Mental health of students in higher education

Appendix 8AimsThe aims of the MWBHE group are to:promote collaboration between the different sectors, agencies andprofessional groups with responsibility for mental well-being in highereducationbe a reference point for government bodies, managers in the NHS andeducational institutions and practitioners in respect of mental wellbeingin higher educationinfluence policy on issues related to mental well-being in highereducation.PrinciplesSome of the key principles the group follows are:mental well-being calls for collaborative work and ‘a whole-institutionapproach’higher education can promote personal and social developmentmental health is important for all members of a universitymental well-being depends on a complex interplay of internal andexternal factorsattention to the range of student experience is vitalstaff and student concerns are interrelated and interdependent.Achievements to dateResearchOne of the first tasks undertaken by the working group was a surveyof current practice in Universities UK/SCOP member institutions. Aquestionnaire on mental health policy and practice was sent out in autumn2003 to all higher education institutions in the UK. The purpose wasthreefold: to provide a benchmark of current provision; to evaluate theimpact and effectiveness of recent guidance documents, funding initiatives,legislation and government policies; and to guide the future work of theworking group. A report on this project (Grant, 2006) has been publishedand sent to all UK higher education institutions.The survey was repeated in 2008. Its findings have been reported at anumber of conferences. A full report will be circulated to all higher educationinstitutions and put on the MWBHE website.Conferences and seminarsFebruary 2004Mental Well-Being in Higher Education: Policyand Practice, Universities UK, LondonRoyal College of Psychiatrists93