Students: tell parents our issues

STUDENTS are increasingly anxious and would be happy for universities to alert their parents to any mental health issues, a survey has found.

In a poll of more than 14,000 undergraduates, four out of five said their university could share information with their next of kin. Two thirds were in favour of their parents being contacted in “extreme circumstances”, and a further 15 per cent said they could under any circumstances. A string of suicides has left parents feeling they had been left in the dark about their child’s wellbeing, spurring calls for better information sharing.

“Mental health is something people are much less embarrassed about,” said Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, which conducted the annual Student Academic Experience Survey with Advance HE.

“Parents are also much more involved in their children’s higher education than they used to be.”