Student Well-being

At student well-being, we’re concerned with the mental and physical well-being of students. Our main areas of focus are mental health, social safety and student poverty. At ASVA, we believe that it’s important that every student has the opportunity to create the optimal study climate for themselves and that there are as few obstacles as possible that affect study performance and prevent an enjoyable student experience.

Photo made during the Student Mental Health day by Isabell Janssen

Mental health

Several recent studies have shown that students’ mental health is drastically poor. For instance, they have increased chances of burn-outs, depression and other mental struggles. According to ASVA, there are several causes for this, such as the extremely high performance pressure and work pressure. Therefore, we will continue fighting to reduce these.

To combat the high prevalence of mental well-being issues, ASVA is committed to trying to prevent these issues among students. We achieve this by, from the very start of their student life, giving them the tools they need to handle their own mental health. When things are not going so well, we instruct them on where they can seek help. In addition, ASVA also takes a critical look at the care institutions of educational institutions, such as student psychologists, and we are working with different organisations to help raise awareness for students’ mental health.

At ASVA, we also organize events ourselves. These events are meant to help students who are experiencing mental health issues come in contact with each other.

Social safety

Social safety is becoming increasingly important at educational institutions, and we at ASVA are very happy about that. After all, we believe that every student should be able to feel safe, and should not experience sexual transgressive behaviour, bullying, discrimination, harassment or other unpleasant situations. Because when a student experiences this, it can have many consequences on their studies, but above all on their personal life.

ASVA tries to prevent undesirable behaviour by raising awareness about the consequences of undesirable behaviour. By organising events in cooperation with the educational institutions, such as Social Safety Day, ASVA creates attention and awareness among students, teachers and other people involved in the educational institutions.

Besides prevention, ASVA also looks at what happens after undesirable behaviour occurs. For instance, we look critically at the complaints procedures that educational institutions have in place, since we want to gie the victim a dignified position within the complaints procedure. In addition, ASVA always tries to help victims of undesirable behaviour by giving advice or assisting them in the complaints procedure. It is also possible to (anonymously) make a complaint about social safety at your educational institution with us. ASVA can then investigate the complaint and discuss it with those involved, if needed. You can find more information on our social safety hotline and where you can find help within your educational institution here.

Student Poverty

Poverty is a problem in all of society, but systematically among students. Unfortunately, this group is often forgotten by policymakers. For example, it is not possible for a student to get help from the national food bank. This is why ASVA continues to draw attention to this issue. ASVA is also looking at ways to improve the situation for poor students, for example by offering food packages or advocating for free menstrual products at educational institutions.

We also offer information on students’ possibilities for financial support at educational instituations. We also help students find the right help. For example, are you a student at UvA and do you have circumstances that cause you to delay your studies, such as ADHD or informal care? Check if
you are entitled to help from the profiling fund.