OUR TEAM OF STUDENT COUNSELLORS IS HERE TO PROVIDE THE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT YOU NEED DURING AND NEXT TO YOUR STUDIES.
As student counsellors, we offer advice and support if health issues, financial concerns, or confusion about laws and regulations hamper your academic progress. If you want help with any of these issues, we’ll try to clarify your needs in a consultation, identify underlying causes and potential consequences, and advise you on your options. You, as a student, remain in control.
What is a student counsellor?
A student counsellor at university is different from counsellors in secondary education or faculty deans. Student counsellors, like study advisers and student psychologists, are part of the student support chain and can help you with queries or issues regarding legislation relevant to completing your studies at the University of Twente (UT). The student counsellor is available to all UT students and works independently of programmes and faculties. All consultations with the student counsellor are confidential.
What can a student counsellor help with?
Life does not always go according to plan. For instance, you may no longer be able to juggle the care duties for a parent with your studies, or you may have sustained injuries in an accident and require support. Perhaps you feel unfairly treated by a lecturer and struggle to move past it, so you want to address it. Or you might be keen to do that special internship abroad but lack the financial resources. The issues that student counsellors encounter are very diverse! Common areas where we provide support include:
- Study delays due to personal circumstances;
- Studying with additional support needs (illness, caregiving responsibilities, etc.);
- Issues with meeting progress requirements such as Binding Study Advice (BSA) and Modern Migration legislation (MoMi);
- General queries about student loans, as well as financial compensation in cases of personal circumstances (e.g., StOF - Student Support Fund);
- Help with (urgent) financial problems;
- Trust issues (when experiencing unacceptable behaviour at the university). Two student counsellors are also Confidential Advisor for students ;
- Support with communication with formal committees such as the Faculty Examination Committee or the Central Complaints Committee;
- Application for support scheme for top-level sports or arts.
First step: contact your study adviser
Always report personal and/or unforeseen circumstances affecting your study progress to the study adviser of your programme within the faculty. This is the first line of student support. A timely report to the study adviser is also a condition for qualifying for certain financial arrangements. You can consult the study adviser on many topics, such as:
- How do I create a study plan for upcoming modules?
- I was ill and missed my exam; how do I arrange a resit?
- I would like to apply for additional facilities during exams;
- I’m struggling to concentrate due to problems at home; what should I do?
- I struggle reading and writing academic texts; how can I address this?
If necessary, the study adviser will refer you to the student counsellor (second line), or you may take the initiative to schedule an appointment with us yourself. Without your permission, the study adviser and the student counsellor do not exchange information about you. Your study adviser is listed here: Study Advisers (utwente.nl).
How do I make an appointment?
You can make an appointment in the way you like:
- Via the online Planner (link below)
- At the desk of our secretariat (Vrijhof, room 316, Red Desk)
- By phone (+31 53 489 2035)
If you would prefer to contact a student counsellor by email first, please send your question to student-counsellor@utwente.nl (not suitable for making appointments!). We will then assess whether we can be of service to you.
Walk-in consultation hours every Tuesday from 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
For brief or urgent questions, you can drop in every Tuesday without an appointment. We will then discuss your question for a maximum of 15 minutes and, if necessary, schedule a follow-up. Please check in at the secretariat in Vrijhof 316.
Who are we?
We are the student counsellors at the University of Twente. By providing you with short-term counselling, we aim to help you experience success or progress in your studies and student life. If we’re not the right source of help, we will try to refer you to other professionals within or outside the UT.
