Masaryk University creates a safe and supportive environment for its students, which also includes a system of counselling services. Students can now contribute to the development of this system by providing their feedback.
For more than two decades, Masaryk University has been systematically building up a network of departments and services that help students to cope with the stress of studying, but also, for example, with issues arising from the combination of studying and working and difficult life situations, to name but a few. Students can use the services of the Teiresiás Centre for assistance to students with special needs, which helps those with health limitations to meet the requirements of their study programmes, the Career Centre, which provides professional career guidance, and the Student Advisory Centre providing advice on the right study strategy as well as free psychological counselling.
“We are an institution that places great emphasis on the quality of education, but at the same time we are a student-friendly university that offers a safety net in case of difficulties and a range of options to overcome any problem. We are aware that the needs of our students evolve and change over time, and that today’s young people enter university with slightly different expectations and requirements than previous generations. That is why it is important for us not to stagnate, but to respond to these changes in an appropriate and timely manner,” said Jana Fialová, MU Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and External Relations.
In recent years, the number of requests directed to the Teiresiás centre, which has more than 600 students with special needs related to learning disabilities, attention disorders, autism spectrum disorders, chronic somatic diseases and especially psychological difficulties, has increased. The Student Advisory Centre is also facing a significant increase in demand for its services.
“In this calendar year alone, we have provided over 3,900 psychological consultations and we still have a large waiting list of candidates for whom we are trying to secure appointments,” said Silvie Šimonová, head of the Student Advisory Centre. However, she adds that, compared to previous years, they are seeing a high number of students failing to turn up for their appointments. “We urge our clients to check out early or contact their assigned psychologist well in advance to make room for others.”
Since October, the centre has also offered a new programme called ComMUNIty, a support group for students who meet regularly in a safe environment for sharing, socialising, personal growth and building mental resilience. “The group reminded me that I wasn’t alone with my worries, whether they were about school or my personal life, and that I didn’t have to be. All in a comfortable environment where I could share without being judged. Even though my problems didn’t go away, I definitely got through the semester a lot better thanks to this experience,” said Adam Kašpárek, a participant in the ComMUNIty programme.
Šimonová added that it is still too early to evaluate the pilot run but based on the regular attendance of all enrolled participants, she believes that the group is fulfilling its supportive role.
All MU students can now influence the direction in which the university’s support services will be developed. Students in their second year and above now have the opportunity to take part in a study that will help the university map the life connections of Masaryk University students.
“Universities around the world help their students in a variety of challenging situations, and MU is committed to supporting the well-being of the people who study here. We need to know what kind of difficulties they are experiencing, whether stress is related to their studies or whether it is something that happened before they went to university. By understanding the needs of students, we will be able to develop targeted preventive measures and more effective tools to remove unnecessary obstacles that can lead to unsuccessful studies,” added Vice-Rector Fialová.
Students will now find a link in their mailboxes to a questionnaire entitled “Life Satisfaction of MU Students” which explores issues of mental wellbeing, sources of short and long term stress, coping with study load, lifestyle and instances of possible inappropriate behaviour at university. In the spring, the same set of questions will be asked to students currently in their first year.
The questionnaire was developed by psychologists from the Faculty of Medicine, the MU Ombudsman, experts from the Rector’s Strategy Office, Quality Office and the MU Student Advisory Centre. The data collected will be processed and analysed by psychologists from the Faculty of Medicine in collaboration with the Strategy Office, which is responsible for all university-wide surveys. One such psychologist is Miroslav Světlák, who sees changes in lifestyle and information overload as the main reasons for the current rise in mental health problems. He hopes the survey will help determine whether the mental health problems some students face are related to long-term stress or to the university environment itself. This will enable the university to distinguish what it can help students with as an institution and what they need to do on their own.