Resolution on the Study Progression Measures

Flemish Higher Education is currently facing a period of severe financial and structural pressure. The Flemish Government has announced a total budget cut of 83 million euros, with 34 million euros specifically targeted at the study grant system. These cuts occur despite a structural underfunding of 600 million euros annually compared to the 2008 financing decree. The combination of financial reductions and increasingly restrictive study progress rules threatens to undermine the democratization and accessibility of higher education.

The proposed introduction of a 54-credit minimum and an age limit of 30 for study grants is projected to impact 20,000 students, risking their continued access to education. Furthermore, strict efficiency norms such as the ’80–80% rule’ and the ban on third enrollments (trisverbod) focus on financial punishment rather than the underlying causes of student struggle, such as the age gap between secondary and higher education. A policy based on distrust and sanctions ignores the specific needs of diverse groups, including students in bridge programs, working students, and those in precarious financial situations.

To safeguard the future of Flemish Higher Education and ensure social mobility, ESU and VVS believe that the following measures are essential:

1. Protect and simplify financial support.
   1.1. The Flemish Government must scrap the 54-credit minimum and the age 30 limit to prevent the exclusion of vulnerable students.
   1.2. Move toward the automatic allocation of study grants to reduce administrative hurdles for students in unstable conditions.
   1.3. Immediately halt the planned reclamation of study grants from students with low academic yields, as this disproportionately punishes the most vulnerable.
2. Ensure structural funding and quality.
   2.1. Reinforce the base funding of higher education in accordance with the 2008 financing decree to support quality and infrastructure.
   2.2. Reverse the cessation of subsidies for non-EEA students and the cuts to ‘Brussels funds’ for language remediation to maintain internationalisation and support for diverse students.
3. Focus on support over sanctions.
   3.1. Shift toward an evidence-based policy that uses threshold courses in the first year as success indicators rather than imposing strict rules across the entire trajectory.
   3.2. Abolish the 80–80% rule and the general trisverbod, ensuring students have the space for individual growth and the flexibility to spread their workload according to their personal context.
4. Guarantee participation and transparency.
   4.1. Student councils and VVS must be granted a structural and active role from the initial design phase of any policy impacting higher education.
   4.2. The government must provide full transparency regarding budget figures and impact analyses before proceeding with major educational reforms.