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Student Minds responds to HUMEN’s University Mental Health League Table

30/6/2022

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Helpful conversations about student mental health in the media and press are always great to see and are vital to creating change. However, some coverage can be dangerous and create more challenges and confusion for our university communities. As the UK’s national student mental health charity, we have serious concerns about HUMEN’s university mental health rankings and the surrounding coverage this week.

Our understanding of HUMEN’s “league table” is that it was intended as a tool to inform students. Unfortunately, given our doubts about its robustness and methodology, we are concerned it could be misleading, harmful, and negatively impact student choice. 

There are hundreds of complex factors which can shape students’ mental health and wellbeing at university, which might not always be obvious at first glance. Things like the quality of accommodation, social opportunities, and the curriculum can have a huge influence. 

We also know that a number doesn’t tell the whole story - solely looking at how much money a university invests in mental health services is reductive. You cannot get a complete understanding without looking at important factors, such as if the university is funding quality, student-appropriate services; the size and make up of the student population; whether a university is instead investing in preventative measures, or how strategically and holistically this funding is being used. 

Proper policies and procedures around things like referrals and disclosures are crucial to ensuring students access timely support, but this nuance is impossible to capture with such simple measures. It isn’t clear how many of these factors have been taken into consideration by HUMEN.

Having now had a chance to review the methodology, we have multiple concerns, including that their sampling approach is flawed, that the metrics they developed are arbitrary and not grounded in evidence, and that the rankings fail to engage with decades of scholarship exploring student mental health.

At Student Minds we believe in an open, collaborative approach, where we share insights and evidence openly with everyone who shares our mission. We were disappointed that HUMEN did not share their methodology from the outset when they published their league table, at which point their initial announcement had already received considerable traction.

For these reasons, while we want to see more organisations advocating for better student mental health, we sadly can’t support the approach HUMEN has taken on this occasion.

We know that a nuanced approach to understanding student mental health, catered to each university, is the best way to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities. That's why we developed the University Mental Health Charter. 

We work with universities directly and support them to adopt a whole-university approach to mental health, based on evidence-informed, peer-reviewed research developed over the course of many years. 

Together, we need to get this right. We welcome HUMEN to reach out to us to discuss our work, the expertise across the sector, and our concerns with their rankings. We always encourage further investigation into student mental health, but for such a serious topic it is crucial that research is done properly.

Are you a student looking to take action to improve student mental health on your campus?

Use our Student-Led Improvement tool to create positive change at your university, explore the support available on Student Space and read students’ stories on the Student Minds Blog.
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  • Find Support
    • Support for me >
      • Our Peer Support Programmes >
        • Thrive
        • Our confidentiality commitment
        • Support for specific difficulties
      • Support at your university and further
      • University staff-run workshops
    • Support for a friend >
      • Starting a conversation
      • Looking after yourself
    • Support for parents
    • Help through Coronavirus >
      • Coronavirus - Looking After Your Mental Health
      • Coronavirus - Student resources >
        • Assessments and exams from home ​
        • Managing digital communication
      • Student Space FAQs
    • Resources >
      • Men’s Mental Health
      • The Wellbeing Thesis
      • Transitions >
        • Transition into University
        • Know Before You Go
        • Transitions for staff
      • Starting University
      • Exam stress
      • LGBTQ+
      • Looking after your mental wellbeing
      • Year Abroad
      • Student finance
      • Support through a family health crisis
  • About
    • What we do >
      • Our impact
    • Our team >
      • Trustees
      • Clinical Advisors
      • Student Advisors
    • Our supporters
  • Get Involved
    • Student volunteering >
      • Charter Student Resources
      • University Mental Health Day
      • Write for us
      • Peer support groups >
        • Apply to be a peer support facilitator
        • Set up a peer support group
    • University staff >
      • Mental Health in Sport >
        • Mental Health in Sport Online
      • Look After Your Mate >
        • Look After Your Mate Online
      • Setting up a peer support group >
        • Students Minds peer support set up
        • Peer support Train the Trainer
    • Charter
    • Students’ Unions >
      • Mentally Healthy SUs Framework
      • Introduction to Student Mental Health Online
      • Look After Your Members Online
      • Campaigning and Creating Positive Change
    • Accommodation Providers
    • Research
  • News and Publications
    • Latest news
    • Research and publications >
      • International Students
      • Supporting Male Student Mental Health
      • Co-producing Mental Health Initiatives With Student Volunteers
      • Podcasting About Mental Health
      • Student Mental Health in a Pandemic >
        • Life in a pandemic: Wave II findings
        • Life in a Pandemic
      • Supporting Students with Eating Disorders
      • Co-producing mental health strategies with students
      • The Role of an Academic
      • LGBTQ+ Research​
      • Student Voices
      • Graduate Wellbeing
      • Student Living
      • Grand Challenges
      • University Peer Support
      • University Challenge
      • Looking After a Mate
      • Summary of HEFCE’s Report
    • Materials and resources
  • Support Us
    • Donate >
      • Online shopping
      • Payroll giving
    • Fundraise >
      • Step into Spring
      • Virtual Fundraising
      • Plan Your Own Event
      • RAGs and Student Societies
      • Celebrate with Student Minds
      • Challenge Events
      • Paying in money
      • Fundraising Resources
    • Corporate Partners