Minister Bussemaker plans to have a “stern talk” with higher education institutions that offer education in English “purely and solely” to attract international students. That is what she said today in the Volkskrant. However, Radboud University anticipates her visit with confidence.

This year, the university is launching six new English-language Bachelor’s programmes, and those related to psychology are particularly popular among German students. Should Nijmegen expect a stern talk with the minister? Were the English-language Bachelor’s programmes (now eight in total) primarily developed to draw students or for other reasons?

In 2015, Former Ambassador Marnix Krop advised the university to look beyond the countries’ borders when recruiting students. In his comments for Vox, he pointed out the location of Nijmegen, in the middle of shrinking rural areas. According to Krop, foreign recruitment is necessary if Nijmegen does not want to suffer from a decline in student numbers. And that is not what the minister wants to hear.

Also for the sake of quality
University spokesman Martijn Gerritsen confidently looks forward to this “stern talk” with the minister. He responded that the English-language Bachelor’s programmes are not “purely and solely” designed to recruit students, referencing the Radboud University motto ‘Better, not bigger’. Gerritsen: “Internationalisation contributes to the quality of both education and research. Developments in science occur in an international field and our students often return to work in an international environment.” Gerritsen also points to the significant number of “very strong Dutch students” who opt for an English-language programme.

However, for the Psychology programme, recruitment motives have certainly played a role in the formation of the English-language Bachelor’s. Earlier, Programme Director Ruud Meulenbroek called this a reaction to the declining student numbers in the Dutch-language programme. But there is more to this, he said today, in response to the minister’s statement. “English is the lingua franca in science, including in psychology.” He calls the cross-border recruitment a logical consequence of the pursuit of internationalisation, which is, after all, one of the university’s key priorities. “We wish to offer students international experience and opportunities, and because of that, providing academic education is very beneficial.”

Minister Bussemaker made her statement today in de Volkskrant, which published an overview of the English-language programme offerings in higher education. In an earlier debate in the House of Representatives, she already expressed criticism toward the increasing English-language offerings. “If education in English comes at the cost of nuance and the depth of substance, then it’s best to leave it be,” she said in the House of Representatives. She finds it “inappropriate” that some higher learning institutions opt to teach in English “purely and solely to attract international students”. / In collaboration with HOP