The SHoT survey: How are the students doing?

The students' health and well-being survey is Norway's largest student survey and deals with many topics related to students' health and well-being. Nearly 60,000 Norwegian students have responded to this year's survey, which was conducted from February to April 2022.

Loneliness and psychological problems

A third of the OsloMet students who responded to the survey say that they are often or very often lonely. This is somewhat higher than the national average (26 percent). As in the rest of the country, many students report mental health problems, and as many as 37 percent of OsloMet students experience serious mental problems.

Enhanced measures

– Now we have to use this knowledge to come up with measures that can improve the daily study life for our students, says acting vice-rector for education at OsloMet Silje Bringsrud Fekjær.

According to Bringsrud Fekjær, the results show that the challenges many students had during the pandemic are still present. Reinforced measures are therefore still needed.

– We were able to initiate many good measures with the help of the government's extra investment in the learning environment during the pandemic. I hope this initiative can be continued so that we can continue prioritizing, for example, mentoring and psychological services for students. We also see that there is still a need to support the student unions in the important work they do, says Bringsrud Fekjær.

Back on campus

A significant difference since the time the SHoT survey was carried out is that the students are now back on campus and have physical lessons again. Fekjær sees many signs that the students appreciate meeting again, and that they take advantage of the chance to come to campus and participate in student life.

– Being able to meet again is absolutely crucial to reversing the negative trend of loneliness and psychological distress that the pandemic brought about, says Bringsrud Fekjær.

Integration in the study environment is important

The SHoT survey reveals that OsloMet students are more satisfied with the place of study than the national average, but less satisfied with both the study environment and the teaching.

Research shows that being integrated into the study environment is not only important for well-being. It also increases the chance that you will be able to complete the education you have started. According to Bringsrud Fekjær, there is a lot of good work underway at OsloMet, but the results show that there are many areas for improvement.

– As an educational institution, this is one of the most important responsibilities we have, says Bringsrud Fekjær.

Improve the quality of education

OsloMet students are also less satisfied than students in the rest of the country when it comes to questions about the way the study is structured and the academic guidance. This is in line with the results from the same survey in 2018.

– For OsloMet, it is important to work on improving the quality of our educations, and new funds have been granted, among other things, to further develop the large and important educations we have in nursing, teaching and social studies, says Bringsrud Fekjær.

Strengthened measures at Kjeller

It is also worrying that more students than before answer that they are dissatisfied with the study environment at Kjeller. This figure has changed from 28 per cent in the previous SHoT survey in 2018 to 46 per cent this year.

– We take the signals from the students at Kjeller very seriously. We have already worked for some time on strengthening the measures at the place of study, and will continue this work in the future to meet the students' needs. We are happy that this autumn we have experienced increasing support for the offers at Kjeller, both around the start of studies and at regular events, says Bringsrud Fekjær.

– Our study site at Kjeller has also been characterized by the fact that the future of the study site has been under discussion. We hope that clarifications about the future of the study site and the new campus at Lillestrøm can improve the situation for our students at Romerike.

More alcohol-free events

On a national basis, almost half of the students in the SHoT survey say that they feel that there is too much drinking in the student environment, and 61 per cent of the students see that they would like more alcohol-free options. Here, this year's patron board at OsloMet took with it lessons from the pandemic, where several alcohol-free activities were carried out during the day. Students experienced this as more inclusive. OsloMet also provides financial support for sponsored events that do not have an alcohol focus.

– This is something we want to continue with, says Bringsrud Fekjær.