From February, all Avans students will be able to use the Wellbeing Monitor at any time. This tool was developed by Avans itself – unique for a Dutch university of applied sciences.
The application gives students an insight into their wellbeing and helps them to study more successfully and with greater enjoyment. The aim is to strengthen students’ mental wellbeing, as a preventive measure. It also gives Avans the opportunity to make education ‘less stressful’ and to adapt the range of support offered so as to match students’ needs as closely as possible.
Growth
Jessica Nooij is a policy researcher and data scientist at Avans and is leading the development of the application. “At Avans we have set ourselves the goal of achieving genuine personal growth for all our students. But we have 37,000 students. So how do we know whether ‘the student’ is OK? That is why we have built something that helps every student to find out ‘how are things with your wellbeing?’ And once they know that, what do you need and where can you find it at Avans?”
The Wellbeing Monitor was introduced at the end of last year at 8 Avans schools, having previously been trialled by a test panel. The reactions are positive: “First and foremost, a great concept! A really good system which uses a resilience monitor to give you an understanding of the status of your wellbeing, what improvements can be made and - most importantly - how you can tackle them”, says a member of the test panel. Another student: “As soon as I logged in I got an overview that showed clearly what buttons I had to click and where I had to go. From a personal viewpoint I think that’s really handy, because you can see at a glance what progress you are making and what further action you could take.”
Personal feedback
Students start with a ‘resilience monitor’. Based on the outcome, they get recommendations for in-depth modules that they can use. These include mindfulness, motivation and learning strategies. After completing in-depth questionnaires, students get personal feedback.
Based on the student’s input the application can immediately offer an appropriate resource. This could range from a training session in Avans Extra to a referral to Student Support. Avans developed the Wellbeing Monitor entirely in-house, so the data is stored internally. Consequently, the users’ privacy is guaranteed. Students themselves decide for example what data to share with student counsellors.
Future
Several schools have already incorporated the Wellbeing Monitor in their educational programme. The ultimate aim is for this to be done at all Avans schools. Avans alumni should soon have the opportunity to use the Wellbeing Monitor too.
Read more about student wellbeing in the article Enhancing student wellbeing in different ways.