UvA Kieswijzer

Diversity in ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, but also in literature and perspectives, is indispensable for the quality of education and the development of academia.

List Sefa

Fully agree

We believe that the diversity of many aspects of University is what makes the academic community progressive, in all its senses. Diversity is what makes an academic community rich and successful. We strongly encourage the equality of opportunity but not the equality of outcome

UvASociaal

Fully agree

UvASociaal believes it is significantly important that every student feels at home at the University of Amsterdam, irrespective of disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. This is why Diversity is one of our 4 core pillars.

Inter

Fully agree

As Inter, we support all kinds of diversity and think that the development of UvA can be achieved only if everyone is respected.

The University must prioritize active diversification, including decolonisation, as mentioned in the 2016 Diversity Report.

List Sefa

Agree

List Sefa strongly supports diversity of many aspects of academia, and we believe that the priorities of the University should be quality education and research, excellent student experience, and rich and diverse environment

Inter

Agree

It is important that diversity is present at university. The Diversity Report 2016 is a good initiative that deserves to get more attention, in order to, for example, ensure that also students who cannot afford to pay a lot of money still are able to study at UvA.

UvASociaal

Fully agree

We believe the UvA needs to take more action than simply be happy with what has been done so far. Actively ensuring diversity in classrooms at both the staff and student level is necessary to have a fulfilling education. Decolonization goes hand in hand with this. The UvA needs to recognize the role colonization plays in our education and needs to promote the idea that while some texts are important in history, the context is important as well.

Vegan or vegetarian food - with optional meat options - should be the standard in the canteen, so the University can lead the example in terms of sustainability.

List Sefa

Agree

The University should follow progressive practices in terms of sustainability, and we think that all students should have the freedom to follow their own choices

UvASociaal

Fully agree

We believe that meat consumption at the University should be reduced in order to reduce the environmental footprint. However, students should have the availability to choose for meat, but it should be a special request. Also, we believe that everyone should play their part in the reduction of their environmental footprint, but this should not take away focus from the fact that the University itself needs to set the example and reduce its footprint significantly, not just the students.

Inter

Agree

The option of meat is still available, but we think it is important that we take big steps to be more sustainable.

Study associations should be encouraged and financially supported by the University.

UvASociaal

Agree

We believe study associations play a very important role in creating social cohesion amongst students of their programs and this should be encouraged. They can also play a role in ensuring the quality of education with a broad range of activities. However, we also see instances where study associations are so tightly linked with the University that they influence decision making even though they are not democratically elected student representatives. We believe this should be regulated.

List Sefa

Fully agree

Study associations are very important for the decentralized social life of students as they offer many opportunities for self-development, networking and socializing

Inter

Agree

They should. Being part of a community, feeling safe and welcome and being happy in your surroundings at the UvA is important for every student. We believe student associations can help improve this, so the university should help them.

Every student must be able to pay per study point at the UvA (flexible studying).

Inter

Agree

It is important that the university asks money from students in an honest way. If you study for two months you should be able to pay for only those months, not a whole year, in order to make sure everyone has the opportunity to study. For some courses, though, this would not be beneficial to students, and so we stand against making it compulsory.

UvASociaal

Agree

We stand for autonomy for students and teachers. Being able to schedule your studies flexibly is part of this autonomy. There are also students that cannot afford it financially to develop themselves outside of their studies because it would mean paying for another year of college fees. If they were able to pay per study point, this would give them the same opportunity to develop themselves as other students.

List Sefa

Fully agree

List Sefa strongly supports the opportunity of flex study for every single student at UvA

The University must invest more in sustainability.

List Sefa

Agree

The University should always encourage its members to be vibrant contributors to the prosperity and success of the society in general

Inter

Fully agree

It is important that, as university, we clearly show that we trust scientists and their projections about climate change, and that we regard this as a serious issue. This includes taking measures to be more sustainable.

UvASociaal

Fully agree

UvASociaal is very proud to have played a role in the advances that have been made at the University with regards to sustainability (i.e. Sustainability minor), but there is more work to be done. The University should educate people about this challenge and perform research on sustainability, while also leading the way in battling the environmental challenges we face. The University plays an important role in society, and it should take this role seriously. This includes more investment in sustainability.

Students wishing to take honours courses should be able to do so based on their motivation, regardless of their grades.

UvASociaal

Fully agree

This would not change anything to the requirements of the honours degree, and you need the same average and the same amount of extra ECTS. However, we believe that you should not get selected for honours because you get good grades at the start. If you are motivated, but you had a rough start, you should get the opportunity to make up for this. In the end, still only those who meet the requirements will receive the degree, and we end up with more motivated students.

List Sefa

Agree

We believe that students should have access to as many self-development opportunities as possible offered by the University

Inter

Disagree

First of all, we think that grades to a certain extent show how motivated the student is. This does not mean that the minimum grade to enter has to be very high, but to ensure quality of education in maintained, it is important that the students who are admitted are hardworking enough to learn the syllabus well. Furthermore, it is important that students do not have huge discrepancies in their abilities.

More investment is needed in interdisciplinary education (providing students with more than just one perspective on a particular subject, such as honours, PPLE or IIS programmes)

UvASociaal

Agree

More flexibility in studies should be offered by the university to allow students to personalize their education. Improving the way students can take more subjects covering multiple facets of their studies should be an option for all students.

Inter

Neutral

As Inter, we think that investment should be high in both interdisciplinary programmes and those that are not. All types of education require high quality. However, we are aware that sometimes those interdisciplinary are more costly and therefore require more financial help.

List Sefa

Fully agree

Programmes should decide for themselves whether English will improve the quality of education.

List Sefa

Neutral

Programmes should aim at the best educational opportunities regardless of the language of instruction

UvASociaal

Agree

We believe there should not be a central policy that dictates whether programs should be in Dutch or English. However, we urge systems to be set up that will better facilitate any potential transition. If internationalization serves the quality of education and the student experience in terms of diversity and accessibility, this is very valuable. However, we believe that simply attracting more students by offering a program in English should not be the goal. We have seen over the past several years how that has backfired.

Inter

Agree

They are themselves in the best position to make these decisions. However, it is important that the university promotes internationalisation by encouraging courses to teach classes in English.

The University is internationalising too quickly.

List Sefa

Disagree

Inter

Disagree

The university should prepare students for a society in which they will work, and since this society is becoming more and more international, it is important to get in touch with other cultures because everyone can learn from one another in that way.

UvASociaal

Fully agree

We believe that international students, and thus internationalization, bring immense value to the university. However, the development we see right now was not thought out well, and all students are suffering. The increased influx of students has consequences for the quality of education;, it has consequences for the accessibility of the university, student housing and more. We believe that the university should first find a way to deal with the current consequences caused by internationalization, before further internationalizing its programs. Moreover, there should be a proper plan of action for how to deal with the consequences of internationalization so that it adds value, instead of what happened now.

Student parties that receive support from external parties, such student associations or national political parties, should be excluded from participating in the student council elections.