Student mental health – why is it important for students and how can universities improve it
Mental health issues amongst university students are growing year on year. On average, 1/3 of university student drop-outs are for mental health reasons. It has also been found that the mental wellbeing of students is lower on average than the rest of the population.
But why is it declining so much? What is the impact of this on students and on universities? And how can universities help to prevent further decline?
Being able to track, monitor, and improve student mental health is key for student success, satisfaction, and their future. For universities, it helps to prevent drop-out rates, improve their reputation by showing they care, and saves against a loss of revenue, so funding can be consistently given to improve the quality of teaching and facilities.
If you are a university or college and you are concerned about students’ mental health declining further, you are probably looking to find some new strategies to prevent this from happening. Social prescribing in university is a great strategy to help do this, as well as to help students become more proactive in managing their health and wellbeing.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing we know social prescribing works and that its model can be adopted successfully for any sector including higher education. This article will review what student mental health is, the importance of it and why it has been declining, before summarising some of the best ways to improve it.
What is student mental health?
Student mental health is a term which is used frequently, yet when we are asked to define it, explanations can be quite limited. Often it can be defined using technical medical terms when, in reality, a lot of the time a student’s mental health can decline due to social issues and the wider social determinants of health they could be dealing with.
Student mental health therefore refers to the emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing of students; typically in educational settings like schools, colleges, and universities. The impact of maintaining good mental health is vital for students’ academic success, personal development, and their overall quality of life. In the Student Mental Health Report 2022, 50% of students have considered leaving their course because of their mental health.
Around 3/4 of adults with a mental illness first experience symptoms before the age of 25 and, with the student population closely reflecting the UK’s wider socioeconomic and demographic make-up, a growing proportion of students are getting more likely to be affected by mental illness.
Students can be at a higher risk of experiencing poorer mental health and wellbeing due to factors relating to academic, financial, and social pressures. It is crucial therefore that schools, colleges, and universities understand what student mental health means to students: what can cause it to decline and what can they do to prevent further deterioration from happening.
Why is student mental health important?
Looking after a student's mental health is important as it can determine how long a student will remain in education for. Whether that’s deciding after GCSEs to go to college and complete an apprenticeship or to complete A-levels to move to university, if a student’s mental health is low the likelihood of a student remaining and finishing a course is diminished.
In the Student Money Survey 2020 they found that 3/4 of students have turned to their university for mental health support and that 59% of students have considered of dropping out of university with over half the reasons being due to mental health.
Student mental health is important in higher education as it can help improve student retention, academic success, and overall quality of life. Leaving university or college can be incredibly stressful and often students can feel like a failure. It is vital therefore that institutions not only have the correct support in place but also have the resources to keep up with increasing demand, so no student feels so isolated that they think dropping out is the only solution.
What is the importance of student mental health for universities and colleges?
As well as student mental health being important for younger students, it is also vital in colleges and universities too. Prioritising student mental health isn’t just a moral obligation but a practical one.
Through prioritising student mental health, your institution can create a positive campus climate which is inclusive and welcoming to reduce the stigmas around talking about mental health. This in turn helps to enhance your institution’s reputation by making sure you have enough student support facilities to satisfy your current students' needs, as well as future students too.
Additionally, through prioritising student mental health, your institution can also provide better crisis prevention. For example, through adopting a more proactive approach to student mental health your institution can help prevent crises such as self-harm, suicide, and other violent incidents.
Students will be more likely to complete their studies when their institution has a good understanding of the factors that can influence a student’s mental health and when the right support is available. Through this, not only do students have better academic success but it also helps their personal development by helping students develop resilience and coping skills and strategies they can use throughout their lives.
Long term, a mentally healthy student body helps to contribute to a more positive working environment for students, faculty, and staff and graduates are more likely to succeed better in their careers with the skills they have learnt during their course, which can enhance the reputation of their institution even further.
Therefore it is vital that student mental health is prioritised in higher education institutions to help students with both their academic success and personal development, as well as to help improve student retention, student satisfaction, and your institution’s reputation both now and in the long term.
Student mental health – What impacts it?
Since student mental health has become a bigger and bigger priority for universities and colleges, there have been a number of studies conducted looking at what impacts student mental health both positively and negatively.
There can be a variety of challenges which students can struggle with or be anxious about which can impact their mental health including:
- Meeting and working with new people
- Academic pressures such as exams, presentations, and deadlines
- Managing their own finances for the first time
- Homesickness
- Bereavements
- Managing work/student life balance
- Maintaining relationships with family and friends especially if you have moved away from home
Coping with any new challenges can be difficult but these can be even harder when it is the first time experiencing them away from your normal support network. Not having them nearby can make a situation even more stressful for students, making it even harder to cope.
Equally there are some contributing factors which can make any initial problem a student could be dealing with even worse.
1. Stress
Becoming a student and adapting to a student lifestyle can be a stressful experience. Although stress isn’t a mental health problem, when it isn’t under control it can lead to mental health problems like depression and anxiety.
It is crucial students get given information about support services available when they first start at their college or university, as well as the signs to look out for when their mental health could be in decline.
2. Lack of Support
Another contributing factor which can make a student’s mental health deteriorate quicker and make them more vulnerable to a mental health problem is students having a lack of support around them.
As discussed above this can be hard as their usual support networks, they depend on will change if they have moved away. If a student has been struggling to make friends this could be even harder.
Due to the increase in demand in student support services, many universities and colleges have struggled with their resource allocation and left many vulnerable students on long waiting lists where their mental health conditions are left to deteriorate further.
At this point some students may look back at using services back at home and decide to drop out altogether. A recent study found that many students and their parents thought the support for student’s mental health is inadequate. In fact, 86% of respondents said they had suffered with poor mental health at university and only 1% of them said their university was ‘very supportive’, with two in five saying their university was ‘unsupportive’ or ‘very unsupportive.’
3. Wider social determinants of health
Lots of additional factors that relate more to social issues can impact student’s mental health, often referred to as the social determinants of health. These can include housing, money, and access to healthcare.
Due to the current cost-of-living crisis many students are struggling to afford to go to university, leaving them in fuel poverty or needing full-time jobs on top of their studies. This in the long term can lead to student burnout, students not coping, and ultimately students having to drop out.
4. Social and Political Events
A final contributing factor which has made dealing with student pressures harder are the recent social and political events which students have had to deal with. Often these events and issues cause a lot of disruption, which in turn can cause a lot of stress and anxiety.
For example, the teacher and lecturer's strikes have led to lots of disruption to students’ routines and led to many students becoming stressed and severely anxious about whether they will be ready for their exams. On many occasions lectures, seminars, and workshops would also be cancelled at the last minute.
Similarly, the pandemic also brought a fair bit of disruption, lectures and classes were quickly changed to online and remote working, making it harder for some students to access their classes due to limited internet access and limited access to resources.
Many support services also went online, so on-campus mental health services and resources were more limited, making it harder for students to seek help which then led them to becoming more isolated and lonelier - thus increasing the likelihood of anxiety and depression.
There are many factors therefore which can impact student mental health. In order to combat this it is important your institution prioritises it, as well as teach the importance of emotional resilience. That way dropouts can be prevented, support services can be available without delays or waiting lists, and students can feel more confident in being able to proactively manage their studies, their physical health, and their mental health too.
What are the challenges of improving student mental health?
Like addressing mental health concerns and issues in general, one of the biggest challenges is facing and overcoming the stigma.
For this to happen, one of the most important things higher education institutions can do is normalise help-seeking by emphasising that seeking help for mental health is not a weakness but a strength. Here, advocating mental health policies and laws, organisations and higher education institutions can work together to reduce stigma and improve mental health services.
To help overcome the stigma, educating all parties, organisations, and communities about the importance of looking after your mental health is essential. This can help challenge and question stereotypes and misconceptions about mental health - to create more safe spaces where individuals feel more comfortable discussing their mental health.
As well as the stigma there are more challenges which can make improving your students’ mental health more difficult, including:
- Limited resources and high demand
- Diverse needs
- Accessibility
- Staff burnout
- Prevention vs intervention
- Complex issues
- Cultural sensitivity
- Faculty and staff training
- Data privacy
1. Limited resources and high demand
As discussed above, one of the biggest challenges for universities and colleges when it comes to improving their students’ mental health is being able to cope with the increase in demand and the limited resources.
Timely assistance is becoming less and less common, and waiting lists for counselling services seem to be becoming the norm. Unfortunately, despite universities and colleges trying their hardest to cater to their students’ needs it is not always possible. Instead, students can be left on waiting lists for prolonged periods of time, making their conditions worse.
2. Diverse needs
Everyone’s mental health journey is different. There is no one-size-fits-all approach in addressing student’s mental health concerns. This can be challenging as it may lead to resources being stretched further to cater to each need. Equally at institutions where resources cannot be stretched any further, some students may be left with their mental health concerns either not being addressed correctly or addressed at all.
3. Accessibility
Often issues dealing with diverse needs come with accessibility issues. Not all students have equal access to mental health services, especially students from more deprived or remote communities.
In a time now where university courses can be delivered both in-person and online it is vital that support be available to every individual that needs it, so no one is left with their needs unmet.
4. Staff burnout
Like students, the mental health of your staff is equally important. With the increased pressure and demand to ensure all student needs are met, lots of staff can work overtime and spend hours finding new ways and strategies to help their students.
Having limited time can increase work stresses and blur the lines of a work-life balance, making it harder to look after your own mental health, and in the long-term causing staff burnout. With staff burnout comes further issues surrounding staff recruitment and retention. This can reduce the priority on student mental health and increase the priority of stabilising the turnover of staff to quickly put students back at the heart of their work.
5. Prevention vs Intervention
Often universities and colleges offer more interventions after an incident, event or issue arises. Institutions should be making a shift towards more preventative measures to proactively promote mental health and emotional resilience better. This in turn can then help reduce the demand as strategies can be learnt quicker and relationships can be formed before something more critical takes place.
6. Complex issues
Some students may be hesitant in seeking help due to concerns about their privacy and their mental health records and information being used incorrectly.
Equally some students may have or face more complex mental health issues compared to others which will require more specialised care not readily available on campus. Instead, these students may have to be referred which can then also lead to longer waiting times too.
7. Cultural sensitivity
Colleges and universities are normally melting pots for different cultures, nationalities, sexualities, and ethnicities. Providing culturally competent mental health care and education can be a challenge, especially in more diverse student populations.
8. Faculty and Staff training
As colleges and universities tend to grow and expand each year so does the demand for their support services. To keep up and fully understand why there is an increase in demand and what more can be done to offer sustainable support, your faculty and staff will need to be fully trained and consistently have updated training to stay well informed.
Without having the most up-to-date training you risk your faculty and staff being slower in recognizing and responding to students’ mental health needs.
Addressing these challenges requires a collaborative co-production approach to help reduce stigma, increase funding for mental health services, and promote proactive mental health initiatives to offer a more sustainable and beneficial range of accessible services.
For this to be fully successful higher education institutions, mental health organisations, and the wider community must work together to get the best outcomes in order to create a supportive environment for student mental health.
Student mental health – how can it be improved?
There are numerous ways universities and colleges can help improve student mental health. Some of the best approaches are using a combination of methods and strategies to help ensure your institution is meeting every need. Below is a list of examples of what some colleges and universities are currently doing to help improve student health and wellbeing:
- Academic support – academic advising, counselling, peer-support programs, early interventions and feedback sessions to improve academic success
- Mental health awareness campaigns – participating in world mental health day and mental health awareness week
- Provide online mental health resources
- Crisis hotlines
- Hardship funds
- Supportive housing
- Wellness programs
- Academic accommodations – extended deadlines
- Improve accessibility
- Implement mental health days – students and lectures can take the day off studies to look after themselves and do something which they enjoy
- Offer both in-person and online support services
- Offer support to improve food insecurities e.g. opening food banks and community supermarkets
Like most approaches, if universities and colleges stick to one method you can heavily restrict yourself in how far you can improve your services. As no mental health journey is not the same, it is important therefore to use a variety of strategies to help reduce the waiting lists and pressure building on support services.
Some universities have been using their own versions of social prescribing models to improve student mental health and wellbeing. Helen Rowland, the Associate Director of the University of Southampton's Student Support, explained in the latest Times Higher Education Webinar how they have co-designed student hubs for every campus at the University of Southampton to create better facilities to seek support. They made sure all their student hubs did not look clinical to allow students to feel comfortable.
In order to make it easier for students to contact support workers, they have also streamlined their communications so there is constantly one central phone number and email address to help students get the support they need. Students using these student hubs then have the opportunity to work with their coordinators and wellbeing practionners to get the help they need and the support which matters to them.
To understand the pros and cons of a variety of methods being used currently to improve student mental health in universities, download our social prescribing in university guide today.
As discussed above it is equally important to concentrate on both preventative measures as well as what interventions to deliver after an issue has occurred. Through offering more preventative measures students can be more proactive in managing their health and wellbeing.
One approach which can encompass this altogether is through adopting a social prescribing model to implement within the education sector. It has had remarkable success in primary care, housing, voluntary organisations and a range of other sectors, and education is no different.
Social prescribing in education helps deliver and track impactful social prescribing programmes to give students the opportunity to improve their health and wellbeing and focus on their education. A referral to social prescribing in higher education could be made by a lecturer, university counsellor, GP, or even by self-referral.
Social prescribing is a collaborative approach which allows students to focus on what matters to them and help manage issues of anxiety and depression by decreasing feelings of loneliness and isolation and increasing a sense of belonging.
Investing in digital social prescribing helps your institution go one step further by allowing your institution to invest in a more enhanced holistic approach to empower students to take more control when managing their own health and wellbeing.
Our social prescribing software provides a more succinct way to offer safe and assured pathways to track and monitor all social prescribing data, wellbeing scores, and reasons for referral in one centralised place to gain a better overview of a student’s pastoral journey within your institution.
This in turn helps measure the impact of social prescribing more effectively, to make better data-driven decisions in the future to best cater to your institution’s needs, as well as help secure future funding to continue helping students improve their mental health and their academic success in the future.
Best ways to improve student mental health
This article has summarised what student mental health is and what it means to students. I have discussed why it is equally important to students and institutions as well as the challenges that can occur when trying to improve student mental health.
Arguably the most important thing to note is everyone’s mental health journey is different and without understanding the factors that could impact your students’ mental health you cannot fully help improve it.
Equally, because every student will have different mental health needs and concerns, some of the best ways to cater to all needs is offer a variety of services to help reduce the dependency and reliance on counselling services which are slowly becoming overwhelmed leading to extremely long waiting times.
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, once said:
“We are seeing severe damage that has been done to people’s mental health and wellbeing including the mental health and wellbeing of young people.”
Adopting the social prescribing model therefore is a great way to incorporate everything an institution must do and be aware of to improve student mental health. Digital social prescribing software can also provide you with the flexibility your institution will need to cater to your specific needs.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we offer software that can help your university or college establish, develop, scale, and report on the uptake and impact of your student mental health and wellbeing strategy. This in turn can help your institution identify gaps in your services so no student is left without the support they need.
Through offering a software which can work across different settings and communities, your institutions can build stronger and more effective partnerships with health, housing, local government and voluntary, community, faith based social enterprise services. You can then bridge the gap between education and the wider community.
More preventative measures can be put in place by monitoring attendance and connecting students to more meaningful activities that matter to them to reduce their loneliness and isolation.
We know social prescribing in education works and we want to help as many institutions as possible adopt the social prescribing model to help improve their outcomes and improve students experiences both now and in the future.
For more information on how our social prescribing system works in higher education download our guide on social prescribing in universities today.
Contact us and we can get the ball rolling on implementing more advanced preventative measures that matter to your students to improve their student experience, improve their emotional resilience, and improve your student retention rates and reputation, so you can keep growing and help students further in the future.
