Students are experiencing less and less support from lecturers and fellow students. That is revealed in a study into the impact of the corona crisis on students and staff at Radboud University. ‘Students are treading water,’ says Professor Hans Schilderman.

How are students and staff at Radboud University doing in these corona times? For the fourth and last time, an interdisciplinary team led by professors Hans Schilderman and José Sanders, studied this question. Earlier editions in April, June and September indicated ‘no grounds for a pessimistic picture’, although there were extra concerns about ‘vulnerable groups’: in particular young and foreign students and staff.

Declining motivation

The results of the fourth edition of the survey, carried out among more than a thousand respondents in November and early December, are not very positive. Around two thirds of the students experience the education as being poorer than previously (this was 60% in other findings). A decline in the support from fellow students and lecturers is also being felt. For example, in April, almost a third of the students experienced some support from lecturers but in the last findings, this has fallen to only just over a quarter. Compared to before the corona crisis, 80% of the students is suffering from declining motivation and concentration.

Hans Schilderman, professor of Religious Studies and initiator of the study, makes an effort to explain the negative trend. ‘Students are treading water. There comes a point when you have no more energy for that and you sink.’ Schilderman points out that 10% of the students is seeking help from the university’s support network, such as the university psychologist. ‘I’m shocked by that, it’s such a high percentage.’

Intensive study weeks

The study shows that the rating students give Radboud University is slowly dropping (from a 7.1 to a 6.7). The university emails are also being read with less interest. Is the university failing in its help for students?

‘We don’t have a clear picture of what students need right now’

José Sanders, professor of Communication, sees a university trying its best. ‘There are lots of initiatives, but maybe the supply is not matching the demand.’ She cites as an example ‘intensive study weeks’ in which students study at home, but connect with each other online early in the morning. ‘This kind of initiative on the part of the student advisors works well for some students, but for others possibly not at all. We don’t actually have a clear picture of what people need right now.’

Crappy little room

In addition to the four surveys, interviews are being held at the moment with students and staff. Schilderman and Sanders hope this will help them gain more insight into the factors that make a difference and consequently what action Radboud University can take. They are also interested to see why one student sails through the corona crisis while another struggles.

‘In the interviews, we often hear that the physical surroundings are really important,’ says Sanders. ‘The corona crisis has forced students and staff to work online, but at the same time we have become physically much more dependent on our neighbourhood and family. You can imagine that people stuck in a difficult home situation, feeling lonely in crappy little rooms and whose families live far away, might have more difficulty staying concentrated online.’

The researchers aim to use the results of the interviews to advise the university as to which things could be improved. It should also help to assess the impact of the corona crisis. ‘And to learn lessons for the following crisis,’ says Schilderman.