University of Twente in financial trouble; Budget cuts, vacancy freeze announced

The University of Twente (UT) is in dire straits financially. The university expects a deficit of 17 million euros in 2023 and is taking widespread cost-saving measures. UT announced an across-the-board budget cut of 2 percent for all departments, stopped filling vacancies, and will not extend temporary contracts, Tubantia reports. Students and staff fear a crisis, according to the newspaper.

The university had already expected a deficit for this year due to inflation, higher salaries, and lower student influx. Earlier this year, the UT took cost-saving measures, canceling additional investments and making stricter choices in terms of personnel, leave, and project hours. But the deficit is turning out higher than hoped.

Two weeks ago, the Executive Board suddenly announced these extra measures, according to Tubantia. “The further elaboration of the spring memorandum [the spring update to the annual budget] into a final budget for 2024 has shown that it is not easy to stay within the financial frameworks,” the Executive Board said. “More difficult than initially thought. That is why even stricter choices have to be made.”

The University Council - the representative body of students and staff - called the new measures an unpleasant surprise, coming one week after a meeting between the Executive Board and the Council in which the Board stressed that the university wasn’t in crisis. According to the Council, the Board’s arguments for harsher measures - inflation and higher wages - already existed last year.

The University Council fears that the new cuts will affect essential processes for the well-being of staff and students. The Council has convinced the Executive Board to include its concerns in the discussion about next year’s budget, council chairman Herbert Wormeester told Tubantia. “Together, we aim to make the right choices so that we do not needlessly destroy what we have been building for years and so that we can continue to invest in matters that are essential for the future of the university.”