Every year asap presents its Ten Bullet Points. These Ten Points are promises to the students in Nijmegen: asap will commit to these points. Down below you can find what asap has committed to in the year 2018-2019. Are you curious for what asap has achieved? Click here!
In addition, following extra courses will be easier. Two courses that would normally be scheduled at conflicting times can then both be followed anyway. Moreover, weblectures can contribute immensely to the possibility of flexible studying: if students that, for example, have a large number of extracurricular activities or run their own business want to plan the lecture at another time, they now have a way of being the boss over their own schedule.
Besides that, asap is convinced that students can get more out of their lectures if the course material they have to process is available for a longer time. There will be more opportunity to actually listen and process the material. The possibility to consult the course material at a later time can also be beneficial when preparing for exams. If a student has not quite mastered a certain subject, the recorded weblecture can serve as a good reference tool.
The faculty of law has already proven that this form of digitalization is achievable. About 80% of the lectures of that faculty are already being recorded. asap demands that the university takes on a proactive attitude towards weblectures and would like to see the university help instructors realize that weblectures are part of proper education.
To achieve this, asap would like to see the RU facilitate the sustainable choices its students make. This can partially be achieved with education, but also with proper organization of the university. Education provides the opportunity to make students more aware of the impact that different fields of study can have on sustainability. In addition, the university as an organization has an obligation to make sustainable choices more appealing to students, employees and faculties. It is currently the case that, for example, faculties have to buy their own separation bins for trash. We need to take a critical look at the sustainability of departments and employees. The university should encourage sustainable travelling.
In addition, there is room for the university and student-run organizations to help with welcoming international students. This goes beyond the switch to bilingual communication alone: student-run organizations are, generally speaking, itching to actively involve internationals, but lack the resources or channels to do so. Not only international students benefit from the increased attention to integration. For Dutch students, contact with international students can also be enriching. Together we can make the most out of their student days.
However, this is not the only barrier that currently has been raised: The choice may be free on paper, but if schedules from different faculties conflict with each other, interfaculty education is hindered. Harmonizing the education schedules plays an important role in facilitating the optimal utilization of the elective space that is offered. Interfaculty education is something that has to be fostered: the best innovations start with a free exchange of ideas. It is of great importance that students from different fields of study get in touch with each other, in this way every student at the university can follow courses from all different faculties. In order to help students orientate themselves, every faculty could make a list of courses that they are especially proud of (best courses guide). This bundle could make education at a certain faculty more comprehensible. In addition, study guides should be created and made available in a uniform format.
Since asap really values the bridging of the gap between education and the job market, asap would like to see the university encourage faculties and departments to arrange the curriculum in a way that the space for electives falls in one and the same semester. In this way, students who want to serve an internship as a part of their job orientation will not experience any problems with the rest of their curriculum.
asap envisions an important role for the student advisor: he or she should be able to easily refer a student and make sure you get where you need to be. This will reduce waiting times and makes the help for student quicker and more effective. Student advisors need to be kept informed about the support that the Radboud University can offer to her students, in order for them to fully exploit these resources. Considering the importance of the role of student advisors, asap believes that the quality of counselling should be monitored and students should be able to contribute to the process. The fact that student advisors should provide quality work, is not up for dispute.
Furthermore, study workspaces are not always healthy and proper workspaces. In many cases, there is a lack of electricity outlets and the workspaces often do not comply with the minimal requirements to work ergonomically. For students that spend most of their day in one of these spaces, this is unacceptable. When creating new workspaces, primary needs and ergonomics will be seen as priority conditions.
In some cases, switching to English is the better solution. However, the importance of Dutch language skills should not be passed by either. asap is committed to only introducing the English language in situations where this is most valuable for students.
asap argues for clear-cut conditions, a clear procedure and transparency in the allocation, so students know where they stand and no money is lost. With clear conditions, there is more room for innovating initiatives that benefit all students.
asap argues that a culture change is necessary, one in which excellence in the form of high grades is not the standard that students should have to live up to. It is not about measurable performance, but personal growth and the skills one acquires during their days as a student. By putting less emphasis on high grades and reducing time pressure, the overall pressure to perform that students experience will decrease, and thus student wellbeing and health will improve and will remain improved. Students do not have to compare themselves to other students or the standard of excellence anymore, only to themselves and their own personal development.