{"id":119114,"date":"2020-10-30T11:28:07","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T10:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=119114"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:12","slug":"report-on-student-wellbeing-a-testament-to-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/10\/30\/report-on-student-wellbeing-a-testament-to-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"Report on student wellbeing a testament to compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a long time now, whenever Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven was asked about stress and feelings of uncertainty among students, she has been able to refer to the Student Wellbeing Working Group \u2013 a joint effort by universities, universities of applied sciences and the Inclusive Education Expert Centre to tackle problems in this area.<\/p>\n

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The working group has now published an \u2018interim report\u2019, which was presented this morning to the minister, who praised the group\u2019s efforts thus far. This was followed by an online programme full of short conversations with students, lecturers and administrators \u2013 and a philosopher who offered insightful comments.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus<\/h2>

The coronavirus pandemic has of course thrown a spanner in the works for higher education, which might go some ways towards explaining the lack of progress on student wellbeing. For the moment, however, the working group is mainly focusing on \u2018exploring support among administrators\u2019 and exchanging best practices. The group\u2019s various members have also agreed to improve the information provided to students.<\/p>\n

But what about financial support for students who encounter problems in their personal lives which lead to study delays? This appears to be a more sensitive subject. \u201cThe working group shares best practices within the ambition to intensify financial support\u201d, the report states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many stakeholders in this working group that the report has really turned into a testament to compromise\u201d, according to Dahran \u00c7oban of the Dutch National Students\u2019 Association (ISO), which is itself one of those stakeholders. \u00c7oban recognises that the report\u2019s wording may seem feeble in parts.<\/p>\n

Philosopher<\/h2>

It therefore seems unlikely that the working group will bring about a major breakthrough. But a major breakthrough is exactly what we need, if we\u2019re to believe Toske Andreoli.<\/p>\n

In the online symposium surrounding the report\u2019s publication, Andreoli \u2013 a philosopher and author of the book The Greatest Time of Your Life? \u2013<\/em> levelled a rather fundamental criticism against the way in which universities in particular deal with students who are experiencing problems. Her point is that these problems are not always individual. You can keep hiring student psychologists and teach all the mindfulness courses you want, Andreoli stated, but that leaves the root cause of the problems students experience unaddressed. \u201cIt\u2019s not preventative,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n

Andreoli believes that our education system should ensure that no one gets left behind, no matter the challenges they face in their personal lives. It\u2019s especially important that someone notices it when a student doesn\u2019t show up to class: \u201cIn adult life, that\u2019s a given \u2013 if one of our colleagues doesn\u2019t come to work, we check in with them. But we don\u2019t do that with students.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also criticized the student loan system and the concept of a \u2018binding recommendation of the continuation of studies\u2019 (students being forced to drop out due to poor results). Andreoli believes these to be sources of stress, too. Rutger Engels, rector magnificus of Erasmus University Rotterdam, where students have one year to obtain all their first-year credits, denied this claim, asserting that it was not apparent from the data. He then quickly moved on to another subject.<\/p>\n

Not happy<\/h2>

So do the student loan system and forced drop-outs actually have an impact on student wellbeing? The working group\u2019s interim report does not address these issues. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely not happy about that\u201d, says ISO president \u00c7oban, \u201cbut we\u2019re going to continue the dialogue. And I do think the working group is having a positive effect. It\u2019s a bit of a buzzword, but exchanging \u2018best practices\u2019 when it comes to student wellbeing really does help.\u201d<\/p>\n

But meanwhile, what\u2019s being done about the student loan system and forced drop-outs? Students will continue their fight on these issues, says \u00c7oban, but through different political channels.<\/p>\n\n\t

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