Harmonization and Integration in Student Counseling and Support

As part of a consortium, UMB and UKF have committed to connecting their student counseling and support services. This initiative will create opportunities to improve the quality of counseling and support services, as well as to promote educational inclusivity. The common goal is to harmonize and integrate counseling and support services to enhance the quality, efficiency, and inclusivity of higher education.

Timeline and Process of System Alignment:

• 09/2023 – 01/2024 – Identification of differences in student support areas.
• 02/2024 – 05/2024 – Identification of consortium partner institutions.
• 05/2024 – 08/2024 – Alignment of different areas of provided support.
• 09/2024 – 01/2025 – Unification of consortium activities in the area of support provision.
• 02/2025 – 02/2026 – Provision of comprehensive counseling and support services.

Detailed Description of Individual Activities:

• Identification of differences in student counseling and support.

The student counseling and support systems at UMB and UKF are complementary in many areas and largely conceived similarly. Both universities provide psychological, career, special education, and social counseling, as well as various forms of community and adaptation activities. UMB primarily focuses on psychological, legal, social, and pastoral counseling, supporting student adaptation, employability, and mental health through activities like the Buddy Program, University Career Day, and mental health workshops. UKF specializes in career and psychological counseling, counseling for students with special needs, and counseling regarding scholarships, loans, and health. It also provides technical, tutoring, and community support for organizing university, volunteer, cultural-social, and sports events. The identified differences thus stem mainly from the scope and structure of the services provided, rather than their essence, which allows for effective integration and sharing of best practices among consortium partners.

• Identification of consortium partner institutions

At UMB, the counseling and support system is managed by the Center for Support and Further Education of UMB (CPDV UMB), which, as of September 1, 2024, oversees most of the university’s counseling, support, and community activities. CPDV UMB collaborates with the University Pastoral Center of UMB, university and faculty coordinators for students with special needs, the scholarship and loan department, the marketing communication department, the administration of dedicated facilities, and the Doctoral School of UMB. Together, they form an interconnected system of psychological, career, socio-legal, and community support for students.

At UKF, the Student Center (ŠC UKF) provides career, psychological, and special education counseling, as well as counseling on scholarships, loans, and health. It collaborates with the Scholarship Department, the Department of Nursing at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the Pavol Strauss University Pastoral Center, the UKF Student Parliament, and student organizations (AIESEC, ESN UKF, JAaMY, Philosophers, Jugyik, etc.). Both institutions form an integrated counseling and support system within the UMB-UKF consortium, focused on sharing best practices, methodological cooperation, and unified communication with students.

• Alignment of Different Areas of Counseling and Support Provided

Within the identified commonalities, the universities have adopted an agreement for a comprehensive, unified system of psychological, special education, career, and pastoral counseling, to which they will adapt their internal university regulations and information platforms. Additionally, UMB will specialize in legal and social counseling, provide support for student employability (including career education and development training), and implement support activities related to mental health. UKF will provide the aforementioned counseling within the unified system with UMB, while also offering students health-related counseling as part of the UKF Student Center concept. The Student Center will also continue to support the implementation of student projects outside of regular coursework, including volunteer and social activities, and cultural-social and sports events.

• Unification of Activities in Counseling and Support Provision

The partner university departments have developed a precise schedule for preparing, sharing, and publishing information (general information about the joint counseling and support offerings, specifics of support at UMB and UKF, concrete offerings of educational and other community activities), including a system for recording supported students in compliance with GDPR. They have also agreed on a system and format for regular working meetings. These steps represented the finalization of preparatory processes before launching the provision of comprehensive counseling and support services for students at UMB and UKF.

• Provision of Comprehensive Counseling and Support Services and Further Follow-up Cooperation in Mental Health Support

From February 2025 to February 2026, an adaptation period is underway where partners are testing the aligned counseling and support systems within the UMB and UKF consortium. This period aims to ensure the final fine-tuning of partners and their capacities through joint events, training, and the implementation of a common information system on the universities’ websites. Students will directly learn about all the opportunities and benefits resulting from the consortium cooperation. The aligned counseling and support systems will be accessible to other university students even before they enroll in joint study programs (especially students residing near the partner university – e.g., a UKF student permanently residing in Zvolen). During this period, access to events such as UMB’s University Career Fair or UKF’s Online Career Event may be provided.

Within this activity, the collaborating partner units of UMB and UKF decided to submit a follow-up project under the minimal aid scheme in April 2025 to support the development of key skills and inclusive education through the Program Slovakia 2021-2027. The call’s objective was to increase the accessibility and quality of comprehensive counseling services for university students. The main project activities include:

If approved, the project will run for 36 months, starting in April 2026.

On the UMB side, the Center for Support and Further Education of UMB (CPDV UMB) is the implementer of this activity, guaranteeing the development of counseling, educational, and community services for students. The director of CPDV UMB is the guarantor of the activity. The guarantor of the activity and the main responsible person for UKF is Mgr. Miroslav Tvrdík, PhD., manager of the UKF Student Center.