Retrospect | Working visit student wellbeing to HAN
| November 3, 2025 | National Student Wellbeing Network
“Inspiration and knowledge sharing student wellbeing”
On November 3, the Student Wellbeing Working Group paid a working visit to the University of Arnhem and Nijmegen (HAN). The working group, an alliance of OCW, VWS, UNL, VH and student umbrella organizations, facilitated by ECIO, annually visits two educational institutions (one university and one hbo institution) to see how they put the National Framework for Student Wellbeing into practice. This time the HAN was our host!
About HAN
HAN is a large higher education institution with branches in Arnhem and Nijmegen. The institution has about 35,000 students and 4,400 employees, spread across 13 academies (one-third in Arnhem, two-thirds in Nijmegen). HAN has been actively working on student welfare since 2018 and was one of the schools to join the National Student Wellbeing Action Plan. What began as a small action group has now grown into a structurally embedded policy system that broadly safeguards student wellbeing.
Organisation
Student wellbeing is embedded within HAN both policy-wise and practically.
- At the institution level, several policy officers and coordinators are working on the topic.
- At the academy level, there are Student Wellbeing Attention Holders, who ensure that the subject remains academy-based as well.
Together, these staff members form a network, which meets several times a year. Four times a year there is a physical meeting, and in addition there are online intervision opportunities to discuss cases and share knowledge.
HAN also has an extensive student support network.
- At the program level, there is basic guidance, including student mentors and peer coaching.
- At the institutional level, the Student Support Center supports students with specialized questions.
- In addition, HAN maintains short lines of communication with the regional healthcare landscape so that external help is well matched with internal support.
The Welfare Wheel
In 2022, HAN, together with students, staff and experts, developed the Wellbeing Wheel. Their vision behind student wellbeing: “Being satisfied with yourself and having fun in learning and study activities”. That means: feeling good physically, mentally and socially, inside and outside HAN, so that you can cope with the challenges life offers.
The WellbeingWheel identifies seven themes in which HAN wants to strengthen student wellbeing:
- Healthy lifestyle
- Flexible education
- Meaningful (learning) experiences
- Inclusive and safe college
- Self-direction and resilience
- Customized support
- Binding
The wheel helps staff and students provide direction for initiatives and policies around wellbeing.
Practical examples
The Welbeing Wheel is visibly alive and well, including through the initiatives listed below:
- The Coaching Office, a student initiative for peer coaching and a physical place where students can go with questions.
- Student vouchers with a voucher of €750 per student association to organize activities around wellbeing-oriented themes such as mindfulness or trust person training. These activities should be available to everyone in the program.
- Receptionists are included as the first point of contact for students. They learn to spot, refer and make basic calls: a great example of integral working.
- Wellbeing is increasingly being integrated within education itself. For example, through the Resilience Curriculum within the Nursing program and attention to self-care and resilience within Social Work.
- Wellbeing Week: An annual week of activities focused on student wellbeing. |
Monitoring student wellbeing
HAN monitors student welfare through several instruments. In addition to national monitors such as the MMMS and NSE, there is the Start Thermometer; an initiative of Fontys.
This poll is taken of all first-year students within their first 100 days and provides insight per academy into the well-being of first-year students. The results are linked to the themes of the Wellbeing Wheel and thus form a valuable basis for quality assurance. The results also provide insights for the student themselves, and are used as a discussion tool with student supervisors.
Impression of working visit
Challenges
The working visit also reflected on the challenges.
An important theme is the integration of welfare into the curriculum: how do you ensure that this lands sustainably without increasing the workload of teachers? Professionalization and teachers’ ability to act remain crucial points of attention.
In addition, there are concerns about budget cuts in education. While student support needs are growing, available time and capacity are decreasing.
In these times, it is important to keep on the agenda that wellbeing and inclusive education remain an important part of good education. Which is also often a challenge. To this end, HAN also points to the possibility of continuing to pay attention to the importance of this at the national level. This helps ensure a supported approach to wellbeing within education.
But not only in education is wellbeing and inclusion an important issue. Another dilemma that was discussed was guiding students with a support need towards the labor market. Within education you can make all kinds of adjustments and facilities available, but if students later land in a workplace where this is not the case, this will not help them. So as an educational institution, how do you ensure that students become resilient employees, and how do you work with employers at a regional level, for example, to ensure that workplaces become more inclusive for starters? HAN is part of the NetwerkIN which works in Nijmegen on inclusive employers to work on this in the region.
Take aways
Much is happening, and much good. And real change requires patience. Take the time to properly implement existing initiatives. Improving student wellbeing means working to change culture within education, and that takes time.
A special thanks to all involved in organising this valuable working visit – thank you for your hospitality, commitment and inspiring contributions!
Continuing to work together on student wellbeing
Want to further engage in the conversation about student wellbeing? Then join the National Network Student Wellbeing. This will keep you up to date with the latest insights and best practices, as well as exchange knowledge and experiences with colleagues in education. We look forward to sharing more insights and working together to improve student wellbeing in the Netherlands.
