UvA panel

Due to declining enrolment and budget cuts, the University of Amsterdam is exploring how to secure and innovate its language and culture programs, potentially by merging them into a new overarching program. This study compares the experiences and motivations of different student groups to inform the design of a flexible curriculum. 

Focus groups show that students from related fields are interested in language and culture, but do not choose a full degree because of perceived limited career prospects, a preference for broader programs, and the idea that language and culture mainly adds value alongside another discipline. Students of the Faculty of Humanities (Fgw) share the desire for broad, flexible study paths but also lack a clear sense of future career options.

Although many students view language and culture studies as narrow, current FGw students experience them as broad, suggesting a gap between perception and reality. The challenge is to highlight this existing breadth—or broaden options further—without losing academic depth. 

An initial program design was presented in February 2025 and is now being refined with input from students and staff. A full proposal will be submitted in February 2026.

In collaboration with the Communications Office (BC) and the WISH team from ICTS, several pages of the MyUvA app and the mobile student website were tested. The aim of the research was to identify potential bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement, partly due to the recently added section on the home page. During the user tests, attention was given both to information relevant for the editorial office (such as terminology, content, and accessibility of topics) and to information relevant for team WISH (such as page structure and visible components).

A total of five students participated in the user tests, of which one Dutch student and four international students from the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the Amsterdam Law School and Amsterdam University College.

Students first viewed the general home page, after which the tests zoomed in more specifically on the Internships and Jobs section. They then completed various scenarios related to Studying Abroad, in which they searched for information about entry requirements, deadlines, asking questions, and events. During this process, the students’ actions were observed.

All specific insights were documented per page. From these findings, several main points became clear about the amount of information, the navigation structure and links to previous pages. Based on these insights, we formulated the following recommendations:

• Keep the focus of the home page on the timetable and grades. The rest of the page should ideally consist of a compact selection of key information and function as a hub for related information pages.
• Keep all titles and explanations as short and to the point as possible, ensuring pages remain clear and easy to scan.
• Avoid repeating information across different pages. Hyperlinks to previous or next pages also cause back-and-forth clicking and creates ‘loops’. Instead, make the overall structure clear so that students know where they are and what other pages exist.
• Structure pages chronologically wherever possible: what do students need to do or know first, and what comes next? Make a clear distinction between Need to know and Nice to know.
• Name the types of study-abroad experiences, such as 'semester abroad' and 'individual courses abroad', simply and literally, to prevent confusion. 

The topic of studying abroad is complex and contains a large amount of information, which makes a compact and straightforward presentation essential. With several explicit adjustments to the structure and content of the current pages, the displayed information can be presented more effectively, reducing confusion or frustration for both students and support staff. 

Based on these results, the app and the mobile website will be further improved by BC and ICTS.

Student Services and the Communications Office (BC) wanted to learn how students experience the University of Amsterdam’s communication about ‘Studying with a disability.’

To explore this, two focus groups were held with a total of eight students*. To ensure accessibility for all participants, students could choose to participate in either an online or an in-person session. The students shared valuable suggestions, which are summarised below by topic:

Terminology

• Because there are so many different types of disabilities, it’s difficult to use one overarching term:
  • Students with conditions such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia felt more addressed by a heading like ‘Studying with a chronic (mental) illness or neurodivergence.’
  • Include a clear explanation of what is meant by neurodivergence.
  • Keep this in mind in future communication, and consider adding this heading alongside the current one, ‘Studying with a disability.’
• The common thread among all students is that they are looking for support during their studies. This could also be reflected in the website structure, for example: ‘Support for those with chronic (mental) illness and/or neurodivergence.’

Tone of voice

• Students prefer an active and inclusive tone from the UvA; one that openly welcomes students with any kind of condition (physical and mental) and focuses on the available support options.

Visuals

• Visual materials should preferably be general, as students with neurodivergence do not see themselves as ‘different’ or ‘special.’
• However, students emphasised the importance of using diverse imagery across the entire UvA website.

Contact

• Students would prefer to indicate once - at the start of their studies - that they have a disability, and then receive targeted information relevant to their situation.
• They also expressed a need for a central contact point where students can go both in person (at REC or the University Library) and online, at accessible times and without long waiting periods.
• In addition, students value approachable, empathetic contact persons.

Next steps

The results of this study will be used by Student Services and the Communications Office as part of the communication improvement project launched under ‘Studying with a disability’. The goal is to establish a single digital contact point for students by 1 August 2026.

* Of the eight students who took part in the focus groups, only one had a physical disability. Therefore, the findings primarily reflect the perspectives of students with non-physical disabilities and/or neurodivergence.

Commissioned by Student Services (StS), UvA Panel investigated how prospective students experience the transition to university. For many prospective students, the soft landing period (the first 100 days after enrolment) is their first real introduction to the UvA and is therefore an important calling card: do students feel welcome and supported in their transition to university? 

For this study, four surveys are conducted during the soft landing period, which will be followed up in November 2025 with a co-creation session. The first three surveys were conducted the run-up to the academic year, between June and September. The focus for these surveys was placed mostly on the preparations and the information provision. The fourth and last survey focused on the end of the Soft Landing period, namely the start of the academic year and the academic and social integration.

A total of 284 students participated in the fourth survey, of whom 36% were Dutch, 39% were international students from within the EU, and 25% were international students from outside the EU.

The results show the following:

• 78% of students feel that they have been well supported by the UvA since the start of their studies on the topic of ‘Timetables and course registration’. Additionally, 74% experience good guidance regarding expectations about the content of their study programme. In previous measurements, however, students indicated that they experienced a lack of support in these areas.
• Canvas is the preferred channel for information (81%), followed by the website (65%) and the MyUvA app (35%).
• The completeness of the information provision since the start of the academic year has been ranked higher (7,36) than before the start of the year (7,01).  The clarity of the information provision since the start of the academic year has also been ranked higher (7,43) than before the start (7,00).
• The majority of respondents (63%) are satisfied with the amount of contact they have with fellow students. Slightly less than half (44%) believe that the UvA has sufficiently helped them in making social connections. 29% is neutral on this.
• 43% of students have become a member of an association. They mainly joined their association through fellow students and/or friends (45%), via the study introduction (42%), or through Intreeweek (26%).
• The 57% who have not joined give various reasons for this, such as focusing on their studies (42%), settling down first (34%), or not having found a suitable association yet (27%), etc.
• 84% of students has a clear idea of what it entails to study at university
• The UvA receives a 6,8 from students on preparation for student life and a 7,9 on how welcome the students feel.

The results of all four questionnaires will guide a concluding co-creation session, in which we will work with StS and BC to take a closer look at the needs of students throughout the soft landing process: how can we better respond to perceived bottlenecks and where can information, expectation management and support be further tailored to make the transition to university as pleasant as possible?

Commissioned by Student Services (StS), UvA Panel investigated how prospective students experience the transition to university. For many prospective students, the soft landing period (the first 100 days after enrolment) is their first real introduction to the UvA and is therefore an important calling card: do students feel welcome and supported in their transition to university? 

For this study, four surveys are conducted during the soft landing period, followed by a focus group. Three surveys have been conducted so far, in which almost 2000 students participated.

The results of the various surveys largely correspond. However, a number of differences can be identified:

• Satisfaction with contact: in August, satisfaction with the frequency of contact with the UvA increased slightly compared to June.
• Information-seeking behaviour: In August, students were more active in seeking information through various channels (information events, social media, Service Desk).
• Information about immigration was more often rated as clear in August.
• Statements about feeling prepared for the new academic year varied slightly across the different measurement moments. However, the differences were minor.
• There is a shift in the most important information about the start of the academic year: from a broad spread across the five themes (timetable and courses, study materials, admission, housing and meeting others) in June to a more specific focus on timetable and courses, study materials and meeting others in August and September.
• Missing information: in August, more students indicate that they are still missing information, but they mention fewer different topics than in June. In September, both the percentage of students who are missing something and the number of topics about which they are missing information are significantly lower.

In general, prospective students are fairly positive about the information provided in the run-up to the new academic year. However, there is room for improvement in terms of clarity, expectation management and consistency.

Recommendations from the UvA panel for the soft landing process:

• Give students clear insight into their progress: what do they still need to do and how far are they in the process?
• Provide a continuous overview of current and upcoming steps.
• Improve consistency/clarity in communication and information sources.

Student Services and the Communications Office will use these results to improve the soft landing process and to prepare the latest survey (focusing on the start of the academic year until the end of the first block) and the concluding focus group (co-creation with students).