Developments in higher education, colleges and universities
Higher education in the Netherlands is organised according to a binary system: the practice-oriented hbo is opposed to the science-oriented university. Such a system is found in only a few countries. With the advent of the professorships in 2001 and the extension of funding for hbo master's degrees in 2016, hbo is increasingly positioning itself as the 'equal but different' counterpart of universities. The recent pilot of the professional doctorate in hbo adds to this. Universities view the ambitions of universities of applied sciences partly with approval and partly with suspicion. The relationship between hbo and universities seems to be a love-hate relationship, they need each other and at the same time legitimise their own existence by opposing the other. The question of where this binary system is heading in the future is interesting for Fontys ICT's strategy.
It was a shocking graph that Joep Houterman, chairman of the Fontys University of Applied Sciences' Executive Board, showed at the opening of the 2023-2024 academic year: a comparison of government funding per student, between all education levels. This showed that, compared to secondary schools, mbo and universities, higher education comes off worst. Besides Houterman, Ron Bormans, chairman of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, was also present to explain the report 'Focus on Profession'. That report outlines the future of higher education. If current intake trends continue, we are heading for a situation in which higher education shrinks to the size of two multi-sector colleges and de facto two universities have to be added. Another development is that of universities' 'professional drift'. They are increasingly urged by society to take responsibility with regard to connecting with the professional field and society. Incidentally, it gives food for thought that universities are being called to account on questions that the universities of applied sciences would like to be called to account on, according to the Bormans Committee. What mechanisms are behind this? That is both a critical question towards society and a self-critical question towards the universities of applied sciences themselves.
With declining intake, lower funding and the turn of universities towards applied research and education, the future of higher education does not look bright. Yet the Bormans committee, like Houterman, sees many opportunities for the hbo, by emphasising precisely its unique strengths. The core quality of hbo is professional qualification. A dual role is seen for the associate degree, both in initial education and in lifelong development. Even more than now, the associate degree should have a strong civil effect and offer students the prospect of progressing to a bachelor's degree. The committee sees many opportunities for bachelor's programmes in dual education and lifelong development. Students should be offered tailor-made courses in which they receive proper guidance. The committee also advocates a larger and more diverse range of master's programmes in hbo.
A future hbo needs a strong research component. The design of this research component within Ad and Bachelor's and Master's programmes will have to be inspired by the needs of professional practice. In other words: the role of practice-based research is to provide students with knowledge, skills and behaviours that enable them to be research-oriented, flexible, adaptive and design-oriented, according to the Bormans Committee.
Whereas the Bormans committee researched the future of higher education for the VH, the Sterken committee did so for the UNL. The VH welcomed the Sterken report, saying that some 15 per cent of students in universities would actually do much better at a university of applied sciences. The VH takes this as encouragement to further develop practice-based research and higher education master's programmes. "Universities have reached out their hand," Houterman said. "Therefore, let us further develop and expand practice-based research. That is good for the development of education and also makes hbo more attractive for future master's students."
'Equal but different' then of course includes money flows equal to universities. In other words, it could well be that the hbo will receive substantially more money in the future, for research in particular. "And are you then well prepared for that?" asked Arian van Steenbruggen (Cvb Fontys University of Applied Sciences) and Johan Struik (board advisor Fontys University of Applied Sciences) to the XLT of Fontys ICT in September 2023.
This optimism was tempered a few months later by the election results. The Netherlands is likely to get a right-wing cabinet, with parties that do not favour the influx of international students. An analysis of election manifestos depicts another potential future scenario, namely one in which universities will still be allowed to admit international students on a limited basis, which will greatly reduce their intake. Currently, almost 80,000 of the 340,000 enrolled wo students are foreign. At an average growth rate of 12 per cent per year, which is a conservative estimate given previous years, this will rise to over 125,000 students by 2025. Unless the government sets a new course.
The universities are not waiting for the formation of the new cabinet, and are already coming up with their own guidelines for controlling the influx of international students and increasing Dutch language skills in February 2024. They are committed to reducing the intake of international students, reducing the proportion of English-language bachelor's programmes, more Dutch-language programmes and promoting Dutch language skills among lecturers and students.
The universities' outstretched hand to hbo would then have been somewhat premature. Fewer students means less income. When lecture halls are overcrowded, universities embrace the fan idea, but with lower enrolment, there is a risk that universities see hbo more as a competitor, who should not 'play university' with masters, PD and research.
Fontys ICT's future touches on the dynamics within higher education outlined here. With TU Eindhoven and Tilburg University as neighbours, it is good to keep an eye on developments in order to anticipate them with education and research. As long as ICT is a deficit sector, it is likely that the inflow of international students will remain permissible.