Since last University Council, we have been involved in extensive talks with the Executive Board about financial compensation for fulltime student board members. As a result of those meetings with both student parties and the Executive Board, extra budget has been allocated for the compensation of these boards. We think that it is a big win that the Executive Board is finally admitting that additional financial compensation is not only desirable, but also a necessity.
Last University Council student party SAM submitted an initiative proposal in which we argue that more money is needed. The Executive Board has agreed in the University Council of this morning that they are willing to allocate two extra grant months (€600,-) for fulltime board members. SAM has always been in favor of tuition free board work. However, implementing this is very expensive and therefore it is unfortunately not a financially feasible option. However, the amount of extra money allocated to this subject is substantial. In the University Council of this morning it was agreed that a budget of maximum €80.000 will be earmarked for extra compensation for full-time boards. Furthermore it was agreed that the extra budget will be indexed to the rising tuition fees, that is another big win, since the tuition fees are rising rapidly. In 2020, the tuition fee will be 83 euro’s higher than this year. Last but not least, it is agreed that a new committee will be formed to assess the current distribution of board grants so that the money is divided fairly between student boards according to work pressure.
