Universities must become the messengers, or the support goes unused.
Across Portugal's universities, a quiet paradox has taken root: systems of care — scholarships, housing, mental health services, counseling — have been built with genuine intention, yet the students most in need of them often do not know they exist. At the 14th National Meeting of Student Ombudsmen, convened this week at the University of the Azores in Ponta Delgada, educators and administrators confronted this gap not as a failure of resources, but as a failure of reach — a reminder that building a safety net means little if those falling cannot see it beneath them.
- A comprehensive welfare infrastructure exists across Portuguese universities, yet large portions of the student population remain entirely unaware of the scholarships, mental health services, housing programs, and counseling available to them.
- The tension is not a lack of programs but a breakdown in communication — students don't know to look, and institutions have not yet found the language or channels to make themselves heard.
- University leaders, ombudsmen, and administrators gathered in Ponta Delgada to name this gap directly, with the director-general of Higher Education placing the burden of outreach squarely on the institutions themselves.
- The University of the Azores is attempting to close the distance by sending student ambassadors into secondary schools across the archipelago — reaching prospective students before they ever set foot on campus.
- Even so, the Student Ombudsman at UAc receives fewer requests than she believes the student body's needs would warrant, suggesting the problem is not merely informational — students have not yet learned that asking for help is an option available to them.
Portugal's universities have constructed an extensive welfare architecture — scholarships, housing assistance, mental health services, nutritional counseling, sports programs — yet a striking paradox persists: many of the students these systems were built for do not know they exist.
This disconnect stood at the center of the 14th National Meeting of Student Ombudsmen, held this week at the University of the Azores in Ponta Delgada. Ombudsmen, faculty leaders, administrators, and students gathered to examine what student welfare looks like in practice, moving across topics from mental health and nutrition to international student integration and the mechanics of welcoming newcomers. Joaquim Mourato, director-general of the Higher Education Directorate, acknowledged the paradox plainly: demand for support is rising even as large portions of the student body remain unaware of what's available. The responsibility, he argued, falls to universities themselves to become the messengers.
The list of programs is substantial — a Success Promotion and Dropout Reduction initiative, a Mental Health Promotion Program, psychologist and nutritionist vouchers, a housing program called 'Alojamento Já,' direct and indirect social assistance — yet nearly all of them remain largely invisible to the students they're meant to serve.
The University of the Azores has moved to address this earlier than most. Vice-rector Adolfo Fialho explained that UAc sends teams of current students into secondary schools across the archipelago to present the university's programs before prospective students have even enrolled. In the most recent year, only the island of Corvo did not receive a visit. Once students arrive, integration continues through faculty student councils, eleven university music groups, a veterans' commission, and activities embedded in the three student residences.
Still, awareness remains the bottleneck. Teresa Ferreira, UAc's Student Ombudsman, receives fewer complaints and requests than she believes the student body's needs would justify. Most of what does reach her involves dissatisfaction with university services or frustration over evaluation opportunities — not the deeper welfare concerns her office exists to address. Her observation points to something harder to solve than a missing brochure: students have not yet learned that asking for help is something they are permitted to do.
Portugal's universities have built an extensive infrastructure to support student welfare—scholarships, housing assistance, mental health services, nutritional counseling, sports programs—yet a striking gap persists: many students don't know these resources exist.
This disconnect emerged as a central finding at the 14th National Meeting of Student Ombudsmen, which convened this week at the University of the Azores in Ponta Delgada. Ombudsmen from most Portuguese universities, faculty leaders, administrators, and students gathered to examine what student welfare actually looks like in practice. The agenda ranged across social services, university sports, mental health, nutrition, international student integration, and the mechanics of welcoming newcomers effectively.
Joaquim Mourato, director-general of the Higher Education Directorate, acknowledged the paradox plainly: the support systems exist and address every theme under discussion in Ponta Delgada, yet demand for these services is rising even as large portions of the student body remain unaware they're available. Universities, he suggested, must become the messengers. The responsibility falls to them to ensure students actually benefit from what's been built.
The roster of programs is substantial. There's a Success Promotion and Dropout Reduction initiative. Centers for Excellence and Pedagogical Innovation. A Mental Health Promotion Program. Psychologist and nutritionist vouchers. A housing program called "Alojamento Já." A National Housing Plan for higher education. Direct and indirect social assistance. Sports promotion schemes. All of these exist. All of them remain largely invisible to the students they're meant to serve.
Universities are expected to handle the distribution of this information, working through their social action offices and student ombudsmen to reach more people. Every institution, without exception, claims to be working toward this goal—through formal social action departments, through welcome events held each year, through orientation activities. At the University of the Azores specifically, there's an Open Day for new students and their families, followed by a full month of reception and support activities when the academic year begins. But the outreach starts earlier. Adolfo Fialho, the university's vice-rector, explained that UAc sends teams of current students into secondary schools across the Azores region to present the university's programs and explain the support available. In the most recent year, only one school—on the island of Corvo—didn't host such a session. These visits are framed as motivational, designed to encourage students to pursue higher education while simultaneously introducing them to what awaits.
Integration doesn't stop after arrival. Student councils at most of the university's faculties organize activities throughout the year. Eleven university music groups participate. A veterans' commission helps. These efforts happen not just on campus but in the three student residences as well. The work is distributed, ongoing, embedded in the rhythm of university life.
Yet awareness remains the bottleneck. Teresa Ferreira, the Student Ombudsman at the University of the Azores, receives fewer complaints and requests for support than she believes she should. "The requests are not as significant as they ought to be," she said, "though they vary considerably." Most complaints she does receive center on student dissatisfaction with how certain university services responded to them, or frustration with the evaluation opportunities professors provided. The ombudsman has no decision-making power—only the ability to investigate and make recommendations—but her office exists precisely to bridge gaps like these. That students underutilize it suggests the communication problem runs deeper than a simple lack of information channels. It suggests students don't yet know to look.
Citações Notáveis
The support systems exist and address every theme under discussion, yet large portions of the student body remain unaware they're available.— Joaquim Mourato, director-general of the Higher Education Directorate
The requests for support are not as significant as they ought to be, though they vary considerably.— Teresa Ferreira, Student Ombudsman at the University of the Azores
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
If these programs are so comprehensive, why haven't students heard of them?
Because universities have built the infrastructure without necessarily building the pathways to it. A mental health voucher program doesn't help anyone who doesn't know it exists.
So it's just a marketing problem?
It's more than that. It's about trust and visibility. A student has to know where to look, and they have to believe the resource is actually for them.
The ombudsman seems underused. Does that mean students don't have problems, or they don't know to complain?
Probably both. But if you're struggling and you don't know there's someone whose job is to listen, you just suffer quietly.
What does starting outreach in secondary school actually accomplish?
It plants a seed. When a current student shows up and says "here's what's available," it's more credible than a brochure. But it only works if the message reaches the right people.
And after they arrive?
That's where the student organizations, the music groups, the residence programs come in. They're not just social—they're integration mechanisms. They're how you actually become part of the community.
So the system works if students engage with it?
The system works if students know it exists and feel welcome to use it. Right now, half that equation is missing.