By Elea Jürß
Monday, the 22nd of December, 15:03 – It’s the first day of winter break, and the few students who decide to check their email encounter a message by AUC dean Bruce Mutsvairo: “I would like to inform you that between January and July 2026, I will lead the development of a new strategic vision for AUC. I have been tasked with outlining three possible scenarios for AUC’s future, including a recommended preferred direction.“
Since 2022, AUC has been operating under the strategic vision of AUC Next. The plan, developed under the former dean, Dr Martin van Hees, argues for the necessity of interdisciplinary educational programmes as a response to political and social pressures. “The climate crisis, the spread of misinformation, health risks, datafication – these are just a few of the many important issues and challenges that require citizens who can apply different academic approaches and take different perspectives, and who are civically engaged and socially responsible.” (AUC Next, Mission and Values)
At the moment, with the help of students, staff, and representative bodies, the new Dean is reflecting on the institution’s values and plans. “Any future strategy must take into account the current challenges facing higher education in the Netherlands. Although political developments may shift rapidly, we have seen sustained pressure on budgets and increasing policy complexity,” the dean reasons in his memo to students.
Declining student enrolment in bachelor’s programmes in the Netherlands poses one of these challenges; in 2025, it fell by 3,3 %. The Vrije Universiteit (VU), one of AUC’s parent universities, has seen a 23,5 % decline in international students. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science anticipates further decline in the coming years. With institutions already struggling due to missing income from tuition fees, higher education faced budget cuts in 2025. The former Dutch cabinet, under Dick Schoof, had announced that they were reducing funding by more than half a billion euros and implemented restrictions on English-taught programs.
Now, Rob Jetten’s new coalition has announced that they will reverse these cuts and further invest in research and education. After the general elections in the Netherlands in 2025, his cabinet consisting of the social liberal Democrats 66 (D66), the conservative liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian democratic and conservative Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) were sworn into office in February of 2026. Rianne Letschert of the D66 party has been named the new Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and will therefore be overseeing policies for higher education.
Before, she had been President of Maastricht University since November 2021. “I think students have every reason to be positive about this new cabinet […] because we are getting a minister who actually knows how Universities operate. She knows what it means to make policies that may have a significant impact on Universities,” commented Dean Mutsvairo. Despite this, University Colleges are struggling with the consequences of past policies.
Due to insufficient student numbers, University College Roosevelt in Middelburg is overhauling their educational programme, which includes letting go of 25% of staff. University College Twente (ATLAS) has shut down entirely and will see the last class of graduates off in 2028. Conventional programmes are facing similar issues. Growing financial deficits forced Utrecht University to close six tracks in the Humanities as they have become “unaffordable” according to Dean Thomas Vaessens. Now AUC is also reconsidering its values: “While reflection of this kind can raise questions, it is also a normal and healthy part of ensuring that a programme like ours continues to stay relevant and remains responsive to its environment, while building further on its strengths,” states the dean in his message to students.
In an interview with The Herring, Dean Mutsvairo elaborates: “It’s quite normal to discuss the future. Any form of serious relationship needs to think about the future. And I think this assignment from the executive board of the VU and the UvA is an exciting time because it allows us to think about future opportunities.”
The current strategic plan, AUC Next, will come to an end in 2026, and then AUC will have to develop a new structure of operation. However, the assignment to provide future scenarios from UvA and VU stands separately from the regular revision cycle of the framework and AUC Next. “What the executive boards of the two universities are doing is very proactive [in asking] how do we conceive ourselves moving forward?” explained the dean.
A dedicated task force, consisting of three clusters and an advisory group, will be responsible for the development of the scenarios. Each group will include at least one current AUC student. “I decided to use a bottom-up approach, which includes students, alumni, staff, faculty, diverse stakeholders and colleagues from UvA and Vu. We are a small college, so it’s important for everybody to have a voice in what the future of AUC is about,” says the dean.
Aside from the direct involvement of students in the task force, the student body will receive several chances to engage with the process of the assignment. This includes speaking to task force members directly, as well as attending the dean’s office hours. On the 9th of March, students and staff will have the opportunity to attend a progress meeting to ask any questions they have. Mutsvairo emphasises: “Students are really part of this process,
The final product of the task force will ultimately be created by the dean and sent to the executive boards of UvA and VU. A draft will be delivered to different representative bodies for feedback including the student council and the board of studies. “Obviously, we cannot predict what will happen. But I have a feeling that this change, or at least what you see when you speak to people, is positive,” says the dean.
The Herring 