National measures
The measures that Dutch universities announced will mean a decline in the number of international students for many universities. The new measures will ensure that Dutch universities manage the intake of international students while also prioritising the Dutch language within degree programmes. The universities will also introduce a numerus fixus for the English-language variant of certain degree programmes.
Radboud University
These measures will create room for growth in the number of international students, in job sectors with staff shortages and in border regions and regions in population decline. For Radboud University, this means that controlled growth in the number of international students is possible in the coming years. On the one hand, this is because Radboud University has had a limited number of international students up until now. Even more important is that Radboud University is located in a region where international growth is a necessity due to sectors in short supply. For these reasons, no further study programmes at Radboud University need to be converted to Dutch. The psychology programme, for example, will remain bilingual.
Support
The Executive Board of Radboud University fully supports the alternative to the TAO. President of the Board, Alexandra van Huffelen: ‘The proposed TAO for existing programmes is too rigorous and creates uncertainty among staff and students. This test is not necessary: universities are capable of taking responsibility themselves and looking at how internationalisation can be balanced.’