Mental health of BSS students is always a crucial topic to PSB.
Besides coordinating the Mental Health Working Group, we aim to keep mental health support accessible for all students. We strive to help students by ensuring that they know where to turn for information, for example, by promoting the mental health flowchart and the faculty-wide confidential advisors. To improve the current situation, we want to implement a plan for student mentors:
There should be adequate help with ‘being a student’ in the first year of every program.
In psychology, there are student mentor programs where a peer (older student) acts as a mentor to a group of first-year students. This can benefit the mental well-being of students, and students can have low-threshold contact when they face problems. Student mentors should be knowledgeable in pointing students in the direction of help when needed. Following the example set by psychology, it would be beneficial to implement student mentors in the other studies as well.
Internationalization
We empower international voices through transparency and representation.
We are committed to acting as a reliable, bilingual bridge between the Faculty Board and students. International students currently face significant uncertainty due to shifting national policies and potential changes to the university’s language of instruction. To maintain transparency, we aim to consistently keep students informed through our newsletters and social media channels by ensuring important updates on budget cuts, faculty mergers, and curriculum changes are communicated transparently in both English and Dutch. We strive to keep our international environment a priority so that every student feels secure and welcome in our faculty’s future.
Accessibility
Our faculty should be accessible to all students, including students with physical disabilities.
Accessibility should be more practical and visible within BSS. As of now, this is not self-evident within the faculty. We want to draw attention to buildings and facilities that are not easily accessible and make mobility-friendly routes more visible, for example, on RUGMaps. Whenever it is not possible to get to a lecture room, it needs to be clear what options students have. As a result, studying becomes more feasible and less burdensome for these students, allowing all students to fully participate. Providing appropriate facilities and removing barriers contributes to a more inclusive learning environment, in which thresholds (both literal and figurative) are lowered.
Supporting Neurodivergent Students
We want to ensure that neurodivergent students also feel supported in the faculty.
We recognize that students learn and experience education in different ways, so we
aim to reduce barriers to attending lectures, build in flexibility in learning, and
ensure that neurodivergent students are supported throughout their studies. We
want to do this by advocating for consistent use of clear lecture slide guidelines,
greater awareness of different ways of learning and educational challenges, and
increased transparency through structured syllabi and clear course organisation.
Additionally, we want to increase awareness regarding what resources are available
by updating the Mental Health Flowchart. Together, this helps create a more
predictable and supportive learning environment where all students can engage and
