During Wednesday’s council meeting, UReka council member Tjerk Zweers shared what he called ‘alarming signals’ from study associations with rector Tom Veldkamp. This academic year, 725 board grants from the Student Support Fund (StOF) were distributed among all study associations. Next academic year, that number will be reduced to just 580.
Although the rector said he takes the concerns seriously, Zweers does not expect a quick solution. ‘No, I don’t expect a fix in the short term. Expressing concern and the intention to act is good, but it is also easy. It does not resolve the problem right now. We will only feel reassured when we see concrete steps being taken.’
Risk to activism
Tom Snelder of the Umbrella of Study Associations (OS) also anticipates problems. ‘This past academic year, there was not equal interest everywhere in taking on a board year, so there was a certain buffer in the number of grants. For the coming year, interest is considerably higher, while fewer grants are available. That will make things very tight for associations. We were certainly startled by that.’
According to Snelder, a full‑time board member ideally receives eight grants per year, roughly equivalent to compensation for the tuition fee of that year. That was possible this year. The StOF budget, however, is based on seven grants. With more board members and fewer grants available next year, the available funding must be spread more thinly. As a result, board members can expect to receive several hundred euros less from StOF.
Snelder fears that this will make a board year less attractive. ‘This is a worrying development. Financially, there is already a strong incentive for students to graduate on time, so there is limited room for taking on a board position. This development puts activism at risk.’
Associations stepping in
Snelder and Zweers expect that associations may try to compensate board members themselves, using their own funds. ‘It would not be a surprise if an association chooses to do so,’ says Snelder. ‘If you consider the often full‑time commitment, the importance of associations for social cohesion within study programmes, and their significant added value to education… Some associations may cover the shortfall themselves or ask their faculty for support. Ideally, you spend your budget on core activities, but you need people to carry out those activities.’
What comes next? Zweers and Snelder do not expect the Executive Board to increase the StOF budget at short notice. ‘No, under the previous FOBOS system, the budget was often exceeded and grants were still paid out. Under StOF, there have been budget cuts, and spending is monitored more strictly,’ says Zweers. ‘We are in constructive discussions with Student Union, which distributes the grants,’ Snelder adds. ‘They are thinking along with us, but they cannot simply increase the budget.’
The importance of active students
Zweers wants his party to take the issue further. ‘When transitioning to a new system, friction always arises. The first evaluation of StOF should not only address emerging problems. At some point, the university must also ensure that sufficient funding is available until everything has been worked out.’
For Snelder, this requires structural funding. ‘Active students are extremely important to this university. You should not reduce funding for that, but increase it. This is something UT really needs to address in order to safeguard that culture, before it’s too late.’
