The decision to introduce an application fee at the ET faculty was taken after one-year pilot at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS), which has required an application fee of €100 from new students since last year.
The initial idea behind the fee was to decrease the amount of applications of students who have less chance to be granted admission and of students who don’t actually intend to enroll at the UT. The new rule should allow admission officers to process applications quicker, thereby also reducing their workload.
Who has to pay an application fee?
All students (both EEA and non-EEA) with a non-Dutch higher educational degree have to pay an application fee of €100-, for each application to a programme that requires the payment of the fee. This concerns two UT faculties. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) has implemented the application fee since the September 2019 intake and onwards. At the Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), the application fee is implemented starting with the September 2022 intake. You can find more information here.
According to the University Council (UC), the evaluation of the pilot at EEMCS demonstrates ‘that the costs of the administrative fee process are in proportion with the benefits’. During today’s meeting, the UC therefore consented with the application fee pilot in the faculty of ET for one year, starting with the intake of September 2022. The UC also consented with the continuation of the pilot at EEMCS.
Next year, the UC will also decide on a possible university-wide use of the application fee. The Council, however, expressed its concerns about such a universal rule. In its written advice, the UC pointed out that ‘results of the pilots in EEMCS and ET might not be transferable to other faculties and/or programmes, as these faculties and programmes might not experience a high number of non-eligible and/or less serious candidates and/or perceive this as a serious problem. Some programmes might see the introduction of an application fee as a major risk for enrolment in their programmes.’
‘We need to consider if it’s a good solution for everyone,’ said UC member Emile Dopheide in today’s meeting. ‘Is it one size fits all? We need to discuss it with individual faculties and programmes after we see a proper evaluation of this pilot.’
