UNIVERSITY AND STUDENT WELL-BEING:

WELCOMING EXPERIENCES AND STUDENT SUPPORT

Abstract

This paper aims to present the actions carried out by the Student Support Office (AApE) of the Education Center at the Federal University of Paraíba (CE/UFPB) in 2022. The AApE was instituted in 2021 with the objective of promoting and strengthening institutional actions designed to enhance student experiences throughout their journeys within the University. This initiative stands as a pioneering and avant-garde undertaking within CE/UFPB, and adopts, as its guiding principles, communication, guidance and human care, promoted mainly by intra-institutional partnerships. In the specified timeframe, the AApE team comprised two professors as advisors and an intern enrolled in the Pedagogy course. This article seeks to present the actions developed by this sector and subject them to critical and reflective scrutiny. Notably, with the resumption of face-to-face teaching in the latter half of 2022, we observed a greater rapprochement and engagement of students in the actions and activities developed by AApE. Collaboratively with the CE’s administration, the undergraduate course coordinators, and the pedagogical support sector, the team directed its endeavors toward strengthening the bonds between students and the university, in addition to the meanings attributed to their stay in the institution, as well as the ethical-political commitment engendered in their academic trajectories. In essence, this experience underscores the imperative need to reflect on the challenges within the university environment that directly impact the well-being of numerous students in the country, more specifically in the Northeast region of Brazil. We emphasize that the undertaken efforts were grounded in advocating for the university as a welcoming place, fostering personal development, and contributing to societal transformation for the individuals involved.