Students at UT are looking for help more often, waiting time is increasing

02 / 04 / 2025 | Redactie

More and more students are knocking on the door of a student psychologist for help. This is stated in the annual report of Student Guidance and Well-being (SACC). This is the third year in a row that there are more applications. Meanwhile, the waiting time is increasing due to a shortage of psychologists.

Photo by: RIKKERT HARINK

Image for illustration.

Students are increasingly looking for help because they encounter various problems during their student days. This can be about money worries, study delay or health problems. For example, the top three personal circumstances reported by students are: psychological problems, special family circumstances and functional limitations.

In the 2023/2024 academic year, a total of 4707 consultations were scheduled at SACC. These consultations were conducted among 1964 students. Nevertheless, the group that registered for help is larger, as 12570 students enrolled in the year 2023/2024.

Small staff

The fact that the number of consultations is much lower is because SACC has a small workforce. The student psychologist team in particular is experiencing problems. In 2023-2024, five psychologists left the university and one psychologist was unable to work due to illness. The report states that these employees were not or only partially replaced due to the UT's financial situation. It led to long waiting times among students to be eligible for assistance. The waiting time for a first intake was more than seven weeks. This is also due to a shortage of national psychologists.

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