Scale of student anxiety and distress is worry for us all, says universities chief

University reporter(wp/es):

The head of the universities regulator today said it is “impossible not to be concerned” at the scale of anxiety and depression among students. 

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, said improving mental health and wellbeing is a priority for her organisation and universities must make sure they give support.

She said that every time she meets groups of students they bring up the problem of mental health, and the issue has been raised as a priority by her own organisation’s student panel.

In a blog published today, Ms Dandridge said: “It is impossible not to be concerned at the scale and seriousness of distress, anxiety and depression among students. 

"As the Office for Students we take very seriously an issue that students are telling us is one of the highest priorities for them, and where we have the regulatory levers, operating at a sector level, to contribute to possible solutions.” 

Her blog came as she spoke today to MPs at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Students.

She pointed to research that indicates student suicide numbers are rising and the demand and cost of student support services is increasing. 

Figures from the Office for National Statistics, highlighted in a report by Universities UK, show the number of student suicides rose from 108 to 134 between 2001 and 2015. 

She wrote: “Going to university is a huge transition for many and one that brings both social and psychological challenge ... For our international students this is an even bigger transition.”

She said it is not her role to instruct universities how to give support, or tell students what to do, but that her organisation will “directly challenge” universities and colleges to support students’ mental health and wellbeing in the “access and participation plans” they must write if they want to charge higher fees. 

The Office for Students has launched a £6 million challenge to universities to come up with new ways of improving mental health, and has funded a guide for colleges on preventing student suicides.

Ms Dandridge wrote: “Mental health and wellbeing are complex issues and there is no simple solution. But higher education providers are full of people who excel at working with complexity.”

She said universities should be leading the way in research and innovation on the issue because they employ experts in health and wellbeing.

She added: “This is not about trying to protect students from the brutality and complexities of life. Nor is it about undermining the fundamental role of universities to educate and research. 

“It is about acknowledging that there is a significant problem of mental health in our society, that we all need to look after our mental health in the same way as we do our physical health, and that higher education providers have a responsibility to address these issues so as to enable their students to flourish and unlock their potential.”

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