UvA panel

In April 2026, online user tests were conducted with six Dutch and international students to evaluate the renewed UvA Study Guide. The new guide has a more modern design, aligns better with the UvA house style and works better on mobile devices, while the content largely remains the same. Students are very positive about the new look and feel and can usually find their own degree programme easily; the information per programme (such as the yearly and block overviews) is experienced as clear.

At the same time, students encounter several usability issues, especially when orienting themselves towards elective courses and minors. The Study Guide is currently often not their natural starting point for orientation. Filters and entry points for courses and minors could be more user-friendly. Navigation could also be more consistent, and important actions, such as ‘Add to course enrolment’, should remain more visible (for example as a sticky button).

There are also some detailed points, such as unclear colour-coding in block schedules, terms like ‘advanced’ without explanation, and FAQ/contact options that are less noticeable. The report recommends further improving search functionality, navigation and the presentation of information, especially if the Study Guide is intended to become the primary starting point for study orientation in the future.

Team GLASS will use the findings from the user research to assess the user experience and identify areas for improvement.

This study examined the housing experiences of international students at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), with a focus on whether and how they found follow-up accommodation after their first year. A total of 105 students from various faculties participated. The research was commissioned by the UvA Student Housing Office, which works alongside housing corporations Lieven de Key and DUWO to develop future scenarios for the allocation of scarce student housing across different international student groups. The primary target group consisted of students who were housed through the UvA Housing Service during their first year. A second group of students who arranged their own housing was also included to provide a broader perspective.

The study revealed the following results:

• Students who arranged their own housing mostly turned to online platforms such as Kamernet, Pararius, and Funda (25%), followed by housing corporations like De Key and DUWO (16%).
  • Word of mouth (13%) and private landlords (12%) were also frequently used.
• 45% held a fixed-term contract, 28% had an indefinite contract, and 15% had a campus contract. A small share (6%) had a room without a formal rental agreement.
  • Among those with fixed-term contracts, 53% had a duration of one to two years, 30% had contracts of six to twelve months, and 10% had contracts of less than six months.
• Monthly rent (excluding utilities) was most commonly in the €800–€1,000 range (28%), followed by €600–€800 (19%). 15% of the students pays more than €1,200, while only 4% paid less than €400 per month.

UvA Student Housing Alumni (n=38)

• Of those who had lived in UvA Student Housing, 92% successfully found follow-up accommodation.
• Notably, rent levels were lower for this group than the self-arranging students: 37% paid €600–€800, 26% paid €800–€1,000, 19% paid €1,000–€1,200, and 15% paid over €1,200.
• Most students (51%) began searching for follow-up housing three to six months before their contract ended. On average, 34% spent three to five hours per week searching, and 31% spent six to ten hours.
• Regarding housing stability, 34% lived in two different places during their studies (excluding UvA Housing), and 29% had lived in four or more places, reflecting a highly fragmented housing journey for a significant share of respondents.

The housing search was widely experienced as stressful: 85% strongly agreed with this statement.

• A majority (60%) also agreed that it had a negative impact on their studies, while only 12% felt well-prepared for the Amsterdam housing market.
  • Notably, 33% considered discontinuing their studies at UvA because of the housing situation

The most frequently cited challenges in open responses were affordability, limited availability, and difficult market conditions. Students also highlighted scams and safety concerns, their disadvantaged position as international students, and a lack of university support and guidance.

Next steps

Based on the results of this research, the UvA and external housing partners will explore possible future scenarios and discuss strategic next steps. The findings of this study will help inform which direction best serves international students.

On behalf of Student Services (StS) and the Communications Office (BC), the UvA panel conducted research between June 2025 and January 2026 into students' experiences during their transition to university. This so-called soft landing period covers the first 100 days after enrolment. The research combined quantitative and qualitative methods: four online surveys (Soft Landing #1–4) and a co-creation session (Soft Landing #5).

Soft Landing #1–4: Surveys (Quantitative)

Four online questionnaires were distributed at strategic moments:

Survey #1 (July 2025): Start of the enrolment period Survey #2 (August 2025): One month before the start of the academic year Survey #3 (September 2025): Shortly before the start of the academic year Survey #4 (October 2025): Six weeks after the start of the academic year

Respondent profile: Prospective and new first-year students. Respondents consisted of Dutch students (36–64%), EU international students (21–39%), and non-EU international students (13–25%).

Soft Landing #5: Co-creation Sessions (Qualitative)

Two focus groups of 90 minutes each were organised for the co-creation sessions, involving a total of 9 first-year students: one Dutch-speaking group (2 participants) and one English-speaking group (7 participants). Using sticky notes and sentiment coding (green/orange/red), information needs were systematically mapped per theme along a timeline.

Topics covered: Housing, Timetable, Matching, Immigration (international students only), Enrolment and admission status, Study materials, Start of the academic year, and Meeting other students.

Key Findings from Soft Landing #1–5

1. Overall satisfaction with information provision

Students are reasonably satisfied with the frequency and volume of information they receive: 72–80% consider the frequency of contact to be "just right" Completeness: 7.0 (before start) to 7.4 (after start) Clarity: 7.0 (before start) to 7.4 (after start)

1. Communication bottlenecks

Long response times and lack of acknowledgement No confirmation of receipt upon registration or other requests, leading to doubt and uncertainty Weeks to months passing without status updates Students having to phone themselves (an additional barrier for international students due to limited calling hours and cultural differences)

Email overload Large volumes of generic emails from various senders Important information being missed or lost in the flood of messages

Unclear deadlines and lack of personalisation Deadlines feeling "hidden" or only becoming apparent after they have passed (scholarships, matching) Information not tailored to individual circumstances (programme, nationality, payment options)

1. Shifting information needs

June: Broad focus — timetable/courses (54%), housing (41%), study materials (41%), enrolment/admission (39%), meeting others (37%) September: Shift towards practical matters ahead of the start of term October: Timetable/courses (69%), study materials (60%), meeting other students (38%)

1. Guidance and preparation

Improved perception after the start of term: 78% feel well supported with timetables and course enrolment 74% feel well guided regarding expectations around course content 84% have a clear picture of university education

Preferred channels: Canvas (81%), UvA website (65%), MyUvA app (35%)

1. Social integration

Society membership (43%): Through fellow students or friends (45%) Through study introduction events (42%) Through the Intreeweek (26%)

Non-members (57%): Focus on studies (42%) Still finding their feet (34%) No suitable society found (27%)

Support gap: 63% are satisfied with contact with fellow students, but only 44% feel that the UvA provides sufficient support in this regard.

Next steps

Student Services and the Communications Office will use these findings to:

• Optimise the soft landing process
• Develop and implement the communication timeline for students
•  Introduce improvements to information provision and expectation management
•  Address specific bottlenecks (response times, email overload)

As a follow-up to last year’s study, the Central Diversity Office (CDO) has once again measured the organisation’s visibility. In addition, this year the study examined how the space provided at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) for religion and (non-religious) beliefs is experienced. A total of 252 students participated in the study, of whom 38% were Dutch and 62% international.

• 37% of students reported being familiar with the Central Diversity Office. Last year, this was 29%, which means awareness has increased by 8%.
• Furthermore, 76% indicated that they are familiar with one or more CDO programmes. Last year, this was 60%. Among all programmes, Meet your Mentor, Diversity Day, and the Keti Koti dialogue table are the most familiar, each known to 15% of respondents. Last year, Meet your Mentor was the most familiar programme at 31%.
• Studying/working with a disability or chronic condition (14%) and discrimination in the workplace or classroom (11%) were cited by students as the most important topics the CDO should focus on. These topics were also considered as the most important last year.
• 82% of students think it is important that there is a Central Diversity Office (compared to 81% last year). 45% believe the CDO has a positive effect on the university community, compared to 53% last year.

Views on secularity

58% of students view pluralism as the most suitable approach to secularity at the UvA. Additionally, 52% believe the UvA should facilitate and (partially) cover the costs of organising religious and cultural events. 61% feel that the UvA is currently appropriately secular and inclusive.

Religion and beliefs at the UvA

23% of respondents indicated that religion or a (non-religious) belief plays a role in their daily life. Of this group, 50% feel comfortable expressing their religion or beliefs within the UvA, and 64% report being able to combine their studies with their religion or beliefs. Furthermore, 66% of this group reported experiencing no limitations in expressing or practising their religion or beliefs within the UvA, compared to 21% who did experience limitations.

Follow-up actions

Based on these results, the CDO will:

• Awareness of the CDO has increased slightly, partly as a result of investments in events, funding, and communications. However, student support has decreased, indicating a need for more targeted efforts to reinforce this.
• In collaboration with Faculty Diversity Officers, further research is being undertaken into how religion is experienced within the UvA.
• Staff and students hold differing views on how religion should be approached and on the role of the UvA; the CDO sees it as its role to encourage dialogue between these perspectives.

In collaboration with researchers from Regioplan, the UvA panel supported the recruitment of participants and the organisation of the focus group for a study aimed at optimising a section of the National Student Survey (NSE).

Each year, the National Centre for Study Choice (LCSK) invites higher education students to complete the National Student Survey (NSE). The questionnaire covers various topics related to their study. One of the topics in the NSE concerns the ‘Alignment of the study programme with professional practice’. There was an impression that the questions on this topic did not sufficiently reflect students’ perspectives. For this reason, LCSK asked researchers from Regioplan to develop proposals to improve the questions on this topic.

An initial version of the questions has now been developed by the researchers. To evaluate the clarity of the new questions, researchers from Regioplan, with the assistance of the UvA panel, organised a focus group with nine students on 10 March 2026. The participating students came from different programmes and were at different stages of their studies. The focus group lasted one hour.

During the session, the draft questions were presented to the students. The students completed the questions on the spot, while the researchers observed how they approached the task. Afterwards, the group discussed how the students had interpreted the questions, how they experienced completing them, and whether the terminology used was recognisable and clear to them. This allowed the researchers to gain insight into how students interpret the questions and whether it is clear what is being asked of them.

The researchers were pleased with the students’ level of engagement during the focus group and with the feedback they provided. The focus group provided useful information that the researchers can use to better align the questions with students’ perspectives.