Appendix 2 Administrative agreements on educational quality and student well-being

In the Policy Letter on Higher Education and Science (1) and the accompanying Administrative Agreement (2022)(2), former Minister Dijkgraaf established that, as of 1 January 2025, the study advance funds (formerly allocated through the Quality Agreements) would be continued on a structural basis and incorporated into the institutional block grant (lump-sum funding) provided to higher education institutions. From 2025 onwards, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) will receive €22.6 million annually through these Administrative Agreement (BAO) funds. In accordance with the governance agreements, Erasmus University Rotterdam deploys these resources at both the institutional and faculty levels to further enhance the quality of education. Approximately two-thirds of the funding (€15.2 million) is allocated directly to the faculties, while the remaining one-third (€7.7 million) is dedicated to strategic and interfaculty initiatives that address shared institutional priorities and generate university-wide added value.

Erasmus University Rotterdam's new institutional strategy, Strategy 2030, together with the revised Educational Vision (2023), provides the guiding framework for the deployment of the Administrative Agreement (BAO) funds. This continues the strategic direction established under the Quality Agreements (HoKa) during the previous strategic planning period. Multi-year plans have been developed for both the faculty-level allocation of the funds and the university-wide initiatives. In accordance with the agreed governance procedures, all plans have received the approval of the relevant faculty participation bodies or the Central Participation Council, as applicable.

Erasmus University Rotterdam remains committed to investing in the continuous enhancement and innovation of its education, including in a financially challenging environment. The Administrative Agreement (BAO) funds, formerly referred to as the Quality Agreement funds, are deployed to strengthen the University's responsiveness within a rapidly evolving higher education landscape shaped by geopolitical, governance and financial developments. At the same time, these developments create opportunities for Erasmus University Rotterdam to contribute to identifying, interpreting and addressing complex societal challenges. In doing so, the deployment of these resources is firmly anchored in the University's Erasmian values: social engaged, global citizenship connectedness, entrepreneurship, and open-mindedness.

The past year served in part as a transitional period, marking the shift from the Quality Agreements to the new structural allocation of the Quality Agreement/Administrative Agreement (BAO) funds. Nevertheless, the deployment of these resources in 2025 continued to be guided by the revised Educational Vision and the University's strategic priorities. The table below provides an overview of the principal strategic themes and subthemes to which the funding has been allocated.

In 2025, the faculties deployed the BAO funds across a range of themes relating to strategic priorities and constructive alignment. This reflects a balanced mix of innovation and the embedding of innovations and quality improvements. As a result, the funds are in some cases used to safeguard existing baseline quality in a period of budgetary constraints, including provisions for tutors, mentors, and small-scale teaching formats, as well as to enhance the enabling conditions for high-quality education, including faculty development and assessment practices. In addition, continued investment is made in measures and initiatives aimed at students, including student success and well-being. In this context, the action lines established during the HoKa period, particularly those focused on personal and professional development and skills-based education, are being continued or recalibrated.

Finally, a portion of the faculty-level BAO funds is allocated to new strategic initiatives, such as the Smarter Academic Year, and/or used as a preparatory measure for national policy developments, including the Act on Internationalisation in Balance.

In 2025, one third of the BAO funds was allocated to the implementation of institution-wide strategic themes, programmes, and initiatives. Since 2019, the (shared) HoKa funds have been used to finance the Community for Learning & Innovation (CLI). The CLI deploys these resources for faculty development, innovation and digitalization projects, community building, and educational research. In 2020, the CLI was consolidated as a flexible network organization, working in close collaboration with the faculties’ Learning & Innovation (LI) teams and the professional services. Building on the HoKa framework, CLI funding is continued through the deployment of BAO resources. As of January 2025, educational expertise in the areas of impact and artificial intelligence in education has been embedded within the CLI.

In addition, the university-wide BAO funds are invested in the Erasmus-wide Student Well-being (SW) programmes. This is in addition to the earmarked funding already allocated to the SW programmes under the Administrative Agreement. This also continues and further develops the strategic direction established during the HoKa period. In 2025, the SW programmes deployed BAO funds to strengthen students’ sense of belonging, prevention and practical support, enhance knowledge and expertise within the University, and support external collaborations.

Furthermore, in close coordination with the programmes directors and participation bodies, it was decided to invest a substantial share of the BAO funds/Quality Agreement funds in the institution-wide implementation of the Smarter Academic Year (SAY). Finally, a smaller portion of these funds were allocated to the preparation of the Institutional Quality Assurance Review (ITK) and the Erasmus Verbindt programmes.

[1] This also reflects the four pillars aligned with the expectations for a Centre for Teaching & Learning (CTL) as defined by the National Growth Fund programmes Npuls.

Under the Administrative Agreement, student well-being programmes at Dutch higher education institutions are explicitly tasked with promoting student well-being. In 2025, the student well-being initiatives enabled through BAO investments delivered the following results:

Strengthening the ‘sense of belonging’

By visibly embedding attention to well-being in the curriculum, fostering supportive relationships between students, faculty and staff through teacher training, and providing accessible meeting spaces such as The Living Room.

Prevention and Practical Support

Through visible communication, short waiting times, anonymous online services, workshops, a podcast and complementary programmes, students are offered timely preventive support and practical assistance by EUR professionals and external partners.

Strengthening knowledge and expertise across EUR

Colleagues are empowered to act and become more aware of their role in supporting student well-being. This is achieved through teacher training, in which recognizing signs of reduced well-being, conducting supportive conversations and making appropriate referrals are practiced; through Student Wellbeing Officers, who coordinate faculty-level and central initiatives; and through EUR-wide Learning Communities that bring together professionals from across the student support network.

External Partnerships

Campaigns and protocols have been developed to prevent substance use and suicide among students, in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam, Youz/Antes, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Codarts, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, the Municipal Public Health Service Rotterdam-Rijnmond (GGD Rotterdam-Rijnmond), and 113 Suicide Prevention. External partners also provide preventive support through e-health programmes such as MoodLift and Grip op je Dip, as well as online coaching via Siggie and Vitalmindz.

This document serves as a brief reflection on the collaboration between the BAO Taskforce of the University Council (UC) and the relevant policy advisors. It reflects the views of the taskforce members and does not necessarily represent the position of the University Council as a whole.

As the programmes has now fully transitioned from HOKA (Quality Agreements) to BAO, the legal obligation for extensive co-creation with participatory governance bodies no longer applies. As a result, there is also no formal requirement to produce such a reflection. Nevertheless, both the University Council and the policy staff have agreed to continue working closely together. This document therefore also serves as a record of this continued, more informal form of collaboration.

Overall, the taskforce is very satisfied with the collaboration between the policy advisors and the University Council. During the budget cycle, plans and budgets were communicated to the University Council in a timely and transparent manner. When the participatory bodies requested additional information, the policy staff made considerable efforts to address these questions or to connect the taskforce with the relevant stakeholders. The subsequent discussions were generally productive, helped identify bottlenecks, and, in our view, contributed to improved decision making. We were therefore pleased to learn that concrete changes were made to the budget based on the taskforce’s feedback.

In other areas of decision-making as well, the taskforce is very satisfied that we were often invited to act as a discussion partner. This role is highly valued, as we believe that co-creation with representatives of the EUR community remains essential for the success of innovative projects. These representatives reflect the perspectives and needs of both staff and students, thereby contributing to lasting impact within the EUR community.

We would therefore like to emphasize once again that, in the coming years, both the policy makers and the University Council should strive to maintain this high level of collaboration.