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National Programme for Education and use of corona funds

Introduction

This chapter discusses measures that Erasmus University (EUR) took to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching, research and operations.

Students, lecturers and researchers were hit hard by the lockdowns in 2021. Students were in danger of falling behind in their studies due to dropping classes or exams; first-year students entered after modified secondary school exam programmes and were therefore less prepared. Dozens of researchers were delayed. Changes in student study routes due to delays and in support for teaching and research in a digital world put a strain on operations in 2021.

Most pervasive, however, were the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students. First of all, COVID-19 has had an impact on their study choice and study career. More students chose to attend university, with the largest growth in the number of students in the master programme in the 2020/2021 academic year.

First-year bachelor students came from a situation where education had largely been provided online. For bachelor students, graduation requirements had been adjusted to reflect the changed circumstances. This had implications for their college careers. It did not lead to higher dropout rates in 2020/2021. However - partly due to adjustments in the standards of the binding study advice - more students moved on to the second year with a study delay.

During the pandemic, several surveys were conducted on student well-being. Although reports of study success do not indicate large-scale dropout or lagging study success, newspapers headlined ‘Students are lonelier, more stressed, and very worried about their job prospects’ (Trouw in 2020). EUR conducted its own survey of students and this produced similar results (Fruewirth, Biswas & Perreira 2021). Students at EUR, especially Dutch nationals, felt more lonely than before or even very lonely (47.09% of students who participated in the Student Monitor 2020/2021). Furthermore, about the same number of respondents reported being in a more than average or severe depression.

Problems among students stem from performance anxiety combined with an inability to ask for help about when problems arise, according to interviews EUR conducted with students after the study. This was already the case before COVID-19 and has been reinforced by this pandemic.

NPO (education) funds have therefore been used to promote student wellbeing and resolve negative effects (study delays and gaps in prior education).

Implementation of the plans began during the summer recess. Not long after, there was a resurgence of the virus and the university went back into lockdown mode. As a result, many plans will not be implemented until 2022.

Table 8.1

  2019/2020 2020/ 2021
Bachelor 7.678 7.829
Master 5.867 7.187
Premaster 802 1.007

Project Plans

Planning May and June 2021

Faculty Boards were asked to formulate an initial vision on how the funds would be spent. These were outlined during the months of May and June 2021 during regular bilateral consultations with the Board of Trustees. The starting point for the specification was the Board’s agreement for education and research (May 2021). Subsequent regulations were created with the consent of the participatory body.

table 8.2

Erasmus MC 19 juli 2021 The participatory body indicates that there should be more attention to detail in the development of the plans, and to longer-term student wellbeing.
Erasmus School of Economics  8 juli 2021 The participatory body issued approval without any further concerns.
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication 29 juni 2021 The participatory body issued approval without any further concerns.
Erasmus School of Health Policy Management  1 juni 2021 The participatory body issued approval without any further concerns.
Erasmus School of Law 26 oktober 2021 With regard to the remedial sessions, the participatory body asked for a report with regard to the students' experiences
Erasmus School of Philosophy 27 mei 2021 The participatory body issued approval without any further concerns. However, it has called for attention to student wellbeing in the longer term.
Erasmus School of Social Sciences and Behaviour 10 juni 2021 The participatory body agreed without any further concerns, emphasising the room to be given to student mentors and student advisors.
Rotterdam School of Management 17 juni 2021 The participatory body called attention to vulnerable and/or lagging students and the monitoring of the effects of all projects and agreed without further concerns.

Governance plan and decision-making NPO

table 8.3

Body Alignment
Management Policy framework, monitoring and specification of plans:
  Board of Trustees
  Board of Deans
  Faculty Boards
Participatory body Draft plans for the theme Inflow, Advancement and Wellbeing (see below) and outline budget for all other themes
  Consultation with delegation University Council Quality Agreements from the University Council (theme D)
  Consultation based on open invitation with broad representation from the University Council (full arrangement)
  Employee participation or faculty level at all faculties
Planning consultation inflow, advancement and wellbeing Student advisors, deans and psychologists (E&S)
  Student Representation Wellbeing University Council
  Focus groups by faculty on inflow, advancement and student wellbeing
  Interview with vice-deans of education by faculty
  Consultation Vice-Deans of Education on problem definition and guidance for specification of plans
Academic Affairs Director of Academic Affairs
  Coordinating Policy Officer for Education Innovation
  Programme Leader and Academic Leader for Student Wellbeing
  Head of Student Affairs Department
  Director of Community for Learning and Innovation
Finance & Control Director of Corporate Planning and Control
  Chief Financial Officer
  Head of Control & Risk
Marketing & Communication Director M&C
  Coordinator VO-HO
Human Resources Head of Policy Staff HR (Extra assistance in the classroom and Board agreement research)
  Legal Policy Staff HR
  Policy officer Policy Staff
Faculties Dean
  Vice Dean of Research
  Vice Dean of Education
  Director of Operations
  Coordinating Policy Officer
  Faculty Council

Education Framework: specific agreements on inflow and advancement and student wellbeing

Faculties developed additional project activities. This began with a quantitative and qualitative baseline survey of students from all faculties. The results were discussed with the faculties and formed the basis for plans, which in turn were coordinated with the participation bodies of the various faculties.

A working conference of faculties, Student Services staff and the programme Wellbeing determined which topics would be developed at which level (faculty or institutional). All measures were adopted before the summer recess. During the summer holiday period, plans were developed and coordinated with other initiatives.

Based on discussions with the Faculty Boards and their participation bodies, all measures were discussed in terms of content. The participatory bodies agreed prior to the summer recess. In the summer recess of 2021, based on advice from the work conference, activities were planned at the central level, including coordination with initiatives on similar themes.

Monitoring of expenditures

As stipulated in the internal reporting system, faculties provide internal accountability for the use of funds three times a year based on a periodic report. In 2021, two were issued - the first in August and then a year-end report. These reports were discussed with the Faculty Councils.

Corona envelope: plan, update, realisation and outlook

The table below summarises the available budgets by topic for each faculty.

table 8.4

Allocation of money (in €)                      
    Er.MC ESHPM ESE RSM EUR ESL ESSB ESHCC ESPhil ISS Central
1. Increased enrolments                      
  2021 2,676,372 378,955 1,105,286 1,547,401 884,229 765,80 402,64 134,21    
2. Tuition fee compensation                      
Incidental 2021                   10,009,068
Incidental 2022                   21,372,768
3. Extra hands in the classroom                      
Incidental 2021 367,34 52,013 151,704 212,386 121,363 103,11 55,264 18,42    
Incidental 2022 367,34 52,013 151,704 212,386 121,363 105,11 55,264 18,42    
4. Inflow, Advancement and Wellbeing                      
Incidental 2021 768,966 108,88 317,567 444,594 254,054 220,03 115,685 38,66    
Incidental 2022 576,724 81,66 238,175 333,445 190,54 165,02 86,764 28,92    
5. Internships Erasmus Medical Centre                      
Incidental 2021 1,117,779                  
6. Research                      
Incidental 2021 5,105,522 190,555 306,401 479,59 201,803 305,77 121,191 66,95 87,074  
Incidental 2022 5,037,041 190,555 306,401 479,59 201,803 305,77 121,191 66,95 87,074  
Total additional NPE funds                      
2021 2021 10,035,979 730,403 1,880,958 2,683,970 1,461,449 1,396,714 694,79 258,14 87,074 -
2022 2022 5,981,106 324,228 696,28 1025 421 513,706 575,90 263,219 114,29 87,074 -

Theme 1 shows the increase in student enrolment (inflow) in the 2020/2021 academic year, and theme 2 the compensation for halving the tuition fees. Both themes are allocated to the normative state contribution. Financial recognition in the financial statements is as set out in Article 660.202 of the ‘Dutch Accounting Standards’, in the year to which the award relates. Therefore, no additional accountability is required in this Board Report.

Perhaps superfluously, please note that the compensation for the increased inflow is distributed in accordance with EUR's internal allocation model. Furthermore, based on the internal allocation model, the faculties received their share of tuition revenue. The regular (statutory) rates were used to determine this fee.

The halving of tuition fees due to COVID-19 was not taken into account in this respect. The consequence of the method is that EUR bears the result. That result is the difference between the income lost as a result of the halving of the tuition fees and the compensation received from the NPO funds.

Actual

Themes 3 up to and including 5 relate to all measures with regard to education and theme 6 to research. The so-called corona envelope is intended to prevent or recover delays in study or research.

This main objective has been set out in detail for education in the following themes:

  • Extra hands in the classroom (see 3. in table below);
  • Smooth inflow and advancement (see 4. in table below);
  • Wellbeing of students and social attachment to the programme (see 4. in table below);
  • Support and guidance relating to internships for medical education (see 5. in table below);
  •  Resources (see 6. in table below) made available to accommodate delays incurred by researchers. The funds are used for researchers on temporary contracts who were delayed by COVID-19 and faced additional costs. The funds are in the interest of their academic career, the continuity of research and the quality of higher education in the Netherlands.

table 8.5 Realisation of NPO resources across central departments and faculties.

Actuals (in €)                      
    Er.MC ESHPM ESE RSM EUR ESL ESSB ESHCC ESPhil ISS Central
1. Increased enrolments                      
Structural 2021 2,676,372 378,955 1,105,286 1,547,401 884,229 763,80 402,64 134,21    
3. Tuition fee compensation                      
Incidental 2021                   10,009,068
3. Extra hands in the classroom                      
NPO 2021 367,34 15,559 22,334 101,155 19,697 79,13 33,912 18,42    
Internal funds 2021 149,474                  
4. Inflow, Advancement and Wellbeing                      
Incidental 2021 386,503 98,248 27,141 162,436 100,703 67,79 58 38,56    
5. Internships Erasmus Medical Centre                      
Incidental 2021 -                  
6. Research                      
NPO 2021 2,548,337 90,205 29,657 - - - 20,319 19,74 87,074  
Internal funds 2021                 24,5  
Total additional NPE funds                      
NPO 2021 5,978,552 582,967 1,184,418 1,810,992 1,004,629 912,73 516,871 210,94 87,074 -
Internal funds 2021 149.424 - - - - - - - 24,5 -

The following are explanations of some of the themes in the diagram.

  • Extra hands in the classroom (#3 - G1 grant)
  • Inflow and advancement, and wellbeing (#4 - non-normative)
  • Erasmus MC internships (#5 - non-normative)
  • Research (#6 - non-normative)

Extra hands in the classroom

Balance sheet position (in €)                        
    Er.MC ESHPM ESE RSM EUR ESL ESSI ESHCC ESPhil ISS Central Total
3. Extra hands in the classroom                        
Incidental 2021 n/a 36,454 129,37 111,231 101,667 25,979 19,352 n/a     424,053

Realisation of ‘Extra Hands’ in 2021, including using internal funds

table 8.6

Faculty Note Multi-year budget Allocation '21 Forecast '22 Forecast '23
ESPhil Structural 2 FTE Incidental 3.4 FTE Incidental supervision for additional thesis supervision. 36.842 18.421 18.421 0
ESHPM Deployment of tutors 104.026 15.559 53.874 34.593
ESSB Deployment of additional tutors for teaching and review work. 210.218 79.130 131.088 0              
RSM Student assistants 8.5 FTE to support MSc teaching activities 424.772 101.155 248.795 74.822
ESE Additional capacity student assistants and additional capacity for student advisors totaling 3 FTE 303.408 22.334 179.484 133.700
Erasmus MC Temporary increase in service and appointment of temporary teaching support 734.681 516.814 367.743 0
ESL Additional student assistants to provide educational support 242.726 19.697 89.212 133.817
ESHCC Additional student assistants to provide educational support 110.527 35.912 74.616 0

Inflow, advancement and student wellbeing

The 2020 baseline measurement led to a sharpening of the vision about the problems created for students and was widely discussed with all faculties. The measurement provided a rationale for additional activities to the student wellbeing investment programme previously established by EUR.

Expenditure on inflow and advancement

Faculties spent the funds related to incoming and advancing students on additional deployment of support staff, lecturers, tutors and mentors. The main goal was to eliminate backlogs in enrolment and assign more lecturers to larger groups of students. Faculties also invested in additional assessment facilities. RSM established an Online Assessment Support Team (OAST) for smooth, swift coordination of the sudden increase in online assessments.

Additional efforts were made to remediate potential gaps that arose in the final stages of secondary education. The Erasmus School of Economicsoffered an online summer course for recently enrolled students and Erasmus School of Lawprovided additional support in the use of legal terms in Dutch and English. In addition, faculties provided additional guidance to premaster students (Erasmus School of Economics and Erasmus School of Health Policy Management). Faculties deploy mentors in addition to lecturers (Erasmus School of Philosophy). Erasmus School of Social Sciences and Behaviour established a faculty-wide mentoring programme for first-year students.

Delays in plans have been caused mainly by the tight labour market and the new lockdown. At the Erasmus School of Economics and the Rotterdam School of Management this in turn delayed, for example, the planned extra guidance for thesis students.

Below is a summary of the measures regarding inflow and advancement for each faculty.

Project name Project description Actual Multi-year budget through 2023 2021 Actuals Forecast 22-23
        (x1000)  
Erasmus Medical Centre          
More physical study spaces Better access to teaching spaces for joint study moments (in response to COVID). Introduction of online reservation system allowing students to remotely reserve rooms with appropriate m2. Roll-out by January 2022. 13.2 3.4 9.8
Meeting online Better structure and design of a more personalised learning environment for students and further alignment of online and on-campus instruction. Developed in 2021, implementation by January 2022. 6 0 6
Erasmus School of Economics          
Refresh math knowledge Online summer math course for incoming first-year students. Offered on a voluntary basis, 801 participants. 6.5 8 0
Onboarding Premaster Develop and implement mentorship for premaster students. 163 participants. 8.2 4 4.2
Guidance for B2 students Set up and implement additional guidance for second-year students with study delays. 20 participants. 3.8 1 2.8
Supervision of master students Set up personalised counselling for master students with study delays, including by realising better information to lecturers about student progress. To be introduced in 2022. 3 0 3
Thesis supervision groups Additional guidance on graduation by including group counselling and organising question time for substantive subject matter. Not yet started due to recruitment problems. 9.6 0 9.6
Unlock online education for students with disabilities. Realisation of subtitling of video material Video material from three courses has now been subtitled. In 2022 further scaling-up will follow. 240 1 239
Coordination Project leader   67 6 61
Erasmus School of History and Communication          
No specific projects on this topic.          
Erasmus School of Health Policy Management          
No specific projects on this topic.          
Erasmus School of Law          
Remedial Offering 8 Two remedial sessions 49 7 42
sessions catch-up courses. for all B1 students.      
    Implement automated processing of inquiries.      
Optimisation of services and communication. Better information and services to students. Educational communication plan to be implemented as of October 2021. 60 9 51
My Future focused on development. Programme focused on personal development of students. Dutch module introduced in collaboration with Van Dale Institute, aimed at students with language issues. 30 3 27
Erasmus School of Philosophy          
Activities related to incoming and advancing students Mentorship Various onboarding activities for prospective students and first-year students. For incumbent students, content and social activities to promote student success and social cohesion. Social and introductory activities and walk-in days were organised. Organise a multi-day event to strengthen ties and contacts. 67 11 56
Erasmus School of Social Sciences and Behaviour          
Improved educational communication Better study-related information for students. Due to labour shortage, recruitment and selection have been delayed. 46 22 24
Student Assistant Office Student Assistant Office. Details in the follow-up phase to the above section. 29 0 29
Study delay Extra guidance and extra resits for exceptional cases. Additional resits were taken in five courses. 25 25 0
Rotterdam School of Management          
Online Assessment Support Ensure all online assessments and exams are administered reliably; prepared in a timely manner; and coordinated smoothly. Almost 100 percent of online exams were ready 7 days before the examination date. Student satisfaction is high. 123 43 80
First-stop Student Helpdesk Deployment of a Freshdesk helpdesk solution to answer direct student questions. Three quarters of the targeted students are satisfied. The use of the application leads to a lower number of individual questions. 48 36 12
Progress of bachelor students Regulation providing extra exams to detect study delays more quickly. Additional exams have been arranged as planned. However, administrative and reporting delays were incurred due to sick leave. 114 9 105
Second-year bachelor mentor Additional counselling to second-year students. Capacity was shifted to resolve the impact of the new lockdown in Q4/2021. 88 44 44
Additional thesis guidance Additional support for master students during thesis process. Realisation from early 2022. 31 0 31
Coordination     72 19 53

Spending on student wellbeing by faculties

Students had too few opportunities to make social contacts because of COVID-19. This led to feelings of loneliness. Faculties organised coping strategies training sessions for students in consultation with the participation body. They also spent more money on social activities with students outside the lockdown periods and adapted the learning environment both online and on campus in order to enable students to get together in some way even during lockdowns. In addition, student advisors and mentors were appointed to provide additional guidance and connect with vulnerable students.

Many faculties used the third and fourth quarters to prepare some projects that were partially postponed due to renewed lockdown, or were prepared to be implemented in the middle of the first quarter of 2022. For example, Erasmus School of Economics gave a free workshop for the project Soft Skills 7.

table 8.7

Project name Project description Actual Multi-year budget Actuals 2021 Forecast 22/23
Erasmus Medical Centre          
Small-scale ceremonies Number of social contact hours in education increase social bonding between students The realisation of additional integrity ceremonies has been pushed back to 2022 due to the new lockdown in the fourth quarter. 56,7 0 56,7
Wellbeing for and by students Promoting student wellbeing and connection among students across programmes. Activities that were scheduled have been pushed back to May 2022 due to new lockdown. The student associations then offer multiple activities. 80,3 0 80,3
Facilitating social meeting places Especially during COVID19. Make more spaces for social activities. Renovation and opening of outdoor space at the Education Centre in October 283,3 292,6 0
           
D&I Master Personal and professional development of students and student wellbeing. D&I Master 661 10,4 650,6
MIX ‘n Match   Goals not yet achieved.      
(wellbeing)          
    Mix'n'MATCH Design Phase Quarters 3 and 4.      
    Implementation from 1 January 2022 of a central career platform. Immediately offer a palette of guidance options based on personal interests and preferences. Guiding choice in course of study.      
Low Thresholds Actively approaching students in the Clinical Technology, Nanobiology and Research Masters programmes and pairing them with a coach to help students get a better handle on their problems. Coaching by means of a standardised questionnaire An SPQL questionnaire is used to conduct coaching interviews. 95% of participating students had an interview. 90% of students had a second and 85% had a third interview. Results are compared with non-participants and dropouts 245,5 80 165,4
(wellbeing)          
Erasmus School of Economics          
Improving personal insight Introducing an online questionnaire that allows students to gain insight into how they learn and what motivates them. Also serves as input for discussions with student advisors. 25 students have used this so far. Student advisors have been trained in the use of the tool. 15 5 10
Improving Soft Skills Organising workshops including in stress management and dealing with failure. In 2021, 7 workshops were organised for about 90 participants. More workshops are scheduled for 2022. 62 0 62
    No additional costs were associated with the workshops.      
           
Improving social bonding Bachelor 2 Working with study association to organise activities to encourage social bonding. Three activities were organised by the ESE study associations, with a total of 92 participants. A third activity did not go ahead at the last minute due to the new lockdown. Invoices were not received until after the closing date of the financial year. 30 0 30
Coordination Project leader   64 3 61
Erasmus School of History and Communication          
Extend guidance Sense of Belonging: appointing a Student Experience Officer who promotes wellbeing by organising various activities and events. This new staff member started as of September. Organised output involved graduation ceremonies, social events such as Welcome Back Drinks, mentoring programmes for all students in BA-1, and various Skills Workshops. He also invested in building and expanding the online ESHCC student community. 116 54 62
  Temporary interim student advisor Deployment of an interim student advisor. 0 5 0
Erasmus School of Health Policy Management          
Additional guidance to promote wellbeing Strengthening student mentors. Workshop 'Dealing with stress' for thesis writers 191 92 99
           
  Improve coping skills.        
  Social budget for students. Additional use of study advice; additional coaching on BA thesis project;      
    Workshops time management, motivation, stress management      
  Social bonding during ceremonies. Closing meetings BA-1 and BA-2; festive poster presentation BA-3.      
Erasmus School of Law          
Appointing more supervisors Study Advancement Advisor. 2 FTE student advisors by October, focusing on B1. 1,150 interviews were conducted. The waiting time went down to 48 hours 120 43 77
Study Coaches Deploying additional coaches to prevent study delays. As of September, coaches were appointed to assist 374 students in group and individual sessions. 177 40 137
Social bonding Extra social bonding in collaboration with study association. The associations have prepared an activity plan that will be implemented in February/June 2022. 10 8 2
Erasmus School of Philosophy          
Appointing student Wellbeing Officer (WO) and setting up mentoring groups Faculty intensifies mentoring in study groups and organises social activities with them. Active focus on reaching vulnerable students. Mentor-student groups have been established, theme sessions organised, and the Whisper Wall on Canvas has been set up. 67 27 40
           
Erasmus School of Social Sciences and Behaviour          
Support Student Life (*) Expansion of two teams focused on support. Appointment 1 Student Life Office student assistant by 2022. 33 0 33
           
  Expanding capacity of student advisors to reduce waiting lists.        
Community Building and Guidance Introduction of mentor programme Connect All students in the bachelor programmes of Psychology, Educational Sciences, Public Administration and Sociology worked with the mentoring programme. 125 17 108
Rotterdam School of Management          
Additional guidance for vulnerable students. Appointment of a student advisor for this target group. Work was done in the autumn to align with the current guidance structure. Scaling up begins early in 2022. 99 15 84
Wellbeing coach. Student advisor who works with student assistant to develop activities for students The recruitment of the coach was difficult. External trainers conducted a workshop for students in the fourth quarter 104 7 97
I will meet new people. Establishing an (online) social platform. Research suitable platform (incl. UniLife) and student needs in the autumn 30 2 18
           
Additional eyes and ears. Appoint student assistants to provide hands-on assistance in online/blended instruction to increase student engagement. Administrative and reporting delays were incurred due to sick leave. 263 4 259

Interim changes to NPO plans within inflow, advancement and wellbeing

EMC

  • No changes from plans submitted in August 2021.

ESE

  • No changes from plans submitted in August 2021.

ESHCC

  • A temporary interim student advisor for a period of three months. Date approval of changes: 11 October 2021

ESHPM

  • Establish process on mental health of ESHPM students. This is a training of and by (former) students on mental health, on topics such as stress, burnout and depression. Date approval of changes: 11 February 2022

ESL

  • Further specification of a module ‘MyStudy’ on metacognitive skills related to study success, and ‘MyFuture’ focused on the post-university career. Date approval of changes: 26 October 2021

EsPhil

  • All activities undertaken by the WO have been evaluated. Students' opinions of these activities and participation were examined. Based on this evaluation, a revised proposal was prepared for the appointment of a student assistant on the student wellbeing file. This assistant will work closely with the student advisor. Date approval of changes: 7 March 2022

ESSB

  • Unused funds from 2021 of the ESSB Mentor Programme (CONNECT) will be used in 2022 for the next year's mentoring programme. The funds will be used until the end of 2022. The use of the funds may be extended to the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. 
  • EUC: remaining funds from 2021 will be used in 2022 on the initiatives included in the offer. 
  • The 2021 Enhanced Communication and Information allocated funds will be deferred to 2022 and potentially extended to 2023. The project and commitment will remain the same; the newly recruited employee will start in March 2022.

RSM

  • Comprehensive project and budget plan for both 2021 and 2022. 
  • Additional 'Extra Thesis Guidance' project to provide more thesis support. Date approval of changes: 1 October 2021

Spending on student wellbeing by central services

At the central level, projects were set up in consultation with a representation of the University Council. This included efforts to improve information and social cohesion among students.

table 8.8

Project Actual Multi-Year budget Actuals 2021 Forecast 22-23
Outreach (prevention) A central physical Information Point to complement/improve the current 'Are you okay out there'. Students are better informed on where to go with their questions. The delay in physical locations (lockdown) has delayed spending. Will be rescheduled for 2022. 266 32 234
Sense of Belonging (prevention) Unilife is an existing app where students can create low-threshold activities of their own as a better and faster way to meet. 135 14 120
Support Student Organisations. Expand activities study associations with focus on inclusion. This will be linked to inter-university activities such as resilience training and the training of confidential counsellors within study associations. 57 0 57
Extra Care (intervention) Appointing additional psychologists to reduce waiting lists. Additional psychologists were appointed. The bulk of these costs will be incurred in 2022. 424 8 416
Early interventions along with Caring Universities Developing online prevention methodology. 21 21 0

Spending resources in partnership with UNL

No consensus has been reached within the Universities of the Netherlands on joint spending of the budget. This means that each institution now plans for its own use of funds. However, knowledge was exchanged and it was decided that some universities would cooperate in existing and new projects.

Plans are being developed for EUR with respect to:

  • skills education in collaboration with Maastricht University;
  • data feedback VO with some other universities (Utrecht University, Leiden University, Eindhoven University of Technology);
  • projects in the area of connection (including the Pre Academic Programme, and the new skills app we are developing together with Erasmus X).

Allocation of funds for internships for Erasmus MC

Erasmus MC realised additional internship places that could not be fulfilled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, 72 interns were unable to get started at the second intake time. Furthermore, it appeared that the number of students who wanted to participate in the draw for an internship in 2021/2022 was greatly increased because a gap year was not possible due to travel restrictions. To keep the waiting list from becoming unacceptably long, it was necessary to temporarily allocate internships to more students. Erasmus MC also had to deal with increased enrolment in internships in the years 2017 - 2020 due to the curriculum renewal of that time. This is why there were agreements with the Erasmus MC departments and the affiliated hospitals to be able to increase enrolment in the internships in a responsible way while observing compliance with the learning objectives. These specific and existing agreements have been used to responsibly and quickly increase the intake of internships for at least two years by a total of 120 places. No NPO funds were used for this purpose. For 2022, however, these funds will be used for this purpose.

For all intake times in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 Masters of Medicine, the number of students grew from 72 to 84. Additional costs were incurred for deferred regular internships externally and internally, deferred oldest internships externally and internally, and deferred internship fees. The total budget for these costs is € 2,346,663.

table 8.9

Project Actual Multi-Year budget Actuals 2021 Forecast 22-23
Outreach (prevention) A central physical Information Point to complement/improve the current 'Are you okay out there'. Students are better informed on where to go with their questions. The delay in physical locations (lockdown) has delayed spending. Will be rescheduled for 2022. 266 32 234

Expenditure of research funds in 2021

Faculties were asked to provide a review of the number of researchers who were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by a request to create an internal plan. It ultimately led to additional support for 249 researchers. This support consisted of extension, training or additional facilities. A total of € 2,795,331 was spent for all faculties, including for the benefit of medicine.

table 8.10

  Number of researchers facilitated Total cost
A. An NPO Support programme for restoring the perspective of researchers 249 2.795.331
B. Internal funds and financial and non-financial measures (approximate) 0 24.500

Further reviews and updated spending plans lead to an expected increase in the number of researchers using the scheme in 2022 and beyond. This is specified below by faculty. Perhaps superfluously, please note that these projected expenditures include the use of internal funds.

table 8.11

Faculty Multi-year budget Spending’21 Forecast ‘22 Forecast‘23 Forecast ‘24 Forecast ‘25
ESPhil 133.896 19.739 66.948 30.000 30.000 30.000
ESHPM 381.110 90.205 191.000 167.586 216.258 56.745
ESSB 611.542 0 305.771 411.542 200.000 0
RSM 959.180 0 479.600 305.900 326.800 326.500
ESE 612.802 29.657 306.401 188.037 390.297 85.135
ISS 174.147 111.574 87.000 115.000 0 0
Erasmus MC 10.142.563 2.548.337 5.037.041 4.000.000 2.500.000 1.094.226
ESL 403.606 0 201.803 157.000 136.000 110.000
ESHCC 242.383 20.319 222.063 38.803 58.330 64.336

Plans for 2022 and beyond

The plans as adopted in 2021 continue through the years 2022 and possibly 2023. Interim changes will be coordinated with the participatory body. Accountability is set out in the annual report.

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