirely to Dutch.

The future of the Economics programme
The Faculty Council of Law, Economics & Governance met on Monday, 19 January. The council members and the Faculty board members were still visibly angry. In fact, the words “anger” and “frustration” were frequently used to describe their emotions.

According to the economist Coen Rigtering, a member of the Faculty Council, workers are feeling uneasy and distressed, wondering about the future of the Economics programme. "The discontinuation of our English-taught programme not only affects enrolment, but also the transition to our Master's programmes. Therefore, it has a profound impact on our academic continuity and financial security." In addition, he is concerned about the competitive position of UU's Economics programme compared to other Dutch universities, which "are still allowed to keep their English-taught programmes in Economics and Business Economics".

Sönke Matthewes, another economist representing staff at the Faculty Council, emphasises that Economics and Business Administration are internationally oriented disciplines. He fears that switching to Dutch will isolate UU's Economics programme. "Students who aspire to an academic career need English, as literature, conferences and publications are almost entirely in English."

"Even outside academia, Economics and Business Administration are English-dominated fields. Economists work with English concepts, terminology and documents every day in international organisations, multinationals, finance, trade and consultancy. If we switch completely to Dutch, our programme will become less attractive to students, including Dutch students."

According to the economist, the same applies to staff. Matthewes, who comes from Germany, chose to work in Utrecht because "the Economics programme is internationally oriented, with English-taught classes. If we move away from that, we will not only lose students but also affect our academic standing, as we will become less attractive to international talent. In short, it is not a wise decision, so we, council members, hope that it will not go ahead."

Minutes
Most of the questions asked by the council members during the meeting were addressed to the Executive Board. "We fully realise that we are talking to the departmental board and the faculty board here, but you both have had limited influence on this decision," said Stefanie Beyens, chair of the Faculty Council. "This decision was made by the Executive Board."

The Faculty Council sent a letter to the Executive Board before the meeting, requesting that the minutes of the discussions they had with other Dutch universities, which led to this decision, be made public. "We would like to know what happened there and why," Beyens said. They also wonder why UU's Executive Board kept the decision secret. "April was a long time ago, and we were only informed that this was going to happen in December. What took them so long?"

Lack of understanding 
Elaine Mak, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics & Governance, can relate to the questions the council has for the Executive Board. She, too, is frustrated that the Faculty Board reached agreements with the Executive Board regarding the Dutch and English tracks, even though the Executive Board already knew that the English track would be discontinued after a few years.

"From my position as a board member, and also a little bit personally, I'm still angry about how the board has treated our faculty," says Mak. "Frankly, from an administrative point of view, I find it incomprehensible that this could happen. We will talk about it with the Executive Board. I have indicated that it is important for the Executive Board to recognise that our trust has been violated."

The council members question whether the Executive Board should have been allowed to make this agreement with UNL without consulting representative advisory bodies. They want to seek external legal advice on this matter. The Faculty Board agrees with this course of action and promises to allocate funds for it. Although the Faculty Board still wants to avert the Executive Board's decision, it is already holding meetings this week about the financial compensation package that the Executive Board wants to offer to Economics out of solidarity.

University Council
Several University Council members are following this case closely, as is the chair of the University Council, Wim de Smidt. The Faculty Council wondered whether the University Council would discuss this topic. De Smidt says that the University Council was also taken by surprise, and that the councillors discussed the matter amongst themselves on Monday. They also intend to inquire of the Executive Board at the meeting on 23 February. One of the things they intend to ask is why they were sidelined in this decision. After all, the University Council also believed there would be two tracks in Economics.

De Smidt says that the University Council believes that the Executive Board should have consulted them about these plans. "The decision was made within UNL, but we believe this is a matter for the University Council."

Authorised by UNL
Bas Cornelisse, a Law student and member of the University Council representing the Vuur party, has difficulty understanding how such a major decision could be made within UNL. "What legitimacy does UNL have to make such a decision? We have a University Council, and it wasn't consulted. I am really breaking my head over this."

Mak feels the same. "The authority to discontinue programmes lies with the faculties and the University Council. I would like to include this question in the external legal advice." The dean hopes not to have to take legal action, as she would prefer to avert the discontinuation of the English-taught Economics programme by talking to the Executive Board. "Legal proceedings take a long time, cost a lot of money, and pit us against each other. We should resolve this by talking."