Saxion President Anka Mulder at opening of academic year: ‘There is too little attention for applied university education, time to make a stand’

For some time now she has been convinced that HBO is getting insufficient recognition and the need to draw attention to this is becoming more urgent, Anka Mulder concludes. This is why, this afternoon at the opening of the academic year, she is standing on stage holding a banner. Mulder is concerned, but will not give up hope: “At the start of this new cabinet period, I see that the political attention for applied university education is growing in a number of parties. That’s positive, I’m grateful for that, I want to absolutely emphasise that. However, developments surrounding the cutbacks in applied university education are extremely worrying. They don’t help students progress, they don’t help regions progress and they don’t help the Netherlands progress.”

Key role

While secondary vocational education (MBO) has received much more attention and appreciation over the last three years (quite rightly so according to Mulder), HBO has been snowed under by academic universities (WO) within higher education, she finds. “Higher education has two branches. However, when politics or the media talks about higher education, the focus is almost always solely on academic universities. I don’t think this selective attention for the academic world is good. At the start of this academic year the Netherlands has 450,000 HBO students. They are incredibly important to the future of the Netherlands. As nurses, teachers, mechanical engineers and accountants. It is about all the individual students, each with their own talent. These are not only the young adults now coming from secondary education, but also those progressing from MBO, lateral entrants, those training-up their skills or those starting out on a master’s degree. With their knowledge they play a key role in society.”

Lowest-funded form of education

The statistics substantiate this: applied university graduates are popular in the job market. 88% of graduates find paid work in the same or neighbouring province to where they studied, according to the ‘HBO-monitor’ from 2022. Resounding figures, however, that does not mean that all is well with applied university education, Anka Mulder explains: “The CPB [Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis] calculated last year that HBO education is the lowest-funded form of education. And for every 20 euros the Dutch government spends on research, 1 euro goes to applied research in HBO. Last month the Rathenau Institute published its annual review for research in the Netherlands. This shows that the funding gap between academic education and HBO has grown by more than 1 billion per year over the past four years. That is huge. I don't understand that choice. It is just as important for HBO students as for academic university students that their education is kept up to date through research. There should be no such divide.”

Internationalisation

According to Mulder, the fact that HBO is too often overlooked also means that there is much less attention paid to the specific problems it faces, specifically: the discussion concerning internationalisation and the negative effect of the penalty for taking longer to complete your study. “Internationalisation is not a problem for us, but we do experience the negative consequences of the measures that are in the picture. In fact, the problems involved only occur in a few university towns. We have no major problems with accommodation, with access to study programmes, with programmes that are only given in English. We take good account of these things. At Saxion, 10% of our students are international. It is unfortunate that we are being sucked into the national discussion about internationalisation.”

Study extension penalty

Being fined for taking longer to complete your study is also counterproductive, says Mulder. Both for individual students and for the Dutch labour market. “It is the individual student who is closest to my heart. That’s who I'm primarily concerned about. However, if you zoom out and look at the national interest, you see that the problems in the labour market are only going to increase. We are experiencing growing shortages. This does not call for measures where you discourage students from starting or finishing a study. And this is exactly what the study extension penalty does. Many students are under pressure. They are informal carers or they have to work to make ends meet. Why would you make it even more difficult for them with such a measure? Don’t let that potential go to waste, we need all the talent that’s out there.”

Backbone of the region

Anka Mulder calls both MBO and HBO students the backbone of the region. They often continue to live and work in the region after graduation. “They are the future teachers, nurses, IT workers and social workers in each region. If you look at small or medium-sized businesses, it is often the HBO graduates who really bring about innovation. They are the smart practitioners. Or the thinkers who also get things done. It depends on how you put it. This makes them extremely important for the future of companies and organisations.” In many sectors, the lack of HBO graduates is visible, she notes. “There is a huge demand for technicians, for IT workers, teachers, nurses. There is also a huge shortage of accountants. When I ask employers: ‘What do you need?’ then it’s the HBO graduates that we provide. I don’t have to explain to employers the added value HBO graduates bring to their business or organisation. They are welcomed with open arms. Just think of the innovation that is needed in healthcare to keep that sector future-proof. Of course you need scientific research, but you can’t get by without applied research. With people who can bring solutions to the market and society. People who think: ‘How can this idea really take shape in practice? How do I fix this problem? And also within the foreseeable future.’ Now we still have a university of applied sciences in every region, but what will happen in the near future if the range of education and applied research shrinks?”

Personal mission

Mulder feels it is her personal mission to stand up for applied university education, she says. Especially today, at the start of the new academic year. “What I’m witnessing, I find incomprehensible. Why is there relatively such little attention for HBO? It only creates a greater dichotomy in higher education, while both branches -WO and HBO - are equally important. My message is: pay attention to HBO and give us the opportunity to be strong and continue to develop and excel.” She is not alone in that, she says: “By nature, HBO is already a cooperative sector. But we are also modest. Yet now you notice that there is a growing feeling that we have to stand together and bang on the drum. We have many supporters, including many presidents of applied university executive boards. Along with student unions, SMEs, municipalities and provinces. I will be saying something about this today, at the opening of our Saxion year, but nationally I am not alone in this.”

Reconsider

When Mulder looks at the next three years, she hopes that politics will realise that the position of HBO must become stronger. “And in the short term, I call on the cabinet to reconsider its proposed cuts. What makes sense? What is sensible and what really helps the Netherlands move forward? With our own strategic plan, we as a university of applied sciences will focus in the coming years on good education and good student supervision. We don’t put up hurdles, but rather provide them with pathways to progress should they decide that they want to switch study programme. For example, because they would rather be at a hospital bedside than standing in front of a class. Or vice versa. We want to prevent students from dropping out. That their talent goes to waste. Something like a study extension fine is completely at odds with that. This will not solve the problems in the Netherlands. I want to reiterate that.”