Cuts to government funding

The draft 2025 budgetExternal link provided the first clear indication of how government spending cuts will impact the UvA:

•  From 1 January 2025, the UvA will no longer receive government funding for starter and incentive grants.
• However, there will be a new budget for workload management and talent policy.

Overall, this amounts to a €29 million reduction in the UvA’s government funding.

From 2026 onwards, further cuts to government funding for international degree programmes are expected, and there will be government-wide cuts to grants and government departments.

Limited good news

Despite the cuts, there is also some good news to report. Thanks in part to resistance from UvA staff and students, an agreement on the education budget was reached in the Dutch House of Representatives in December. In the process, the penalty for students taking longer to graduate was scrapped and some of the planned cuts were reversed. The financial impact of these windfalls is limited. They are not yet reflected in the UvA budget, because the budget agreement in the House of Representatives was concluded after the UvA budget was drafted.

Budget almost balanced

Despite the cuts, the UvA has managed almost to balance the 2025 budget, ending up with a deficit of -€1.3 million. The UvA aims to arrive at zero or even a small plus by the end of 2025. This will help the UvA to transition to a situation with structurally lower income in the coming years. In 2025, the UvA is further committed to improving the efficiency of internal services, such as accommodation and real estate. This will help prepare us for the years ahead.

Preparing for the future

The UvA’s income is expected to decline after 2025. This is not only because of the government’s cuts, but also because of the introduction of the Balanced Internationalisation Act (WIB). The UvA continues to oppose the government’s cuts and introduction of the WIB in its current form, but at the same time, we must prepare for the possible effects. We will do this by working out scenarios for faculties and services and through a new strategic accommodations plan.

Over the next few years, the creativity and commitment of many will be required to meet the challenges ahead. As this budget shows, the UvA is in a good position to do so. By both working to prevent the spending cuts and preparing to deal with them as they arise, we will make the future of the UvA as certain as we can under the current circumstances.

View the budget on uva.nlExternal link.