The study start concept helps educators to create greater coherence at the study start with a focus on academic communities.

The study start is a significant transition for new students as they establish themselves both academically and socially. The transition to being a student in higher education can be a vulnerable period that can activate a high degree of insecurity, doubt, and worry. Therefore, it is essential to have a study start that speaks to, and includes, different new students and prevents exclusion among groups of students who fall outside the perceived majority norm.

Management, educators, student counsellors, and students participate precisely to support a study start concept that is felt to be strongly rooted in the education. 

Content in the study start concept

• Knowledge about transitions and psychological mechanisms in the new students
• Basic principles of a good study start based on best practice
• New students’ different needs and attention to students on the periphery of the community
• Interfaces between tutors, educators, student counsellors, and education managers
• Future recruiting of freshman-week counsellors (for instance, how can you represent the difference between the new students?)

The content can be adjusted as needed for the education in question.

Workshops about the study start concept are ideally held several months before the study start. With a study starting in September, the study start concept(s) meetings are held in April/May.