FAQ

Q: Will the Radboud Welcomes Newcomers students be registered as regular students?

A: Students will be registered as temporary students (for the duration of the course). This means that the student has access to all facilities of Radboud University that regular students have access to (library, printing, writing lab, etc.).
In general, this means that students will also make the exam and other assignments that are obligatory for the course. Sometimes, a teacher has a preference towards refugee students only joining as auditors. This will be discussed with the teacher and student in advance. It is also a possibility that the student puts in this request because they are unexpectedly busy with their asylum procedure.

Q: Do Radboud Welcomes Newcomers students receive EC (European Credits)?

A: No, students will not receive EC for following a course. Instead, they will receive a certificate for participating in the Radboud Welcomes Newcomers project.
We have two types of certificates:

a graded certificate when the exam is completed successfully (5.5 or higher).
A certificate of participation if the student is more than 80% present during the course.

Q: What does the intake procedure look like?

A: The student looks at the list of available courses and chooses a course that fits their academic background and ambitions. Afterwards, the student will register through the registrationform. Here, the student will be asked to upload relevant diploma’s (or International Diploma Evaluation), relevant certificates and a motivational statement. This information, and the level of Dutch or English will be evaluated by the team of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers. If the student meets all the entry criteria of the course, we will contact the lecturer to place the student.

Q: Do I have to offer the student the required course material (books, readers, etc.)?

A: Radboud Welcomes Newcomers has a budget available to help the student purchase the necessary material in terms of books, readers or other. You can refer the student to us for this.
If there is extra course material that you would like to offer to the student, you are always welcome to do so.

Q: What kind of help do students via Radboud Welcomes Newcomers receive?

A: We will support the students in the following ways:

Information day: before the start of every period, we organise an information day. Students and their buddy’s are invited. We will walk around campus to make sure all students are aware of the location of their classes. Afterwards, the students will receive an ‘IT class’ where buddy’s help them log in and show them around our online learning environments (Osiris, Brightspace). After the information day, students that want to pick up their laptops, can pick them up at the IT helpdesk.
Buddy: students are all assigned a buddy. This is a Dutch or International student at Radboud University. These students support the academic and social integration of the refugee student at Radboud University. For example, they can help with showing them around on campus, the online learning environment and questions regarding academic skills.
Common lunch: After a few weeks, there will be an organized check-in moment with all buddy’s and students during lunch. We will get together and the team of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers collects feedback on how the first weeks went. It is a moment for the students to ask questions, share positive experiences or worries.

Q: Can I mention in class that a refugee student is joining?

A: Please do not share the fact that a refugee student has joined without permission of the student.

We find it very important that the student feels comfortable, safe and as much as possible like a regular student at Radboud University. For a lot of students, the fact that they had to seek refuge in the Netherlands is a traumatic subject.

Q: Is there a difference between students from Radboud Welcomes Newcomers and other international students?

A: Yes. The difference between international students and students via Radboud Welcomes Newcomers, is that international students usually made a conscious decision to study at the Radboud University. The Radboud Welcomes Newcomers students were forced to flee their country of origin. The cannot return due to safety concerns and they often feel a lot of pressure to successfully integrate into the new society.

Many students of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers do not have a status when they are studying. This means that they often live in emergency shelters or asylum seeking centers. In reality, this often means that students live together with up to 8 roommates of different nationalities in a small room and have little privacy. It can be hard to find a peaceful place to study.

Moreover, they often are stuck in complicated procedures regarding their permit or family reunification. It is possible that students have to move to another asylum seeking center unexpectedly or they are matched with a municipality far away from Nijmegen. This could mean that the student has to terminate their participation.

Q: Do students of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers always finish their course?

A: The majority of the students are able to finish successfully. However, it is good to keep in mind that these students are currently in unstable living conditions. Unexpected things can happen in their asylum procedure that requires their full attention. Moreover, some students have experienced traumatic experiences during their flight journey or in their country of origin. This could mean that the mental capacity is a bit lower than regular students. This means that sometimes situations occur beyond control of the students that make them unable to finish the course, even if they would have liked to.

Q: The student that is participating via Radboud Welcomes Newcomers does not say much during class. I have the idea that they are not actively participating. Why is this?

A: We get different feedback from lecturers: from students who participate very actively to more introverted students that are not participating or asking questions. so much.
Apart from differences in characters of these students, cultural differences could play a role. In many cultures, teachers are seen as authorities that will provide you with information. Students are expected to sit still and listen, this means showing respect to the teachers. Often, we see that students get used to the Dutch educational system during the trajectory and learn to open up more. If you want to know more about these cultural differences, you are more than welcome to join the intercultural communication training for teachers of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers.