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York Student Think Tank
Consultation into Mental Health Services and Attitudes at
the University of York
June 2015
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Table of Contents 1 - Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 3
2 - Objective ............................................................................................................................................ 4
3 - Ethos .................................................................................................................................................. 4
4 - Who we are ........................................................................................................................................ 4
5 - Context ............................................................................................................................................... 5
6 - Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 7
7 - Limitations ......................................................................................................................................... 8
8 - Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 10
9 - Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 17
10 – Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 19
Appendix B: Survey Questions .............................................................................................................. 24
Appendix C: Consent Form for Focus Groups ....................................................................................... 27
Appendix D: Consent Form for Interviews ............................................................................................ 28
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1 - Executive Summary
- 59.94% of survey respondents felt they had suffered from a mental health problem
- 37% of survey respondents felt that the university does not do a good job at dealing
with mental health issues
- Over half of Nightline, The Student Support Hub, York Mind and Walk-in Centres
users felt they had not benefited from the service
- Around 75% of survey respondents felt that they knew the symptoms for depression,
OCD and anxiety but only 40% knew the symptoms for body dysmorphic disorder
- 101 responded to the question about which services they had used - 83 had used the
Open Door Team, 60 had used the University Health Centre and 22 had used
Nightline. Many had used multiple services.
- 30.79% of survey respondents had made use of university mental health services
- The majority of people surveyed or participating in focus groups believed that there
is a stigma attached to mental health
- Problems with waiting times for Open Door Team were revealed in our survey, with
31.1% (a majority) of respondents having to wait 2 weeks for appointments as well
as comments in the survey, focus groups and interviews
- 68.72% of survey respondents disagreed with the statement that they knew the
university’s mental health policies
- 35.09% of survey respondents disagreed with the statement that they would know
where to go if they needed help for their mental health issues during term time
- The problem of aftercare was brought out throughout the survey
- Many participants in our survey and focus groups felt that academic staff were not
able to support them sufficiently
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2 - Objective
This report aims to investigate student’s perceptions of mental health services on campus as
well as their perceptions of mental health more generally, and to includes a list of
recommendations following the results of these findings. We hope that University of York
bodies will be able to use this information to inform future actions and policies.
3 - Ethos
In line with the ethos of the York Student Think Tank (YSTT), this report has two core principles
as its guideline:
i. To follow the evidence wherever it may guide us.
ii. To suggest only those ideas which have a reasonable chance of success
4 - Who we are
This report was commissioned by the YSTT.
This consultation was carried out by a small team of University of York students, studying
various disciplines and from a range of backgrounds:
Team Leader: Hannah King
Team Members: James Humpish
Kris Kim
Maddy Tickell
Editor: Siobhan Lyons
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5 – Context
YSTT has previously run consultations on the accessibility of sports and gym equipment for
disabled students and the degree and nature of racial discrimination, as well as student
nutrition. Both reports focussed on the University of York, rather than a model of a national
consultation as YSTT had commissioned previous to 2013.The 2014 report on racial
discrimination received wide coverage in both student newspapers and the national press,
including the Guardian newspaper.1 This report aims to look at another aspect of student life
at the University.
The issue of mental health really came to the attention of the University of York in January
2013, the student newspaper Nouse reported that 2008-2013 saw the numbers of students
accessing University mental health facilities double after the Open Doors central system was
developed in 2009-10.2
In 2013 Nouse published an article discussing the ethics of mental health awareness
campaigns and in 2014 both student newspapers, Nouse and York Vision, reported on the
University’s involvement in World Mental Health Day.3 The success of the October 2014
World Mental Health Day has been debated on campus and in Nouse.4 These events,
combined with the wider context of national mental health services being scrutinised, led
YSTT to commission this report into mental health services at the University of York.
While this report was running, it was reported that two students from Vanbrugh College died
in February and the Nouse article referring to these events encouraged students to seek help
from both college and central welfare systems.5Further, as this report was being concluded,
an article in York Vision reported that one in nine students receives help from the University’s
counselling services, whereas the average across all universities in the UK is one in ten.6
This report does not investigate specific incidents such as World Mental Health Day or
individual students. We have instead tried to gather evidence from across the student and
staff body here at the University to evaluate existing college and central mental health
1 http://www.theguardian.com/education/abby-and-libby-blog/2014/mar/14/students-racism-on-campus-awareness-campaign 2 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2013/01/22/reports-of-mental-health-issues-double/ 3 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2013/10/06/human-zoo-betrays-a-skewed-vision-of-mental-health/, http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/features/world-mental-health-day-2014/09/10/2014/comment-page-1, http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/09/30/university-events-for-world-mental-health-day-announced/ 4 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/10/21/world-mental-health-day-receives-mixed-response/#comments 5 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2015/02/18/inquests-opened-into-the-deaths-of-two-york-students/ 6 http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/news/record-number-of-york-students-use-counselling/28/04/2015
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systems and also to look at levels of awareness and/or stigma attached to mental health
issues.
The University of York has around 15,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students.7 There
are two main categories of mental health services available to these students. Firstly, there
are the college welfare systems which include college tutors and students with positions in
the Junior Common Room Committees. Secondly, there are central services based on campus,
such as the Open Doors team and the charity Nightline.
The University’s college systems are currently being overhauled. By August 2015, all colleges
will be run by a Head of College and their Assistant Head, rather than the College Dean and
Provost as is currently the case in most colleges.8 According to Nouse, this overhaul aims to
extend welfare provision.
The University’s Strategy for Students, used since 2011, states that its objectives are to
“promote personal sustainability through health and fitness via inclusive policies on
wellbeing, high standards of operational delivery, sport and fitness programmes, and careful
attention to the physical and mental health of students.”9
The Strategy for Students also promises to promote general wellbeing and engagement. As
such, the University has a duty to provide adequate emotional support for students and it is
our aim to assess the existing success of this support and recommend ways it could be
enhanced.
7 http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/po/statistics.htm 8 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/11/25/students-to-pay-for-college-membership/ 9 https://www.york.ac.uk/about/mission-strategies/supporting-strategies/
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6 - Methodology
This reported collected quantitative and qualitative data from three sources:
Online Survey
An online survey containing 23 questions was hosted via SurveyMonkey. The survey
contained a mixture of tick box answers, quantitative questions and qualitative questions with
room to expand. The survey was aimed to reach all University of York Students through
sending the link to departments, colleges and YUSU. We are thankful for their assistance.
Professor Martin Smith was consulted to ensure the questions were correctly worded. Trends
were established from this data, which are recorded below. The sample size was 359.
Focus Groups
Three focus groups were conducted whose participants were all current students at the
University of York. Focus group sizes ranged from four to six, not all of whom had used the
university’s mental health facilities. These focus groups were directed by questions but it was
encouraged where possible for the participants to decide the direction of the discussion.
These sessions were recorded and later transcribed.
Interviews
Members of the team interviewed key figures from the University, YUSU and University
services with a special insight into the provision of mental health support at the university
and wider attitudes towards mental health at the university:
- Dr Oleg Lisagor, Halifax Provost
- Georgina Heath, Vanbrugh College Officer
- Dr Jane Clabour, Goodricke Provost
- Tony Ward, Alciun Provost
- Jenny Underhill, Derwent Dean
- Melanie Winyard, Nightline
- Anne Haversham, Open Door Team Manager
- Jelena Horvatic, President of the GSA
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(We contacted representative from each college welfare team however we were unable to
organise meetings with the other colleges: Wentworth, James, Constantine and Langwith)
In each interview a series of similar questions were asked but the interview was tailored to
the individual and the role they play in the provision of mental health support within the
university. We also allowed room for the individual to influence the direction of discussion.
Our interviews centred on four areas:
- The role of the college in welfare support
- The role of the Junior Common Room Committee
- Relations with external/ central services
- Student attitudes towards mental health
7 - Limitations
Online Survey
Questions that were intended to be answered by all participants were skipped on average by
19 people, whilst demographic questions were skipped on average by 30 people.
The survey was emailed to all departments and colleges, as well as being advertised in the
YUSU weekly newsletter, however it is not clear how many of these departments actually
forwarded the message on to their students, hence we cannot guarantee that it was received
by all students. Also no staff were directly sent the survey, which may have produced some
interesting results in their opinions towards the services and attitudes at York though
probably would have required a separate survey.
It was also brought to our attention that we should have provided an ‘other’ category in the
gender question, under demographics, which we recommended future consultations to
consider. There was also an unfair gender balance with the answering of the survey, with 76%
of respondents being female.
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Focus Groups
We held three focus groups, although more would have been desirable, however as this is a
sensitive subject matter there were not as many participants as other topics may have
attracted. We had a concern with the number of students who turned up, as all but one
session had people drop out without informing us. We assume this is also due to the
sensitivity of the matter being discussed.
The balance between students that did and did not suffer from mental health was not as equal
as we would have liked, with the former being in the majority.
We sent emails concerning the focus groups in the same fashion as the survey, and hence
they do contain the same limitations.
Interviews
When interviewing members of staff from the University, some discussed broader issues
surrounding the provision of mental health, rather than specifics. This may have been due to
the fact that the interviews were largely recorded. However these interviews were useful in
providing wider context and often detailed information concerning the provision of mental
health support at the University.
Also, as mentioned previously we were unable to talk to representatives from four of the
colleges; Wentworth, Constantine, James and Langwith. There was also the issue that due to
current changes being undertaken by both colleges and the Open Door Team, there were
certain topics which neither party felt they could not discuss.
Freedom of Information Request
We also submitted a Freedom of Information Request (found under Appendix 1) asking for
data relating to mental health in the university as well as information concerning mental
health policies at the university. Unfortunately this request was denied, (found under
Appendix 1) due to it being above the amount of time required for a Freedom of Information
Request. Therefore we have been unable to provide exact statistics in our report.
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8 - Findings
A. Survey Demographics
The key facts about the demographics of survey respondents are listed below.
- There were 359 responses to our survey.
- Around 30-35 skipped each question that asked for demographic information.
- 76% of all respondents were female and 24% were male. 29 people skipped this
question.
- Students from 37 different departments responded. The most represented
departments were History (with 31 respondents), Maths (with 30 respondents) and
Psychology (with 28 respondents). Some departments were underrepresented
(excluding joint honours, which 12 of our respondents specified), for example there
were no respondents from the Hull York Medical School, and only 4 respondents from
History of Art and Music. 39 respondents skipped this question while 1 respondent
said the question was not applicable and 1 would rather not specify their course.
- 85% of the surveys were completed by Undergraduates and 15% by Postgraduates,
with 36 respondents leaving this question unanswered, perhaps because a number of
staff responded.
- The majority of our respondents (44%) said they were in their first year and second
years were also well represented, making up 22% of respondents. The proportion of
third years was smaller at 17% of the total. Only 12 fourth years, 1 fifth year and 1
sixth year responded.
- All colleges responded. James, Halifax and Derwent were most represented with 19%,
16% and 16% respectively. The lowest response was from Constantine with only 16
people taking the survey; 5% of the total.
- 63% of respondents lived on campus. 33 skipped this question.
- 33 didn’t give their nationality. 87% of those who did identified as UK students, 6% as
UE and 7% as Non-EU students.
- For 91% of respondents, English was their first language.
B. Prevalence
Of the 359 students surveyed, 205 felt that they had suffered from a mental health problem,
while 105 had used the university mental health services available on campus. The most
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popular service used on campus was the Open Door Team, 83 people out of 101 that
responded to the question on which services they had used. 60 out of 101 had used the
University Health Centre and 22 had used Nightline.
Question 10 – Which of these services have you used
Anne Haversham, manager of the Open Door Team, said in her interview that the number of
students suffering from mental health is growing, particularly with anxiety and depression.
Last academic year the number of students who used the Open Door Team was 7669. By
contrast, the first two years of operation (the service was opened in 2007) saw just over 1000
students using the service, in 2009-10 this had risen to 3000.
C. Knowledge of Services Offered
From the sample, the service most heard about was Nightline at 88.6%. University Health
Centre and Open Door Team were also well known about, at 76.32% and 72.51% respectively.
Other services students mentioned were GPs/ NHS, college welfare team and other outside
support services such as the Samaritans.
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Melanie Winyard, from Nightline, felt that the university was not doing enough to raise
awareness among students of the service, Nightline. She also felt that the main thing that the
service needed to improve upon was publicising themselves.
D. Opinions on Services
The following issues, appeared as the most prevalent in opinions on services according to
our analysis of the online survey, focus groups and interviews together:
Waiting Times
Question 13 asked participants who have used the mental health services on campus
several questions about the individual services, one of which related to waiting times. A
majority of students (31.11%) saw the Open Door within 2 weeks, 2 weeks was also the
mode wait time for the University Health Centre (at 33.85%). Nightline had the best result
with most students being seen within 24 hours (51.52%) however this is probably due to the
nature of the service. It is worth noting that there was an N/A section to this survey which
affects our statistics.
Respondents to Question 2, which asked for comments concerning the provision of mental
health services at the university, also made comments concerning waiting times. One
comment relating to the Open Door Team was that “the fact that you must wait so long in
order to get an appointment is ridiculous”. Another respondent commented that “The open
door service is very hard to get an appointment, and they try and end your appointment as
soon as possible.”
In Focus Group 1, 2 participants said they did not feel there was any problem with
appointment times from the Open Door Team. It was however revealed by participant A in
Focus Group 3 that it was easier to get an appointment in Winter, than during summer and
the exam season.
The Open Door Team said they were aware of the problems with waiting times with the
average wait now being seven days. They recognised that it was not ideal that some
students were waiting up to three weeks for an appointment, which can be the case at
certain points in the year. They attributed this to a lack of resources at the university and
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33% of students not attending their initial appointment. They said that they can either carry
on how they are or they can offer less to more people.
Confusion
There was also considerable confusion concerning where one was supposed to go for mental
health concerns. 68.72% of participants disagreed to some or to a strong extent that they
knew the university’s mental health policies. 35.09% of students disagreed to some or to a
strong extent that they would know where to go if they need help for their mental health
issues during term time, 8.77% were unsure and 56.41% did feel they knew where to go. One
comment from our survey was “I wouldn’t know where to go at uni for help if I was suffering
from a mental health disorder.”
Interviews with college staff revealed that there was some interaction between Open Doors
and the colleges. Halifax and Alcuin have an Open Door practitioner in College meetings who
then relays information back to Open Doors. All colleges stressed the importance of
confidentiality and the need for the student to be aware of this.
Participant D from Focus Group 3 felt it was difficult to know where to go if you suffered
from a mental health difficulty.
Aftercare
There was also significant concern relating to the aftercare for mental health issues, after
being seen by one of the avenues available at the university. This was specifically highlighted
in the survey, in relation to academic support, one comment (from Question 2) was that “If
you apply for Mitigating Circumstances, then you are made to feel like a liar and a cheat.”
Another comment was that “I am appalled at how the university deals with students who
have taken an academic leave by not giving them access to treatment such as therapists that
a student no on leave could take advantage of.”
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Academic Staff
The last concern to arise from our study was that academic staff were not prepared to help
with mental health concerns, as shown by a comment on Question 2 of our survey; “I think
academic staff need to take more of a responsibility for the mental health of their students.”
Question 1 also revealed that 56.7% of respondents disagreed to some or a large extent that
they would feel comfortable to talk to academic staff if they were suffering from a mental
health problem.
Focus Group 1, however, had a generally positive consensus towards academic staff and their
dealing with mental health. Focus Group 3, participant B however felt that supervisor
meetings were more for academic issues rather than issues relating to mental health.
E. Attitudes towards mental health
52% of respondents disagreed to some or a large extent with the way that mental health
problems are discussed in the public domain, with 33.4% being unsure. 37% of participants
disagreed with the following statement ‘I think the university does a good job at dealing with
mental health issues,’ 44.6% neither agreed nor disagreed and 18.4% agreed. One participant
in the survey commented that ‘There needs to be change in what is deemed acceptable
behaviour or comment’ in regard to mental health illnesses.
Alcuin and Halifax representatives both said that student expectations of the services on offer
are too high and as a result dissatisfaction with the services is high. It was pointed out by both
of these colleges that individuals find it hard to both recognise the need for help and then to
access it, meaning that there is a lot of pressure on flatmates.
Vanbrugh College said that around 70% of issues for students involve them not knowing how
to solve a particular problem, not necessarily a mental illness.
Focus Group 1 seemed to have a consensus that there is a taboo surrounding mental health
and the idea that one should be able to snap out of mental health illnesses. However
participant B felt that mental health attitudes was better at York than in the media. Focus
Group 3 had a consensus that there is little understanding of mental health and often
sufferers will apply a stigma to themselves.
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F. Role of the College
The colleges told us that their main role is to signpost students to other services and provide
general support and information. Derwent College stated that the visibility of the resident
welfare team is important in promoting general wellbeing and security. Halifax College
estimated that 20-30% of office time for both academic and administration staff in the
College is spent on mental health case work and Vanbrugh estimates that their figure is
around 20%. Vanbrugh College also suggested that this was around 90% of College time last
year and the number fluctuates depending on the needs of the student population, for
example there were 87 open cases in Vanbrugh College at the time of the interview
(28/01/2015).
There was a general consensus that welfare teams are reactionary and involved in managing
situations that are brought to their attention, rather than pro-active. Vanbrugh said that it is
not appropriate for college teams to be given mental health training and Halifax stated that
awareness of mental health is not essential in college tutor applications.Halifax organises a
mental health first aid course for students but not for staff.
There is a restructuring of colleges aimed to be ready next academic year that will change the
title and position of some of the college welfare staff. Alcuin College indicated that this change
was meant to give more resources and emphasis to colleges.
The survey revealed (Question 6) that people were signposted to other mental health services
through their college tutors, which is the role that the college representatives saw as their
main role, which is encouraging.
The interviews with college representatives from the welfare team also discussed the role of
the Junior Common Room Committee in the provision of mental health support. On the JCRCs
there are two students with the role of “Welfare Rep”. Goodricke College told us that
incoming students misunderstand the role of these Reps and that students expect them to
offer guidance, whereas their real focus is on running general campaigns about general
wellbeing, for example Derwent College runs free yoga sessions and Goodricke free jacket
potato lunches. Both Alcuin and Vanbrugh Colleges suggested that Welfare Reps should lead
campaigning and awareness initiatives about general community wellbeing, not mental
health in particular. Welfare Reps receive one day’s training from YUSU.
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However Focus Group 3, participant B said they were unaware that there was a college
welfare system.
Melaine Winyard (from Nightline) felt that it varied between the colleges and JCRCs if they
signposted towards Nightline, but she said there was an increased attempt to give more
posters and such like to JCRCs during Spring Term. She also felt that signposting within
colleges so people knew where to go was an important improvement that should be made.
G. Role of the Open Door Team
An interview conducted with the Open Door Team explained their aims for the role they
believe they hold. There is the equivalent of 6.1 full-time staff available, all fully-trained in
mental health management. The aim of the Open Door Team is to relieve pressure in the
higher education system as well as in the NHS. The Open Door team begins with an initial
assessment to assess if a student is fit to study and everything is hence orientated to ensure
a student can perform to their full potential.
The Open Door Team will refer more moderate cases back to the college welfare team with
each practitioner being associated with at least one college. The extent of how busy the
Open Door team is varies with each term, for instance autumn term has a higher frequency
of cases relating to leaving home, spring term for depression, anxiety and relationship
problems and summer term being the busiest of all the terms due to exams.
They felt that changes that needed to be undertaken are in education and increasing our
understanding of mental health issues. They said it was difficult to know where students
wanted their tuition fees to be directed and that there are many students to be covered but
there is little flexibility in terms of finance or time. But the interview concluded with the
statement that the university will fall over itself to help a student if they are in trouble.
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9 - Recommendations
Increased education
From our survey, interviews and focus groups it seems clear that there needs to be an
improvement in the way that students are educated on mental health, both to improve
attitudes and awareness of services available at the University of York. Our suggestions
include compulsory talks during Fresher’s Week, like those carried out for fire and security,
to teach students where to go and how to access the help they need as well as how to keep
themselves mentally health during their time at university.
The report suspects that males particularly struggle to discuss the topic (76% of respondents
were female) so a talk that everyone must attend may fix this. This should also help to tackle
the stigma which many respondents felt there still existed at the university. Such talks, and
future campaigns, also need to ensure people are aware of the difference between mental
health and everyday stress, and which services to access for which issue. We found that the
posters offered by colleges which contain contact information for the college welfare system
were a good system and should be continued throughout all colleges, but that this poster
should also ensure it contains contact numbers for other services.
Discussions surrounding mental health also need to concentrate more on what to do if friend
is suffering, including how to support them and prevent any harm coming to you or your
friend. This issue was brought out in the college representative interviews, focus groups and
survey.
We would also recommend the continuation of the Mental Health First Aid course offered at
Halifax College, and for this to be extended to a wider audience of students as well as staff,
particularly porters.
Open Door Team Recommendations
We recommend a more comprehensive website for the Open Door Team so that students
know what the service is for. This in turn should help with reduced waiting times for
appointments.
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More Centralized System
The provision of mental health support at the university needs to be made more visually
apparent, with clearer indications of the correct channels for dealing with particular issues.
This could partially be tackled by the compulsory talks we recommended at the beginning of
this section, but also with increased advertising and cohesion between the different services
available i.e. between college welfare teams and central services.
Pop-up safe place on campus
During an interview with GSA President, Jelena Horvatic, it was suggested there should be a
pop-up safe place at the university, where students can go to talk to professionals or just to
sit and have a quiet place to go, this report also makes the same recommendation.
Complaint Mechanism
Focus Group 3 revealed that there was no feedback mechanism for Open Door Team, and we
feel that a feedback mechanism for all services would allow the university to make
improvements on a regular basis to improve provision of mental health care at the University
of York.
Supervisor Training
During this research, as has been discussed previously, a significant number of students felt
that academic staff, particularly supervisors, did not know how to respond to their mental
health needs and thus we recommend training for supervisors and key academic staff so they
know how to signpost students more successfully, not for them to become mental health care
professionals.
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10 – Appendices
Appendix A: Freedom of Information Act Request and Response
Flat 1
Block E1
Constantine College
Kimberlow Lane
York
YO10 5FP
Dear Whom it May Concern,
My name is Hannah King, a second year history student. Myself and a group of other
students are conducting a consultation on Mental Health at the University of York for the
York Student Think Tank.
We would like to include university wide statistics in our research. We are therefore
submitting this Freedom of Information Request for the following data in paper format.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I seek the following information about:
- The number of mitigating circumstance requests in each of the last 10 years, split into
those caused by physical illness or mental illness – years to be given individually. If you only
have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data
on the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we
would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one as possible.
- The number of students suffering from mental health illnesses in each of the last 10 years
including data on their gender, age and type of mental disorder. If you only have data
available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the
longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we would like
receive a breakdown closest to an annual one possible.
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- Policies, past and present, relating to mental health in each of the past 10 years. If you only
have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data
on the longest time period possible.
- Annual budget for mental health in each of the last 10 years and how it is allocated
proportionally amongst services. If you only have data available for a period shorter than
the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the longest time period possible.
The information should be sent electronically (e.g Excel, Word, or PDF documents). If the
decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in the Data Protection Act,
please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used.
Please release the data as soon as possible. We do not require all points to be dealt with all
at once. If information for any of the four separate points is ready sooner than the others,
we would like to receive that information as soon as possible.
If you need any clarification then please do not hesitate to contact me. Under Section 16 it is
your duty to provide advice and assistance and so I would expect you to contact me if you
find this request unmanageable in anyway via this email.
I would be grateful if you could confirm by email ([email protected]) that you have
received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you within the 20-working day
statutory time period.
Yours Sincerely,
Hannah King
BORTHWICK INSTITUTE FOR ARCHIVES
University of York
Heslington
21
York YO10 5DD
University Records Manager
Dr Charles Fonge
Direct line: +44 (0)1904 321168
Email: [email protected]
www.york.ac.uk/records-management
Ms Hannah King
Sent via email to [[email protected]]
1 April 2015
Dear Hannah King,
Thank you for your information request dated 24 February 2015 concerning statistics on
student welfare and mental health. Your request has been handled under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Please accept my apologies for the lateness of this response.
I can provide the following information in response to your questions.
1. The number of mitigating circumstance requests in each of the last 10 years, split into
those caused by physical illness or mental illness – years to be given individually. If you
only have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to
receive data on the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual
years, we would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one as possible.
2. The number of students suffering from mental health illnesses in each of the last 10
years including data on their gender, age and type of mental disorder. If you only have
data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on
the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we
would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one possible.
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The University does not hold these statistics centrally. Prior to October 2010 each
department had its own procedure for handling mitigating circumstances’ claims. The
current mitigating circumstances policy came into use after this date and some information
would be held within the records of the committees as part of the documentation/evidence
submitted with claims. However, to identify what information is held, and to locate, extract
and collate this across all departments and records, would exceed the appropriate costs
limit under section 12(1) of the Freedom of information Act 2000.
There were over 3,250 mitigating circumstances’ claims in the academic year 2013/14. It is
conservatively estimated that even if it only took 5 minutes per claim to search, locate and
retrieve information, the task would involve more than 540 person hours (far in excess of
the 18 hours represented by the Act’s costs limit).
We have considered other possible sources of information. Registry Services hold some
information on the grades awarded when mitigating circumstances are accepted and
applied but have no record of 'requests', nor any record of the reason for the request in the
student record and thus are unable to furnish an analysis of which were physical or mental
health claims. There will be individual records for those students who have individual
examination arrangements on the grounds of disability (some of which may be on the
grounds of ongoing mental health problems such as anxiety). The student and case files
containing such information would, however, also need to be interrogated individually.
Moreover, the data would not address the above questions as it would not be complete nor
be representative of the whole student population and those who may have 'mental health
illnesses' or 'mental disorders'.
The Open Door Team (ODT), which is part of Student Support Services and is available to any
registered student experiencing psychological or mental health difficulties, can provide
letters of support in relation to mitigating circumstances procedures but these are issued
only on compassionate grounds (meaning the student may or may not have a mental
illness). Medical grounds require a letter from a General Practitioner, consultant etc. ODT
does hold statistics on the number of students using its services, and these figures with
further information on its work, can be found in its Annual Reports. The reports are
published and accessible online at http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-
admin/student-support-services/policies-and-reports/annualreports/.
It is consequently estimated that compliance with your request would exceed the
appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the Freedom of information Act 2000. The
‘appropriate limit’ is currently £450 for universities, as defined by the Freedom of
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Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This letter
accordingly acts as a refusal notice in respect of the information sought.
3. Policies, past and present, relating to mental health in each of the past 10 years. If you
only have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to
receive data on the longest time period possible.
Current policies are available on the University’s website at www.york.ac.uk. Past versions
of the website have been archived by the Wayback Machine and can be consulted at
http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.york.ac.uk.
4. Annual budget for mental health in each of the last 10 years and how it is allocated
proportionally amongst services. If you only have data available for a period shorter than
the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the longest time period possible.
Budgets for the Open Door Team (formerly known as the Counselling Service) 2007/8 to
present:
2007/8
2008/9
2009/1
0
2010/1
1
2011/1
2
2012/1
3
2013/1
4
2014/1
5
£200,60 £288,92 £257,81 £265,97 £206,78 £256,59 £273,83 £289,94
Notes:
Figures provided are budgets (i.e. not actual spend) for the Open Door Team for the last eight financial years (including the current one).
No figures are available before this.
The University’s financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July.
There is no separate mental health budget that cuts across services in the manner implied by the question. The Open Door Team is the main point of support for students experiencing psychological or mental health difficulties, although support is also provided by the University through Disability Services, colleges, academic departments, etc.
This completes your request. In accordance with the provisions of section 17(4) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in respect of the information withheld under section 12(1) above.
24
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted in writing to the Records Manager at [email protected] or the address above, detailing your grounds for appeal/complaint. A full copy of our review procedure can be found at http://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/foi/foi-policy/foi-complaints/. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. If you have any queries about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely, Charles Fonge University Records Manager and Archivist
Appendix B: Survey Questions
1. To what extent do you agree with these statements? If I suffered from a mental
health problem, I would feel comfortable talking about it with my peers/ If I suffered
from a mental health problem, I would feel comfortable talking about it with my
family/ If I suffered from a mental health problem, I would feel comfortable talking
about it with academic staff/ If I suffered from a mental health problem, I would
keep it quiet/ Mental health issues are being given enough attention in the public
debate/ I know the symptoms of depression/ I know the symptoms of anxiety and
panic attacks/ I know the symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder/ I know the
symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)/ If people near me suffered from
a mental health problem I would know how to help them/ If people near me
suffered from a mental health problem I would be less inclined to hang out with
them/ I agree with the way mental health problems are discussed in the public
domain (Pick one option from: Definitely Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neither Agree or
Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Definitely Disagree)
2. Any comments concerning the above?
3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements? The university
environment makes people more conducive to mental health issues/ During term
time, I would know where to go if I needed help for my mental health issues/ I know
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about our university's mental health policies/ I think the university does a good job
at dealing with mental health issues (Pick one option from: Definitely Agree,
Somewhat Agree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Definitely
Disagree)
4. How large do you think the percentage of students at the university suffering from
mental health issues is? Less than 10%/ 10-20%/ 20-30%/ 30-40%/ 40-50%/ 50-60%/
60-70%/ 70-80%/ 80-90%/ Over 90%/ Don’t Know
5. Which of these mental health services have you heard of? Open Door Team/
University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/
Nightline/ Others (please specify)
6. For each of those services which you ticked above, how did you find out about
them?
7. Do you suffer, or have you ever suffered, from a mental health problem? Yes/ No
8. Have you ever used any of the university mental health services? Yes/ No
9. Do you have any further comments to make?
10. Which of these services have you used? Open Door Team/ University Health Center/
Walk In Center/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Prefer Not to Say/ Other (please specify)
11. Why did you use the service(s) that you did?
12. Is there a reason you did not make use of any of these services?
13. Please answer these questions for the services you have used (select N/A for those
you have not)
a. Are you still using this service/ planning on using it in the future? Open Door
Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York
Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Yes, No, N/A)
b. How long was the waiting time before you could access the service? Open
Door Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/
York Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Within 24 hours, Within
48 hours, Within 1 week, Within 2 weeks, Within 3 weeks, Within 1 month,
Over a Month, N/A)
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c. How easy to find was the location you needed to access the service (not
applicable for nightline)? Open Door Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In
Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option
from: Very Easy, Fairly Easy, Neither Easy of Hard, Fairly Hard, Very Hard)
d. How comfortable/ safe did you feel when using this service? Open Door
Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York
Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options,
N/A)
e. Did you feel you were taken seriously? Open Door Team/ University Health
Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Other
(Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options, N/A)
f. To what extent do you feel you benefited from using this service? Open Door
Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York
Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options)
g. How many times did you use this service? Open Door Team/ University
Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/
Other (Pick one option from: Once, Twice, Three Times, Four Times, Five
Times, Five to Ten Times, Over Ten Times, N/A)
h. What was your frequency of use of this service? Open Door Team/ University
Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/
Other (Pick one option from: Once a week or more often, Once a fortnight,
Once a month, Less frequent than once a month, N/A)
i. Overall, how would you rate the service? (1 being highest rating) Open Door
Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York
Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: 1,2,3,4,5, N/A)
14. What is your age? 18 to 24/ 25 to 34/ 35 to 44/ 45 to 54/ 55 to 64/ 65 to 74/ 75 or
older
15. What is your gender? Female/ Male
16. Which department do you study in?
17. Are you a Postgraduate or Undergraduate? Postgraduate/ Undergraduate
18. What year of study are you in?
19. Which college are you a member of? Alcuin/ Constantine/ Derwent/ Goodricke/
Halifax/ James/ Langwith/ Vanbrugh/ Wentworth
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20. Did you live on or off campus? On Campus/ Off Campus
21. Nationality UK/ EU/ Non-EU
22. Is English your first language? Yes/ No
Appendix C: Consent Form for Focus Groups
Confidentiality Assurance and Consent Agreement
In order to further the research of this investigation into mental health at the University of
York, I hereby declare that I give consent for my ideas, expertise and knowledge to be used
by the research team.
I understand that:
A) The interview will be recorded on a tape machine (or a similar recording device)
and will be subsequently transcribed by the interviewer.
B) Original transcripts and recordings of the interview will be seen and heard only
by the research team.
C) Transcripts (and / or) quotations given may be used in our final report and in
associated publications, but only after they have been made thoroughly
anonymous.
D) The final report will be available to other researchers in the future.
With a clear understanding of the terms laid out above, I …………………………………………
give my consent to be interviewed.
Participant’s signature ……………………………………. Date ………………………………………
Researcher’s signature…………………………………….. Date. ……………………………………...
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Appendix D: Consent Form for Interviews York Student Think Tank
Interview Informed Consent Form
The York Student Think Tank is a student society which create policy discussion, policy
papers, consultations and research papers.
Information & Purpose:
The interview you are being asked to take part forms one part of a wider research project
into regional identity, devolution and political engagement. The purpose of this research is
to gain an understanding into attitudes towards mental health and mental health support
services at the University of York.
Your Participation:
Your participation in this study will consist of an interview which will last approximately 30
minutes . You will be asked a number of questions on the services at the University. You
may pass on any questions which you feel uncomfortable answering. At any time you can
notify the researcher that you would like to stop interview and your participation in the
study. There is no penalty for discontinuing participation.
Benefits and risks:
The benefit of participating in this study will consist of your contribution to the research
project. There are no risks to participating in this study.
Your Confidentiality:
The interview will be tape recorded; however, your name will not be recorded on the tape.
It is up to you if you want to be made anonymous or not in the report, please indicate your
preference here:
Would like to remain anonymous
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Happy to be named in the report
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the researcher Hannah King.
By signing below I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above information. I am
aware that I can discontinue my participation in the study at any time.
Name (PRINT)_____________________________________ Date _______________
Signature _________________________________________