The milestones of the university council

Within the university, there are three standing committees, each consisting of four staff members and four students.

  • Education, Research and Student (OOS)
  • Finance, Housing and ICT (FHI)
  • Strategy, Personnel and Organisation (SPO)

There is also a PR committee that deals with the promotion and presentation of the university. The aim is to increase the awareness of the university. In recent years these committees have, in addition to their work as faithful watchdog of Utrecht University, achieved the following results:

  • Increase in government grants and subsidies (student affairs, 2003, 2010, 2015)
  • Opening of the Academic Skills Lab (student affairs)
  • Establish a bridging program for UAF refugee students. Here the students are prepared for the Dutch higher education programme (student affairs)
  • Election threshold lowered, thus increasing the accessibility of the university council (student affairs)
  • Renewal of the Master’s phase (student affairs)
  • Discussions on investment in education with the money that is expected due to the changes in the student loan system (finance)
  • Agreements on the right of approval of the University Council on the broad lines of the budget (finance)
  • Discussions on declarations of the Executive Board (Finance)
  • Continued focus on reducing employee work pressure (staffing and workload)
  • A critical look at the stagnant growth – and thus the relative shrinkage in market share of Utrecht University. UU choose quality over quantity (finance)
  • Expressed concern about the financial implications of real estate investments in the medium term (housing)
  • Been involved in the development of the Strategic Plan 2016-2020 and approved the final version (Strategy and Organization)
  • Advised caution with temporary appointments because of collective agreements and ensure education and research (staffing and workload)
  • Improved relationship with the University College Roosevelt (2015 & 2016)
  • Tutoring tailored research OER Foundation in collaboration with University Council (2015);
  • Extensive research on community formation of OER Foundation in collaboration with University Council (2012)
  • Reorganization of chairs (2012)
  • Block formed against the fine for delayed graduation (2012)

You can have a look at the annual report of the university council 2016 through this infographic!