Overview
- Starting next year, the university will remove the cum laude distinction from its doctoral regulations, citing that awards are not determined objectively.
- Rector Tom Veldkamp says the current system systematically disadvantages female PhD candidates, with analyses showing women receive the honor much less often than men.
- Yvonne Benschop of the Dutch Network of Women Professors welcomes the step but urges a sector-wide approach to avoid disadvantaging Twente graduates in future funding competitions.
- Sophie Witteveen of the Association of Women with an Academic Education warns that losing the label could hinder access to grants and research opportunities.
- Critics such as Renée Römkens call the decision a blunt fix and advocate clearer criteria, bias training, and more diverse committees, while the University of Amsterdam and Eindhoven University of Technology say they will not change their rules.