The highest salary was paid out to Geri Bonhof, executive board chairwoman of the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. She earned 215 thousand euros in 2014. Her colleague Albert Cornelissen, who works at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, received over 210 thousand euros.

Two hundred thousand
The cabinet has been trying to cut down publicly paid top salaries for several years. The standard for higher professional education is set at nearly 200 thousand euros per year. Over time, the current directors should reduce their salaries to meet this standard, and new directors cannot exceed it.
In 2013, Minister Bussemaker made an urgent appeal to high-earning directors in higher professional education to bring their salaries below the standard of the new Executives’ Pay (Standards) Act, even if they were not yet obliged to do so. The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences reports that Bonhof subsequently gave up a lease car, but her salary is still higher than the cabinet would want it to be. She will, however, leave the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht as of July 1st.

199,905 euros
Bonhof and Cornelissen are not the only ones who have received high salaries. Early this year, there was a fuss about the temporary director of the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, who had cost one and a half thousand euros too much in 2013. In 2014, he received little over 66.6 thousand euros for a four-month job. Converted to an annual salary, he would meet the standard of 199,905 euros – accurate to the penny. In addition, he charged VAT, and a head-hunter agency received another 27,300 euros.

A temporary member of the executive board of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen has also received considerable paycheck. His salary is near the norm, and VAT is charged on top of that, says the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences.

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
With a salary of 199,386 euros, executive board chairman Ron Bormans of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences is – just like a few other directors in higher professional education – just below the norm.

Director Marcel Wintels of the Fontys University of Applied Sciences – known among a broader audience as CDA politician and troubleshooter at the Amarantis institution for intermediate vocational education – left in 2014. In the first three months of the same year, he earned over 56 thousand euros. Converted to an annual salary, this would amount to 226 thousand euros, but his payment also comprises a 2013 holiday allowance of over six thousand euros.

Expenses and pension contributions
The remuneration of the directors comprises the salary, taxable reimbursement of expenses, and pension contributions. Last year, nine directors in higher professional education exceeded the norm.

The universities of applied sciences do not appreciate the governmental interference with the salaries of their directors. The umbrella organisation believes that they are ‘at odds’ with the division of responsibilities between government and field. Only the supervisors of the institutions should decide on the terms of employment of the directors – if necessary, on the basis of a remuneration code created by the universities of applied sciences.

HOP, Bas Belleman / Profielen