Universities to take more responsibility for wellbeing
UNIVERSITIES will be told today they risk “failing a generation of students” unless they take action to prevent a looming mental health crisis, as ministers launch a new charter to promote student wellbeing.
Sam Gyimah, the universities minister, will tell vice-chancellors that it is “no longer good enough” to claim their role is “training of the mind” only, as he calls on them to make the mental health of their students a “top priority”.
Ahead of a summit of university leaders in Bristol, Mr Gyimah told The Daily Telegraph that he will be urging them to commit to a new covenant requiring them to invest in mental health services and begin collecting data on students identified as being at risk.
They will be asked to devote more resources to the “critical first year”, when students are deemed to be most at risk of succumbing to stress, mental illness and suicide.
Amid concerns that some parents are being kept in the dark, a new “optin” survey is also being considered, allowing universities to alert families if they believe the student is at risk.
It comes just days after Office for National Statistics figures revealed 95 students committed suicide last year. Male students were significantly more likely to kill themselves than females, while as many as one in four students are now using counselling services.
Mr Gyimah told The Telegraph that the latest figures were “sobering”, adding that universities acting in loco parentis did not mean “infantilising” students but ensuring they have the right services available to them.
Mental health is now one of the biggest challenges facing the higher education sector, with 94 per cent of institutions reporting an increased demand for the services in recent years.
The charter is to be drawn up by a number of key university partners, including Student Minds, the mental health charity, and the Office for Students, the regulator.
It will require universities to adopt a baseline of good practice, including early intervention and closer working links with local health services. It will be implemented in the autumn.