"Universities need to improve and expand their mental health support. Furthermore, this mental health support needs to be inclusive and fit for the diverse range of students who attend university."   National Union of Students, 2022

These days, more than 1 in 4 students will disclose a mental health problem of one type or another to their university - and encouragingly, they are increasingly seeking help and support. However, this means the internal pressure on university support services has never been higher, with many systems collapsing due to caseload overload.” 
 

Anyone working at a university understands the institutional goal of providing students with the resources and support they need to succeed both academically and personally. However, if students feel unsupported, their mental health may suffer, leading to dropping out or transferring to another institution. We undertook a study, State of the Nation Report on Student Mental Health in Higher Education, which suggests that sector-wide reporting issues may hinder efforts to effectively address mental health issues among students, ultimately contributing to student attrition. 

For any higher education institution, one of the top priorities is ensuring that the right IT systems are in place to support academic and administrative operations. However, an increasingly critical area that demands attention is students' mental health and well-being. Transparent reporting on mental health is a key issue that universities must address to support students who need it effectively. 

As a university registrar, your primary responsibility is to ensure that your institution operates effectively and efficiently. However, there is a growing (and critical) need to address the mental health of your students because this is contributing to an alarming rate of student attrition. One of the main issues preventing us from addressing this problem is a lack of transparent reporting on mental health data, which is why we must prioritise breaking the stigma that still exists around disclosing mental health issues - despite a decade of progress thanks to campaigns from organisations like Student Minds, MIND, UCAS etc. Also, there are significant data gaps and inaccuracies caused by reporting challenges - partly as a result of the sensitive nature of the data in question, but also due in no small part to inadequacies in data capture, analysis, and monitoring processes and capabilities. 

As an education professional, you understand the importance of ensuring that your university's students receive the care and attention they need to thrive academically and personally. At the same time, you also appreciate the critical role that marketing plays in attracting new students to your institution. What if there was a way to combine these two areas, leveraging your wellbeing provision to supercharge student recruitment? Let's look at how this can help attract new students and provide key considerations for your support and marketing teams.