Targeted budget cuts along seven lines

6 February 2025

Utrecht University is facing a tough financial challenge. In recent months, it has therefore carefully examined opportunities to make savings. With input from deans and directors, seven cost-cutting lines were formulated, including around building opening hours, honours education and streamlining the IT portfolio. These lines will help UU to remain financially healthy and maintain room for investments in the future.

Margot van der Starre, vice-president of the Executive Board: ‘We don't want to “simply” cut where possible, but make strategic choices about what we do want to do, and what kind of university we want to be. That means being purposeful with our resources, while continuing to fulfil our core missions: high quality education, distinctive research and social impact."

Quick savings

Earlier you could read how UU is tackling the financial challenge: with cross-departmental measures, austerity measures per faculty, making the Humanities faculty more sustainable, making the University Corporate Offices (UBD) more sustainable and investing responsibly in real estate. The first point, cross-departmental measures, has been developed into seven austerity lines for 2025 and beyond. These are measures that can be realised relatively quickly and can generate savings as early as 2025:

Adjustments to building closing times
Phasing out honours bachelor's programmes
Streamlining and optimal use of IT portfolio
Limitation of national and international travel
Reduce leave remnants, improve leave registration and stimulate job contracts
Reduce external hiring
Increase overhead surcharges in project budgets in third-party funds

Opening hours of buildings

The evening closing time of many buildings will be brought forward and some buildings will open later. In addition, there will be a four-week summer period when most UU buildings will be closed. This will bring both cost savings and sustainability benefits. Read more in this news item on intranet.

Phasing out honours Bachelor's programmes

Honours programmes in Bachelor's education will be phased out in the coming years. Instead of separate courses, more attention will be paid to excellence within regular programmes. This will generate savings and ensure that a wider group of students is reached. Update 18 February: The University Council voted against a proposal that would free faculties from the obligation to offer honours programmes to bachelor students. The Executive Board plans to discuss dropping the obligation with the University Council again next academic year. This will result in a new proposal.

Streamlining and optimal use of IT portfolio

We identify where IT applications and services for education, research and operations can be discontinued, merged or deployed more efficiently. This should lead to cost reductions and less overlap.

Restriction on (inter)national travel

There will be a consideration framework for (long-distance) travel for employees. This framework will help critically assess whether travel is necessary, with the aim of reducing travel, making more sustainable choices and saving costs.

Reducing leave remnants, incorporating improved leave registration and encouraging performance-based contracts

There are many outstanding leave hours. There will be a plan to reduce the built-up leave accumulation and encourage the use of performance-based contracts. Accrued leave hours are a financial liability and reducing them helps to improve the financial position. If departments no longer need to reserve this money because colleagues opt for a performance-based contract or take and register their leave hours, it can be used, for instance, as a contribution to a cost-cutting task.

With a performance-based contract, you make agreements with your manager about the results you will achieve in a calendar year. You are thus personally responsible for work and rest times and how you organise your work. This also means that you take leave at your own discretion, and no longer have to register this leave in the leave registration system. This means that the university no longer has to take into account ‘unused leave’ that has to be recorded as a provision in the financial records. You can still save for a sabbatical with a job contract, however.

Reducing external hiring

After salary and accommodation costs, external hiring and external consultancy services are a relatively large expense. There will be a plan to structurally reduce these expenses.

Increasing overhead surcharges in project budgets in third-party funds

Several externally funded projects, for example when a research group wins a grant, do not fully cover costs. Overhead costs are not always included. The desire is to budget projects to break even, with realistic margins. Please note that this measure applies to projects that do not belong to the so called first or second money streams. See the OCW explanation of first, second and third money streams (in Dutch).

These seven measures are the result of a brainstorming session with the Executive Board, deans, directors and academic directors of the strategic themes. After taking stock of all the ideas submitted, all options were weighed up for feasibility and impact. On this basis, these lines were further developed.

Measures initiated

The measure around adjusted building opening hours has been initiated and is now being implemented. The decision on phasing out honours education for bachelor's students has been submitted to the University Council for approval and will be discussed in the decision-making meeting on 17 February. Other measures will first be worked out in more detail and then discussed with deans, directors and the University Council. Gradually it will become clearer what savings the measures will bring and what they will mean in practice for students and staff. Implementation will take place step by step in cooperation with faculties and services.

Preparations for 2026 and beyond

Besides the measures for 2025, we are looking at follow-up steps for 2026 and beyond. These are measures that need more preparation time. For instance, later this year, explorations will include more focus in Continuing Education, merging or removing educational programmes, more efficient cooperation in operations and better use of educational time slots between 5pm and 7pm and later in the evening. Proposals around accommodation are discussed in the Real Estate Board.

Staying up-to-date

In the near future, you will hear more about the seven austerity lines and what this might mean for you. For general updates, keep an eye on the dossier page around budget cuts.

Want to know more?

Want to know more about the cuts, how UU is dealing with them and what you can do yourself? Check out the dossier page on uu.nl.

To the dossier page

Feedback

News

Targeted budget cuts along seven lines

Quick savings

Read more about these measures

Opening hours of buildings

Phasing out honours Bachelor's programmes

Streamlining and optimal use of IT portfolio

Restriction on (inter)national travel

Reducing leave remnants, incorporating improved leave registration and encouraging performance-based contracts

Reducing external hiring

Increasing overhead surcharges in project budgets in third-party funds

Measures initiated

Preparations for 2026 and beyond

Staying up-to-date

Want to know more?

Targeted budget cuts along seven lines

Quick savings

Read more about these measures

Opening hours of buildings

Phasing out honours Bachelor's programmes

Streamlining and optimal use of IT portfolio

Restriction on (inter)national travel

Reducing leave remnants, incorporating improved leave registration and encouraging performance-based contracts

Reducing external hiring

Increasing overhead surcharges in project budgets in third-party funds

Measures initiated

Preparations for 2026 and beyond

Staying up-to-date

Want to know more?

Share

Feedback

Contact

Follow UU