The Student welfare council

Last changed: 08 January 2024

Student welfare issues include student health, working and study environment, campus environment, equal treatment, diversity, insurance, residences and student finance. In other words, things that are not directly related to your studies, but which need to work in order for you to be happy and healthy during your study period and to be able to perform well in your studies.

How does the Student welfare council work?

The Student welfare council (or Strå for short) works on general SLU student welfare issues relating to students at first-cycle and second-cycle level. 

Strå meets twice a semester. Examples of issues include:

  • the wording and monitoring of student welfare surveys
  • submitting proposals connected to SLU’s Gender equality and equal opportunities work
  • monitoring the student welcome activities of the students’ unions
  • crisis management from a student perspective

Strå arrange training for student health and safety representatives, and training course for student representatives participating in welcome activities in cooperation with Sluss.

SLU’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for education at first-cycle and second-cycle level is the chairperson of Strå. The council comprises a teacher from each faculty and two student representatives, who are appointed by Sluss (Joint Committee of Student Unions at SLU). The council secretary comes from the Division of Educational Affairs. Conveners in the local student welfare groups are invited to Strå.

What do the student welfare groups do?

At each study venue, there is a student welfare group or equivalent, which works on student welfare issues at local level. This may include monitoring student welcome activities or visiting statistics for the local Student Health Centre, as well as the work of the faculties on measures arising from student welfare surveys. 

The student welfare groups are composed of teachers, student representatives and study advisers. They often also include representatives of the local Student Health Centre and the University Chaplaincy/Student chaplains. The equine science venues of Flyinge, Strömsholm and Wången do not have separate student welfare groups; these issues are instead discussed at course council meetings.

What can I do?

If there are any student welfare issues that you think should be examined, contact the student welfare group at your study venue. You will find contact  details for the student welfare groups and Strå here. You can also go through your students’ union.

Cooperation between Strå and the student welfare groups

The groups report to Strå on current local issues at the various study venues. They can also propose issues of general interest to be discussed at Strå meetings. Strå obtains views on SLU’s work on equal opportunities and student welfare surveys, for example, from the groups.

The student welfare surveys “take the temperature” of the study environment.

A student welfare survey for all SLU’s students is conducted about every two years; the most recent was in spring 2021. Read some results from the student survey 2021.


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