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Thinking about the support of Chinese students: a response to HEPI’s recent report
In December 2024, HEPI and Uoffer Global published How can UK universities improve their strategies for tackling integration challenges among Chinese students? by Pippa Ebel. In this blog, academics at the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester give their thoughts on the report. Beneath that, Pippa Ebel has provided her response.
- By Dr Paul Vincent Smith, Lecturer in Education; Dr Alex Baratta, Reader in Language & Education; Dr Heather Cockayne, Lecturer in International Education; and Dr Rui He, Lecturer in Education, who are all at the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester.
The HEPI and Uoffer Global report How can UK universities improve their strategies for tackling integration challenges among Chinese students?, by Pippa Ebel, provides a series of ideas for supporting Chinese students. This clear and succinct report left us wanting more detail on some of its conclusions. However, we also noted that the report’s focus on integration is one that has been problematised in recent publications. In this response, we suggest some contrasting perspectives on the support of Chinese students for the purposes of further discussion.

Generalising along national lines

The framing of the report along the lines of national identity unavoidably makes for a broad-brush approach. We suspect Ebel would agree with us when we suggest that we cannot assume Chinese students will have uniform ambitions and desires. Although the structural conditions under which students are recruited must be taken into account (see ‘Admissions’ below), there is an increasing recognition of students as independent agents, capable of making their own choices, rather than being passive vessels of their national culture.

Further, there are other student characteristics to bear in mind. For example, we suggest that the distinction between undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences should be reflected in how students are offered support. At the University of Manchester, international students comprise around one-third of the student body; at the taught postgraduate level, it is more than half. Many of these are students from China. When considering educational level alone, then, there are likely to be differences between students who will spend three years in a setting of student diversity, and those who will spend a calendar year in the UK, predominantly among compatriots.

What do students really need universities to do?

The report suggests that ‘Most Chinese students would like more digital support from their institutions’ (p. 41), with the report tending to focus on social media. Yet (p. 27) 60% of Chinese learners are nonetheless described as using Whatsapp and Instagram; they simply have a preference for the continued use of equivalent Chinese platforms.

We infer from the report the idea that Chinese students are missing out by not using ‘our’ platforms. It is suggested (p. 41) that Chinese students could be involved in marketing decisions on whether to use Western or Chinese platforms for social media messaging. This would have the advantage of directly involving Chinese students. It begs the question, though, of whether time is better spent on choosing the best platform for a given purpose, or on establishing a broad social media presence to maximise coverage.

Our experience suggests that students find their domestic digital ecosystem enabling in a UK context. It also suggests that there might be some question of validity when it comes to the report findings. Is this a case of higher education researchers asking: ‘Would you like more support?’, and the students understandably answering ‘yes’?

Admissions to UK universities

The report has much to say on how Chinese students are admitted to UK universities. The ‘ethnic clustering’ addressed in the report is an index of how the university sector is organised and how universities generate income. Several of UK universities recruit thousands of Chinese students annually. It is well documented that many students will base their choices on university standings, purposefully selecting universities that are in the top 100 of world rankings. In this context, there is a limit to what agents who are charged with ‘promoting under-subscribed courses’ (p. 40) could achieve.

The use of AI-supported interviews to further test applicants’ spoken English is again thought-provoking, but requires more discussion. This practice seems to be an invitation for universities to spend money on additional admissions arrangements, in order to reduce income by rejecting students who, while they may have otherwise met the formal language criteria for admission, fall foul of new spoken English tests, the requirements of which are in their formative stages.

Institutional responses to proficiency in English

The report takes a particular position on the English proficiency of Chinese students. We agree that universities and their staff must be able to invoke standards of language for purposes including admissions and assessment. As teaching staff, though, we find that there are many steps to traverse before we conclude that any particular student behaviour can be attributed to linguistic proficiency. Have we met the students on their own terms, and found out about them as learners? Before we insist on invoking linguistic standards, are we satisfied that there are no better explanations for (e.g.) classroom silence? The issue of classroom passivity is not one specific to international students, although it seems that the wider issue is being put to one side in favour of a focus on some international students.

Not least among these matters is that of how China English is manifested in student academic writing. In many cases, the language used in student texts is highly systematic and obeys the rules of a fully-fledged language. There is a need to raise awareness of these features. With regard to spoken language, perceived proficiency is not always about the grasp of the language itself, but can also be associated with the spaces students are working in. Lack of confidence (as noted on p. 16 of the report), mental health, sense of belonging, and divisive university-level language policies may all have an impact.

The discussion of IELTS in the report is notable for what it omits. Is it the case that universities are putting IELTS to a purpose it is not fit for; or that universities think of IELTS as a guarantee of proficiency rather than a time-and-space-constrained test result for which universities themselves, along with UKVI, have set the standards for success? We welcome the contribution of the report on this point, and we would be interested to read more on the author’s broader perspective and recommendations on IELTS.

Integrating or including?

Chinese students remain the largest international group on UK campuses, attracting ongoing attention from higher education policy-makers and practitioners. Nonetheless, where we see a focus on a single group, we need to ask how universities can manage their support without falling into the trap of re-hashing existing deficit narratives. Work on internationalisation in universities has suggested that ‘practice[s] with the most demonstrable impact on students’ include embedding internationalisation holistically across the institution, and encouraging inclusion – as opposed to integration, which is not always well-conceptualised. There is a balance to be struck between the economy of generalising according to background, and providing local, co-constructed spaces for students as independent agents to meet their own needs.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the degree and depth of feedback received in response to my report published at the end of last year. It is always better to have engagement of any kind than none at all. Two threads of response have been most striking: the first by management teams of universities and education organisations wanting to better understand the report and how to apply it to their own strategies. Secondly, by Chinese students themselves on platforms like Little Red Book, with whom the report has thankfully resonated and prompted further discussion and exchange. Both are incredibly heartening. Yet as expected, responses have not all been glowing, and I am particularly grateful for the response issued by academics at the University of Manchester which critically addresses several points. It reflects in a nuanced way on my arguments and contributes valuable questions.

I hope to add the following reflections in order to continue the dialogue on the report, as well as acknowledge the time and effort they put into forming a response.

The value of identifying patterns & trends within a single ethnic group

As suggested, I recognise that Chinese students do not have ‘uniform ambitions or desires’. My extensive conversations with Chinese students from a range of backgrounds have shown me how personal and individual every university experience is. However, in a report focusing exclusively on one group – partly chosen for the fact it represents the second largest international student group in the UK – a principle aim is to extract trends and patterns which can be useful in promoting better understanding and empathy. My report does not make statements such as ‘the Chinese student experience is X’ or ‘all Chinese students think…’, instead it focuses on which challenges were most consistent among a diverse group of Chinese respondents. It is important, for instance, for universities to understand that probably their entire Chinese student body uses WeChat, and how this cultural phenomenon might shape their digital behaviour on campus.

A more detailed explanation of divergent social media usage

My report is in fact entirely in agreement with the respondents in finding that China’s own social media platforms – such as Little Red Book – are enabling when transposed to a UK context, providing key information about the locality (for instance, hospital services and banks).

The report does not ask whether Chinese students should continue to use their own software, or switch to a local one. Rather, it investigates the habits and preferences of Chinese students in the UK, in order to raise awareness of differences with other local and international students. How universities choose to engage with this information is an open question, but it raises the point that if universities wish to improve communication channels with Chinese students they must first understand which platforms are being used, and how.

Promoting undersubscribed courses, not institutions

The respondents rightly observed that the preference of UK institutions among Chinese students is the result of an emphasis on rankings, leading to a preference for the top 100 institutions. However, the respondents misunderstood my assertion that agents should promote ‘less well-known courses’ to mean they should promote a broader range of universities. Since agents often work on behalf of universities, this would clearly not be a realistic suggestion, as they would not be incentivised to promote an institution that was not their client.

My suggestion was to help agents promote different courses which are less well-known and undersubscribed among international students. Furthermore, it was to encourage universities to maintain closer dialogue with their agents to better communicate their needs (and gaps), as well as to receive useful information from agents who are in daily conversation with prospective students. During a conversation with a senior faculty member from a UK institution with a meaningful agent network in China, the complaint was raised that the more niche or newer courses in science have surprisingly few Chinese students. Whilst this is a single anecdote, it was consistent with prior findings. Chinese students veer towards courses which are actively promoted, or undertaken by fellow students in their network: Business, Engineering, Marketing… This means that more niche, but perhaps highly suitable courses are overlooked. Do prospective students, for instance, know that Bristol has 16 courses related to Economics, or might they presume quite reasonably that there is just one?

Language challenges, explained

The respondents thoughtfully add to my point on language challenges of Chinese students by highlighting the differences in the education systems of China and the UK. These are indeed pertinent and have been written about at length (one reason why I chose not to focus on this area). My interviews with students indeed reflected surprise with the academic environment at UK institutions, which promoted a form of debate and discussion they were unused to. This aspect, however, doesn’t contradict the argument of Chinese students being underconfident in expressing themselves in English, but adds another dimension in explaining their underconfidence within a classroom setting.

The response asks for further clarity on my assessment of IELTS as a suitable language evaluation tool. As stated, I believe that IELTS is too heavily relied on as a tool for understanding a student’s overall language ability and their suitability to enrol in a course. Whilst IELTS provides an indication of level, it is incomplete and as Manchester points out ‘a time-and-space constrained test’. The report suggests that universities consider additional methods of evaluation, for instance online or pre-recorded interviews, in order to gain a more holistic and accurate perspective. In a world where AI is proving increasingly central to our lives, universities might benefit from investment into AI tools which could elevate and enhance their recruitment processes.

(Hopefully not) a final word

My report does not assume that students should or must integrate. Rather it questions assumptions around the degree to which Chinese students wish to engage with their institution (particularly socially), and highlights distinct facets of the Chinese experience which may be less well known by institutions and non-Chinese students.

I do not personally see the term ‘integration’ as problematic. I interpret it to mean engaging with and understanding a local context, not compromising one’s own unique identity and background to fit in. I commend the respondents’ use of the term ‘inclusion’ and agree we should all be aspiring towards a more inclusive environment on campuses. However, I assert that in order to make an environment more inclusive, it is first necessary to raise awareness and understanding of the individuals we are attempting to include. Without this understanding, how do we know what inclusive looks like?

Awareness of the unique and precise challenges international students face – Chinese or otherwise – is the first step to actually making them feel included. It is not showcasing a range of faces on the front page of a brochure, or hosting Chinese calligraphy workshops on campus. It is creating structural opportunities in which students can give feedback and embedding representative voices of these different groups within the institution at diverse levels, be it the students’ union, alumni office or governing board.

I welcome any additional points, and again reiterate my thanks for a thoughtful response to my original report.
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April 28, 2025
$How two districts are achieving math recovery$

How two districts are achieving math recovery

DRESDEN, Tenn. — In early February, seventh grade math teacher Jamie Gallimore tried something new: She watched herself teach class. The idea had come from Ed Baker, district math coach at Tennessee’s Weakley County Schools. Baker set up an iPad on a cabinet in Gallimore’s classroom at Martin Middle School and hit record.

Gallimore watched the videos twice, and she and Baker ran through them together. They dissected the questions she asked during the lesson, looked at how much time she took to work through problems and analyzed how she’d moved around the room. As a veteran teacher, she did a lot right — but the meeting with Baker also made her change a few things.

Instead of throwing out questions to the whole class, now Gallimore more often calls on individuals. When a student answers, she might turn to the other side of the room and ask, “What did they just say?” The tactics, she said, have helped keep her students engaged.

Coaching is one strategy Weakley administrators and teachers credit with boosting middle school math scores after they crashed during the pandemic. Weakley’s third through eighth graders are more than half a grade ahead of where they were at the same time in 2022 and about a third of a grade ahead of 2019, according to a national study of academic recovery released in February. In three of the district’s four middle schools, the percentage of students meeting grade-level expectations on Tennessee’s standardized math test, including among economically disadvantaged students, rose in 2024 above pre-pandemic levels.

Teacher Jamie Gallimore uses a few new tactics in her seventh grade math classroom at Martin Middle School after working with district math coach Ed Baker. Credit: Andrea Morales for The Hechinger Report

Amid a grim landscape nationwide for middle school math, Tennessee fared better than most states. In two districts in the state that bucked the national trend — Weakley and the Putnam County School District — educators point to instructional coaches, a dramatic increase in class time devoted to math and teachers systematically using student performance data to inform their teaching and push students to improve.

How students do in middle school can predict how they do in life. Higher achievement in eighth grade math is associated with a higher income, more education later and with declines in teen motherhood and incarceration and arrest rates, a 2022 study by Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research found. In addition, middle school grades and attendance are the best indicators of how a student will do in high school and whether they’re ready for college at the end of high school, a 2014 study found.

Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.

Nationally, the news coming in shows trouble ahead: In January, for example, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, showed that average eighth grade scores in 2024 were below those of 2019 and didn’t budge from 2022, when scores were the lowest in more than 20 years. Worse, the gaps between high and low achievers widened.

Tennessee, though, was one of five jurisdictions where the percentage of eighth graders scoring proficient in math — meaning they were able to handle challenging tasks like calculating square roots, areas and volumes — increased from 2022 to 2024. That reflects a longer-term trend: Since 2011, Tennessee has climbed from the 45th-ranked state to the 19th for average eighth grade math scores.

But researchers have struggled to determine which interventions were most effective in helping students recover. A June 2024 study that looked at different strategies came to no conclusion because the strategies weren’t comparable across districts, said Dan Goldhaber of the nonprofit American Institutes for Research. In March, the Trump administration eliminated nearly all staff at the Department of Education unit that runs the Nation’s Report Card, which educators and researchers worry could make it even harder to compare how students in different states and districts perform and draw lessons about what works.

In the absence of systematic research, attention has turned to states like Tennessee and districts like Weakley and Putnam where kids have climbed out of an academic hole. At Martin Middle School, the percentage of students meeting grade level expectations on the state math exam cratered during the pandemic, falling from 40 percent in 2019 to 24 percent in 2022. But in 2024 that number jumped to 43 percent.

Related: Data science under fire: What math do high schoolers really need?

Weakley County sits in the state’s northwest corner, its flat farmland populated with small towns of mostly modest ranch homes. The county is poorer than most in the country, with a median household income under $50,000.

When the first federal Covid relief money arrived in early 2020, the district had to choose what to prioritize. Weakley focused on hiring staff who could help kids recover lost learning — instructional coaches for each school to focus on teaching strategies, plus subject-area coaches like Baker, whose role the district created in 2021. “Bottom line, we decided people over things,” said school system Director Jeff Cupples.

Research indicates that coaching can make a big difference in student outcomes. A 2018 study summarizing the results of 60 prior studies found that coaching accelerated student learning by the equivalent of four to six months, according to Brown University associate professor Matthew Kraft, who led the research team. In a survey of Tennessee school districts last year, 80 of 118 that responded said they employ math coaches.

Two Tennessee school districts credit the systematic use of student achievement data for helping their middle schoolers rebound from the pandemic-era slide in middle-school math scores. Credit: Andrea Morales for The Hechinger Report

In 2022, Martin Middle made another big change, nearly doubling the time kids spend in math class. In place of a single 50-minute class are two 45-minute periods that the school calls “core” and “encore,” with the encore session meant to solidify what students get in the first.

On an overcast March day, Becky Mullins, a longtime math and science teacher who’s also assistant principal, helped sixth graders in her encore class calculate area and volume. On a screen at the front of the classroom, she pulled up problems many of them had trouble with in their core class taught by math teacher Drew Love. One asked them to calculate how many cubes of a certain volume would fit inside a larger prism. “What strategy have you learned from Mr. Love on how to solve this problem?” she asked.

Related: One state tried algebra for all eighth graders. It hasn’t gone well

When a student in the back named Charlie raised his hand and said he was stuck, Mullins pulled up a chair beside him. They worked through the procedure together, and after a few minutes he solved it. Mullins said helping students individually in class works far better than assigning them homework. “You don’t know what they’re dealing with at home,” she said.

Martin Middle seventh grader Emma Rhodes, 12, said individual help in her sixth grade encore class last year helped her through fractions. Her encore teacher was “very hands on,” said Rhodes. “It helps me most when teachers are one on one.”

Yet studies of double-dose math show mixed results. One in 2013 found a double block of algebra substantially improved the math performance of ninth graders. Another a year later concluded that struggling sixth graders who received a double block of math had higher test scores in the short term but that those gains mostly disappeared when they returned to a single block.

The share of Martin Middle School students meeting grade level expectations on the state math exam was higher in 2024 than before the pandemic. Credit: Andrea Morales for The Hechinger Report

Weakley and Putnam County staff also credit the systematic use of student achievement data for helping their middle schoolers rebound. Tennessee was a pioneer in the use of academic data in the early 1990s, devising a system that compiles fine-grained details on individual student achievement and growth based on state test results. Both Weakley and Putnam teachers use that data to pinpoint which skills they need to review with which students and to keep kids motivated.

Related: Inside the new middle school math crisis

A four-hour drive east of Weakley in Putnam County on a day in early March, seventh grade math teacher Brooke Nunn was reviewing problems students had struggled with. Taped to the wall of her classroom was a printout of her students’ scores on each section of a recent test in preparation for the Tennessee state exam in April. One portion of that exam requires students to work without calculators. “This non-calculator portion killed them, so they’re doing it again,” Nunn said of the exercises they’re working on — adding and subtracting negatives and positives, decimals and fractions.

The data on her wall drove the lesson and the choice of which students to have in the room at Prescott South Middle School, where she teaches. Starting about 10 years ago, the district began requiring 90 minutes of math a day, split into two parts. In the second half, teachers pull out students in groups for instruction on specific skills based on where the data shows they need help.

Teachers also share this data with students. In a classroom down the hall, after a review lesson, fellow seventh grade math teacher Sierra Smith has students fill out a colorful graphic showing which questions they got and which they missed on their most recent review ahead of the state test. Since Covid, apathy has been a challenge, district math coach Jessica Childers said. But having kids track their own data has helped. “Kids want to perform,” she said, and many thrive on trying to best their past performance.

The district is laser focused on the state tests. It created Childers’ math coach role in 2019 with district funds and later other instructional coach jobs using federal pandemic relief money. Much of Childers’ job revolves around helping teachers closely align their instruction with the state middle school math standards, she said. “I know that sounds like teaching to the test, but the test tests the standards,” said Childers.

Something in what the district is doing is working. It’s not well off: The share of its families in poverty is 4 percent higher than the national average. But at all six district middle schools, the percentage of students meeting expectations on the state math exam was higher in 2024 than in 2019, and at all six the percentage was above the state average.

Goldhaber, the AIR researcher, speculated that the focus on testing might help explain the rebound in Tennessee. “States have very different orientations around standards, accountability and the degree to which we ought to be focused on test scores,” he said. “I do believe test scores matter.”

The share of Martin Middle School students meeting grade level expectations on the state math exam was higher in 2024 than before the pandemic. Credit: Andrea Morales for The Hechinger Report

If Trump administration layoffs hamstring the ability to compare performance across states, successful strategies like those in the two districts might not spread. Weakley and Putnam have taken steps to ensure the practices they’ve introduced persist regardless of what happens at the federal level. Most of the federal Covid relief dollars that paid for academic coaches in both districts stopped flowing in January, but both have rolled money for coaches into their budgets. They also say double blocks of math will continue.

Cupples, the Weakley superintendent, worries about the effect of any additional federal cuts — without federal funds, the district would lose 90 positions and 10 percent of its budget. It would be “chaos, doom, despair,” he said, laughing. “But one thing I’ve learned about educators — as one myself and working with them — we overcome daily,” he said.

“It’s just what we do.”

Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or on email at preston@hechingerreport.org.

This story about math recovery was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

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April 28, 2025
Building Connections and Shaping Futures by Fostering Cohort Success – Faculty Focus

Creating a sense of belonging is crucial to student success and persistence, especially for nontraditional, working students in online programs. Our professional science master’s (PSM) in biotechnology degree is designed for working professionals, offering primarily online and evening courses that emphasize applied learning and professional development. The degree plan combines basic science courses and lab work in biotechnology with a strong foundation in business and professional skills. A required industry internship ensures graduates enter the biotech workforce with real world experience. The program’s rigorous nature, combined with students’ full-time jobs and family commitments, leaves little time to build peer connections or a sense of community.

With funding from the National Science Foundation’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (NSF S-STEM) program, we provide scholarships and support students with co-curricular activities to enhance their educational experience. While awarding scholarships was straightforward, fostering engagement in these activities and building a strong community proved far more challenging. How do you cultivate connection, retention, and career development among busy, online STEM students? Here, we share five strategies that have helped us successfully create a sense of community in our program.

1. Ask the students what they want

An integral part of community building is having students meet as a group, whether in person or online. To increase the likelihood of student participation, we first invited their input on what types of events they want to attend, and when. Each semester, we ask students to fill out an availability form and use this information to provide both in person and online meeting opportunities each month, which allows us to meet the diverse needs of our busy students. Our experience indicates students are more likely to attend events when they are given a voice in the planning process. We send out a questionnaire asking them for their ideas and preferences for monthly cohort meetings each semester and schedule events with their ideas in mind.

2. Give them what they want

Monthly cohort meetings include a variety of events that address the multifaceted needs of the students: professional, academic, social, creative, and physical/ mental well-being. We use the student feedback to provide impactful activities that are useful and interesting to them. Many students request events that foster connections with their peers, but given the mainly online format of the program, this can be a challenge. While academic or professional topics may be presented either in person or on Zoom, we schedule purely social events, such as a dinner at a local hotspot, as in-person activities only. To feed the creative side of our STEM students, we have also hosted water coloring tutorials and rock painting socials where students are able to simply relax and catch up with each other. To deal with the stresses of graduate school and promote self-care, we hosted group yoga sessions. Many times, this results in lasting friendships or a professional connection. One student commented that the cohort events “allowed me to meet amazing people that I now call friends.”

3. Give them what they don’t know they need

We also provide co-curricular activities that students may not have specifically requested. For example, we invite industry leaders who provide career advice and perspectives on specific areas in biotechnology. Students can learn from their many years of experience and get a view into a day in the life of a particular career choice, helping them to navigate their own career paths. A student may initially start the program thinking they want to establish a career in one area in biotechnology but may complete the program with a completely different career goal in mind. Guest speakers open their eyes to the different possibilities. In addition, leadership skills are an integral part of being successful in any career choice. Thus, we also invite speakers that provide workshops on how to develop effective leadership skills and practical ways to implement them. Since it is important for students to have a broad knowledge of biotechnology, we have also hosted biotechnology-related research talks to keep them abreast of current research in this field. We also provide opportunities to attend conferences and networking events. Initially, students may not grasp the power of networking in career development. Conferences provide many opportunities which not only include networking but also learning about cutting edge research and other potential career paths. To encourage conference attendance, we provide travel support and stipends for attending approved biotechnology or leadership-related conferences of their choice.

4. Develop relationships with the students

Building strong relationships with students fosters a sense of community and belonging. Beyond seeing students in class and at monthly cohort events, regular one-on-one check-ins, whether in person or via Zoom, offer a space for students to discuss both academic and personal matters in an informal setting. These meetings help track progress, provide guidance, and connect students with relevant campus resources. By maintaining continuity in conversations, faculty and advisors build trust and accountability while encouraging student engagement in co-curricular opportunities. Many students express appreciation for the personalized support, noting that it enhances their overall educational experience and sense of connection to the program.

5. Create opportunities for peer mentoring

Facilitating peer mentoring strengthens student connections and fosters a supportive community. In addition to the monthly cohort events, we also hold a yearly retreat where new, current, and past students gather. Current students and alumni provide valuable insights, guidance, and advice to the incoming students. Incorporating interactive activities like icebreakers enhances engagement and encourages meaningful connections. Alumni play a key role by offering insights, career advice, and professional networking opportunities. Maintaining alumni engagement through events and communication channels ensures ongoing mentorship and support for students. Many students credit these interactions with boosting their confidence, leadership skills, and sense of belonging within the program.

After two years, our program has shown promising results, with preliminary pre- and post-survey data indicating growth in leadership, cultural, and academic capital, as well as STEM professional identity. While our approach is rooted in a hybrid model with some events happening on campus, many of these strategies can be adapted to fully online programs through virtual mentorship, networking events, and interactive community-building activities. Creating a sense of belonging is challenging in online education, but with intentional efforts, it is possible to foster meaningful connections that enhance student success and career development. We hope these insights inspire you to build strong, engaged student communities within your own programs.

Antonette Robles, PhD is the Grant Coordinator for Project SCALE (Scholarships and Co-curricular Activities Leading to Excellence in the Biotechnology Workforce) and an Adjunct Professor of Biology Texas Woman’s University.

Stephanie Pierce, PhD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Biology, Co-investigator for Project SCALE, and Program Director for the Professional Science Master’s program in Biotechnology at Texas Woman’s University.

Juliet V. Spencer, PhD is a Professor of Biology, the Principal Investigator of Project SCALE, and Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Texas Woman’s University.

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April 28, 2025
Building Connections and Shaping Futures by Fostering Cohort Success – Faculty Focus

Creating a sense of belonging is crucial to student success and persistence, especially for nontraditional, working students in online programs. Our professional science master’s (PSM) in biotechnology degree is designed for working professionals, offering primarily online and evening courses that emphasize applied learning and professional development. The degree plan combines basic science courses and lab work in biotechnology with a strong foundation in business and professional skills. A required industry internship ensures graduates enter the biotech workforce with real world experience. The program’s rigorous nature, combined with students’ full-time jobs and family commitments, leaves little time to build peer connections or a sense of community.

With funding from the National Science Foundation’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (NSF S-STEM) program, we provide scholarships and support students with co-curricular activities to enhance their educational experience. While awarding scholarships was straightforward, fostering engagement in these activities and building a strong community proved far more challenging. How do you cultivate connection, retention, and career development among busy, online STEM students? Here, we share five strategies that have helped us successfully create a sense of community in our program.

1. Ask the students what they want

An integral part of community building is having students meet as a group, whether in person or online. To increase the likelihood of student participation, we first invited their input on what types of events they want to attend, and when. Each semester, we ask students to fill out an availability form and use this information to provide both in person and online meeting opportunities each month, which allows us to meet the diverse needs of our busy students. Our experience indicates students are more likely to attend events when they are given a voice in the planning process. We send out a questionnaire asking them for their ideas and preferences for monthly cohort meetings each semester and schedule events with their ideas in mind.

2. Give them what they want

Monthly cohort meetings include a variety of events that address the multifaceted needs of the students: professional, academic, social, creative, and physical/ mental well-being. We use the student feedback to provide impactful activities that are useful and interesting to them. Many students request events that foster connections with their peers, but given the mainly online format of the program, this can be a challenge. While academic or professional topics may be presented either in person or on Zoom, we schedule purely social events, such as a dinner at a local hotspot, as in-person activities only. To feed the creative side of our STEM students, we have also hosted water coloring tutorials and rock painting socials where students are able to simply relax and catch up with each other. To deal with the stresses of graduate school and promote self-care, we hosted group yoga sessions. Many times, this results in lasting friendships or a professional connection. One student commented that the cohort events “allowed me to meet amazing people that I now call friends.”

3. Give them what they don’t know they need

We also provide co-curricular activities that students may not have specifically requested. For example, we invite industry leaders who provide career advice and perspectives on specific areas in biotechnology. Students can learn from their many years of experience and get a view into a day in the life of a particular career choice, helping them to navigate their own career paths. A student may initially start the program thinking they want to establish a career in one area in biotechnology but may complete the program with a completely different career goal in mind. Guest speakers open their eyes to the different possibilities. In addition, leadership skills are an integral part of being successful in any career choice. Thus, we also invite speakers that provide workshops on how to develop effective leadership skills and practical ways to implement them. Since it is important for students to have a broad knowledge of biotechnology, we have also hosted biotechnology-related research talks to keep them abreast of current research in this field. We also provide opportunities to attend conferences and networking events. Initially, students may not grasp the power of networking in career development. Conferences provide many opportunities which not only include networking but also learning about cutting edge research and other potential career paths. To encourage conference attendance, we provide travel support and stipends for attending approved biotechnology or leadership-related conferences of their choice.

4. Develop relationships with the students

Building strong relationships with students fosters a sense of community and belonging. Beyond seeing students in class and at monthly cohort events, regular one-on-one check-ins, whether in person or via Zoom, offer a space for students to discuss both academic and personal matters in an informal setting. These meetings help track progress, provide guidance, and connect students with relevant campus resources. By maintaining continuity in conversations, faculty and advisors build trust and accountability while encouraging student engagement in co-curricular opportunities. Many students express appreciation for the personalized support, noting that it enhances their overall educational experience and sense of connection to the program.

5. Create opportunities for peer mentoring

Facilitating peer mentoring strengthens student connections and fosters a supportive community. In addition to the monthly cohort events, we also hold a yearly retreat where new, current, and past students gather. Current students and alumni provide valuable insights, guidance, and advice to the incoming students. Incorporating interactive activities like icebreakers enhances engagement and encourages meaningful connections. Alumni play a key role by offering insights, career advice, and professional networking opportunities. Maintaining alumni engagement through events and communication channels ensures ongoing mentorship and support for students. Many students credit these interactions with boosting their confidence, leadership skills, and sense of belonging within the program.

After two years, our program has shown promising results, with preliminary pre- and post-survey data indicating growth in leadership, cultural, and academic capital, as well as STEM professional identity. While our approach is rooted in a hybrid model with some events happening on campus, many of these strategies can be adapted to fully online programs through virtual mentorship, networking events, and interactive community-building activities. Creating a sense of belonging is challenging in online education, but with intentional efforts, it is possible to foster meaningful connections that enhance student success and career development. We hope these insights inspire you to build strong, engaged student communities within your own programs.

Antonette Robles, PhD is the Grant Coordinator for Project SCALE (Scholarships and Co-curricular Activities Leading to Excellence in the Biotechnology Workforce) and an Adjunct Professor of Biology Texas Woman’s University.

Stephanie Pierce, PhD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Biology, Co-investigator for Project SCALE, and Program Director for the Professional Science Master’s program in Biotechnology at Texas Woman’s University.

Juliet V. Spencer, PhD is a Professor of Biology, the Principal Investigator of Project SCALE, and Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Texas Woman’s University.

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April 28, 2025
Redefining Student Success in Higher Education

The old scorecard for student success in higher education was simple: graduate on time with good grades. But in 2025, that definition feels as outdated as a flip phone.

Today’s colleges and universities are wrestling with a more complex question: What does student success mean in an era where traditional 18-year-old first-year students are no longer the norm and when career paths look more like jungle gyms than ladders?

In the 2025 Effective Practices for Student Success, Retention, and Completion study, RNL asked student success and retention professionals to define student success in their own words.

Their answers reflect how profoundly higher education has evolved and tell a fascinating story about how institutions adapt their missions, metrics, and support systems to serve an increasingly diverse student population.

Gone are the one-size-fits-all definitions of decades past, replaced by nuanced frameworks that acknowledge the complexity of modern student journeys. All institutions, regardless of their type, flavor the conversation. Private institutions emphasize personal growth and character development. Public universities tend to speak the language of data and systems, focusing on measurable outcomes. Two-year institutions? They’re the ultimate pragmatists, defining success through real-world impact – whether landing a job or successfully transferring to a four-year program.

But here’s what’s interesting: beneath these surface differences, five core themes kept showing up:

The completion conversation has changed

Gone are the days when graduation rates were the only metric that mattered. Yes, completion still counts—but institutions are getting more nuanced about what that means.

A community college student who completes a certification and lands a better job might be just as successful as one who transfers to a four-year university. Private institutions look at how graduation connects to personal transformation, while the public tracks how different pathways to graduation affect long-term outcomes.

Consider these representative definitions:

Private: “Student retention, graduation, and subsequent placement with a transformative experience.”

Public: “Students who successfully persist through their progression points in a timely manner”

Two-year: “Curriculum completion rates evaluated along three separate avenues: graduation rates, credit accumulation, and persistence”

Holistic development takes center stage

Universities finally acknowledge what employers have said for years: technical skills alone don’t cut it. Success increasingly means developing the whole person—emotional intelligence, adaptability, cultural competence, and even that buzzword-worthy quality: resilience.

Consider these representative definitions:

Private: “Our university defines student success as thriving in various aspects of life, including engaged learning, academic determination, positive perspective, social connectedness, and diverse citizenship”

Public: “Students being successful in all aspects of their well-being – academically, socially, emotionally, financially”

Two-year: “Achievement of academic, personal, and professional goals by students”

Career outcomes matter more than ever

With student debt in the spotlight and ROI under scrutiny, institutions are paying closer attention to what happens after graduation. But it’s not just about salary data anymore. Schools look at career satisfaction, professional growth, and how well graduates adapt to changing industry demands.

Their definitions reflect this priority:

Private: “Students complete their degree program and become gainfully employed in a field related to their degree”

Public: “End up with a career path that is rewarding and supports the desired lifestyle of the student”

Two-year: “Either secure employment and/or transfer to a four-year institution”

Student goals drive the definition

The most significant shift is recognizing that each student’s success looks different. A single parent completing their degree part-time while working full-time might have very different metrics for success than a traditional full-time student. Institutions are learning to flex their support systems accordingly.

As these institutions expressed:

Private: “Student success is defined differently for each student and their identified goals”

Public: “Student success is different for each student – for some, it may be passing a test or a course, and for others, it is completing their degree”

Two-year: “That the student achieves their goals (i.e., transfer to 4-yr, enter the job market, expand skills)”

Reimagining support systems

The most thoughtful definitions of success in the world mean nothing without the infrastructure to support them. Schools are rethinking everything from academic advising to mental health services, creating more integrated and accessible support networks.

The most thoughtful success definitions emphasize the institution’s role in providing support:

Private: “Giving students the support they need to achieve their goals while identifying and helping them overcome barriers to persistence”

Public: “Creating environments and opportunities that contribute to retention while providing academic and social services”

Two-year: “We define student success as helping students clarify, define, and reach their educational and career goals”

The road ahead

Measuring success becomes more complex when you are tracking personal growth alongside GPA. Resource allocation gets trickier when success means different things to different students.

But here’s the exciting part: this new way of thinking about success might help more students succeed. When we expand our definition of success, we create more paths to achievement. We acknowledge that the 22-year-old who graduates in four years with a 4.0 GPA isn’t the only success story worth telling.

The institutions that will thrive in this new landscape can balance accountability with flexibility and standardization with personalization. They are building systems that can adapt to changing student needs while delivering measurable results.

What this means for higher education’s future

The shift in defining student success reflects a broader evolution in higher education. We are moving away from a one-size-fits-all model toward something more dynamic and responsive. This isn’t just about keeping up with changing times – it’s about creating an educational system that serves today’s students.

For institutional leaders, the message is clear: your definition of student success shapes everything from strategic planning to daily operations. It’s worth taking the time to get it right.

For students and families, these changes mean more options, support, and responsibility to define what success means for them. And for society at large? We might finally be moving toward a higher education system that measures what truly matters—not just what’s easy to measure.

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April 28, 2025
Latest from Belong – students’ health is not OK, and that’s not OK

It’s hard to learn if you’re ill – good health is one of the classic prerequisites to learning.

But one of the most frustrating things about the debate around student health in the UK is that there isn’t one.

Anecdotally, poor access to preventative healthcare and health services tends to be justified either by NHS pressure from an ageing population or by expectations that universities should do more with less.

Both arguments have merit, but they leave the crucial link between health and academic success stuck in that Spiderman meme, while the public and the press blames students for “boozing it up” or “inventing ADHD.”

Mental health is well, almost over-researched – but health concerns for students go far beyond the usual talking points. Gonorrhoea diagnoses are at record levels, with the UK Health Security Agency identifying students as a key factor, drugs are the subject of many a survey, disordered eating among students is largely ignored, and sleep deprivation seems to be an issue. Some surveys say dental issues are increasingly common – as one expert notes, “dental health is mental health.”

The question is whether any of these issues are unique to students – and to the extent to which they are, what sorts of policy interventions might address them.

In the latest wave of Belong, our polling partnership with Cibyl (which our subscriber SUs can take part in for free), we examined everything from general health perceptions and healthcare access to specific areas like sleep quality, alcohol consumption, sexual health confidence, and experiences with the NHS.

The results come from our early 2025 wave, with responses from 1,055 students across 88 providers. The data has been weighted for gender and qualification type (undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and postgraduate research) to ensure representativeness. There’s also analysis of various free-text questions to illustrate what’s going underneath the headline results.

Yeah, I’m OK

First of all, we asked students a standard question used in national surveys asking them to rate their own health. Only 20 per cent of students rate their health as “very good” compared to 48 per cent of the general population.

Combined figures show that while 61 per cent of students report “good” or “very good” health (compared to 82 per cent in the general population), a full 32 per cent describe their health as merely “fair” – nearly two and a half times the rate in the general population.

Qualitative comments illuminate what lies beneath. Many students clearly differentiate between their physical and mental wellbeing:

My physical health is generally good, whereas I have faced some struggles in mental health (which can also at times impact my physical health).

Physical is usually good but sometimes a little bit hungry after trying to save some food for other days. Mentally I am ok but I don’t fill very fulfilled.

My physical health is immaculate however my mental health is the worst it’s ever been.

Several respondents directly connected their health status to the pressures of university life:

Could be better, I’m finding learning incredibly stressful as part of a full-time job.

Almost died from an overdose of caffeine trying to work on a essay and had two breakdowns.

Feel very tired due to uni, aware my health could be better, but do not have the time.

For others, university has provided structure and support:

Being at uni has helped me focus more on my self care and mental health to improve

My health is generally good because I prioritise self-care, balance my studies, part-time work, and rest, and use available support when needed.

Many respondents described their health as variable and requiring ongoing management:

I am physically keeping fit, mental health I am working on, some days are better than others.

My everyday health is a constant battle that I have to take a multitude of medications. I have good days and bad days and am lucky if I get a decent amount of sleep.

Everyone gets their bad days and good.

A significant number of students also reported living with chronic physical health conditions or disabilities:

I’m disabled. I always feel bad.

I am a full time wheelchair user with ME and fibromyalgia, so I am in a lot of pain and fatigue.

I had a diagnosis of a rare cancer called Leiomyosarcoma in 2023. The cancer has gone but it’s left me with a whole range of health problems.

Overall, the narrative accounts reveal complexity – where mental and physical wellbeing are often experienced differently, academic pressures can both harm and support health, daily fluctuations in health status are common, and chronic conditions create persistent challenges that require constant navigation of university life.

Correlations or causations?

We wanted to know if there are relationships between health and key elements of student experience. The data shows strong correlations between student health perceptions and their sense of belonging – among students reporting “very good” or “good” health, 85 per cent feel part of a community, compared to just 68 per cent among those reporting “bad” or “very bad” health:

This pattern extends to whether students feel free to speak – 93 per cent of those with better health feel free to express themselves, compared to only 77 per cent of those reporting poorer health conditions:

On teaching quality, 91 per cent of students with “very good” or “good” health report positive teaching quality, while 84 per cent of students with “fair,” “bad,” or “very bad” health still rate teaching quality positively:

Correlation is not causation – though it’s technically possible that poor teaching or poor belonging is making students ill, to the extent that the free text offers clues, it suggests that the causation is the other way around – poor health appears to be robbing students of the ability to take advantage of the academic and social opportunities on offer.

Are you registered?

The good news in our polling is that most students (93 per cent) are registered with a GP. The problem is that only 65 per cent are registered near their place of study. A quarter (25 per cent) remain registered elsewhere in the UK, while five per cent maintain registration in another country:

The qualitative comments reveal several distinct reasons for not registering locally. Many students commute to university and maintain their home GP registration:

Because I don’t live at uni. I commute. So it would make sense to have my GP in my home town

As I do not live on campus, it is easier for me to stay registered with my GP, who is closer to home.

Even students who do live at university often cite proximity to home as a reason not to change registration:

It’s only an hour to my home town so easier just to stick with them.

Don’t feel I live far enough away from home to register with another GP.

Continuity of care emerges as another significant concern:

If I sign up for a local GP here, I would be de-registered from my home GP. Since I prefer to stay with my home GP for continuity of care and I only need healthcare support when I’m at home, I haven’t registered with a GP at uni.

Because I am waiting for talking therapies which I can only get if I am registered with a GP in Somerset so registering in Plymouth will take me off of the waiting list.

I have been on a waiting list for migraine treatments in my home town and don’t want to start again and wait even longer.

Home GP knows about my disabilities and there back history.

And some students express concerns about quality of care:

They are useless.

I’ve heard some horror stories about the GP here, and when my friend was too sick to eat or sleep, they wouldn’t even talk to her.

Dental registration shows a more concerning pattern, with a third of students (33 per cent) reporting they are not registered with a dentist at all. Only 17 per cent are registered near their place of study, while 31 per cent maintain registration elsewhere in the UK and 12 per cent in another country:

Despite the low registration rate, 56 per cent report having had a dental check-up in the past 12 months – almost identical to rates found in the general population, although that’s hardly a corks-popping moment for the country.

Students cite NHS availability and cost as major barriers:

There is no NHS dentist available in the county!

There are no dentist mine is private.

NHS is underfunded so it’s impossible to access these services. Private dentists are unaffordable.

It is literally cheaper for me to travel to my country for a dentist appointment where there is healthcare than doing it here.

Many students also note that dental appointments can be scheduled during visits home:

Dental care is something that is tended to like every 6 months or so. So it makes sense to just keep the appointments whenever I am back home.

Only visit once every 6 months so can plan to go home when the appointment is approaching.

As with GP services, commuting students typically maintain their home dentist:

I commute rather than live on campus, so it was more convenient to stay with my dentist closer to where I live.

Loyalty to existing dentists also emerged as a significant factor:

I’m with an NHS dentist at home and I don’t want to lose my NHS dentist by moving to a different one as it’s difficult to find NHS dentists.

I go home enough to see my home dentist who has known me for 20 years.

Can’t get no

In early April, the long-running British Social Attitudes survey told us that public satisfaction with the NHS had hit a new low – just 21 per cent said they were satisfied with the NHS in 2024, with waiting times and staff shortages the biggest concerns.

So we wanted to know what students think. In our polling nearly half (49 per cent) reported being either “very dissatisfied” (12 per cent) or “quite dissatisfied” (37 per cent) with the NHS. In contrast, only 31 per cent expressed satisfaction, with a mere three per cent indicating they are “very satisfied”:

Many respondents expressed frustration with the difficulty of getting appointments and lengthy waiting times:

12 hours wait time at A&E is scandalous, people die waiting for ambulances, good luck getting an appointment.

It takes too long to get anything sorted.

I have waited long periods to have health checks and it has taken months to get in to see anyone.

Can’t seem to get a same day appointment.

A significant number attributed NHS problems to systemic underfunding:

It is underfunded, there is too much stress on all the services so they can’t take care of patients properly.

It’s massively underfunded and unsupported by the government. The Tories ripped it to shreds.

As an international student I pay £776 for this shit shower, joke of a country really is.

It isn’t the fault of the nurses, doctors hospital staff etc. It’s that the NHS is criminally underfunded.

Many highlighted specific concerns about mental health services:

You have to be attempting to kill yourself for the NHS to help you with mental health problems.

I’m diagnosed with anxiety and it’s been the worst mistake of my life I wish I just kept it between me and my therapist they don’t listen to a word I say.

The NHS cannot take the strain of the sheer number of mentally ill young people.

Mental health services and waiting times just to have initial appointments are terrible.

Respondents also expressed frustration with a lack of communication between different parts of the system:

Nobody talks to each other and waiting lists are long.

Lack of communication between hospitals, staff members within the same hospital.

Less continuity of staff – like you’re on a conveyor belt passed along looking at the surface issue – not the deeper.

Long waiting times and lack of communication between various departments. Over complicated administration processes.

And some had specific concerns about the quality of care they received:

When I went to an emergency dentist in the UK, they left something in my tooth that rotted and I had to have the tooth removed.

I’ve been to 4 different hospitals about my knee which keeps dislocating and popping. They don’t care to be honest.

A male consultant kept refusing to answer my questions before a medical procedure and complained when I refused to let him touch me.

I feel like I treat myself rather than being treated.

Drugs, alcohol and food

Plenty of press stories surround the idea that Gen Z is more likely to be clean living and teetotal than previous generations. Our polling suggests that 26 per cent of students never consume alcohol – a slightly higher abstention rate than the general adult population, where according to the latest NHS data 19 per cent report not drinking in the past year.

For those who do drink, consumption patterns are distributed across different frequencies:

This pattern suggests lower regular drinking among students compared to the general adult population, where 48 per cent report drinking at least once a week. When students do drink, most report moderate consumption (the below graph only includes those who indicated they drink):

It’s worth noting that 7 per cent of respondents chose not to answer the question about quantity consumed, which may indicate some hesitancy to report higher levels of consumption.

We also asked about drugs – specifically asking students about illegal drugs or prescription drug misuse within the past month. The results show that a small minority of students (seven per cent) reported using illegal drugs or misusing prescription medications in the past month, a rate much lower than is often perceived.

Back in 2023 we also carried out polling on disordered eating amongst students, having spotted some pilot polling that the ONS did on the issue the previous year. Little has changed.

In the ONS work, our 2023 poll and this wave, we used the SCOFF questionnaire – a validated screening tool for detecting potential eating disorders – to assess students’ relationships with food and body image. The results show concerning patterns:

Nine per cent reported making themselves sick because they felt uncomfortably full

26 per cent worried they had lost control over how much they eat

Eight per cent reported significant weight loss in a three-month period

19 per cent believed themselves to be fat when others said they were thin

19 per cent reported that food dominates their life

When these responses are analysed according to SCOFF scoring criteria:

49 per cent showed no sign of possible issues (compared to 50 per cent in the ONS national sample)

25 per cent demonstrated possible issues with food or body image (compared to 23 per cent in ONS)

24 per cent showed possible eating disorder patterns (compared to 27 per cent in ONS)

The findings suggest that the UK student population closely mirrors national trends in disordered eating and problematic relationships with food and body image. The particularly high percentage of students who worry about losing control over eating (26 per cent) and who perceive themselves as fat when others say they’re thin (19 per cent) – and the relationship we found between those issues and mental health in 2023 – suggest significant work to yet be done, that could have very positive impacts.

No snooze, you lose

Sleep and rest is a huge part of health. Our results show a mixed picture over quality and quantity. While 47 per cent of students report “very good” (10 per cent) or “fairly good” (37 per cent) sleep quality, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) describe their sleep as “fairly poor” (15 per cent) or “very poor” (nine per cent). More than a quarter (28 per cent) fall into the middle category of “neither good nor poor.”

When it comes to sleep duration, half of students (50 per cent) report getting six to seven hours of sleep per night on average, with an additional 26 per cent getting eight to nine hours. However, a concerning 21 per cent are sleeping fewer than six hours per night, with 20 per cent getting just four to five hours and one per cent less than four hours.

The findings show a potential improvement compared to the polling we carried out a year ago, which found students were getting just 5.4 hours of sleep per night on average. Our current data suggests a higher proportion of students are now achieving six-plus hours of sleep – but it’s still not nearly enough.

The 2024 exercise saw strong relationships between sleep duration and both life satisfaction and anxiety levels. Students getting 8-8.9 hours of sleep reported significantly higher life satisfaction scores (6.9 versus the average of 6.3) and lower anxiety scores (4.7 versus the average of 5.0) compared to those sleeping less.

Students in that survey clearly recognised the importance of sleep:

I need more sleep!

Could probably do with more sleep, just trying to get 8 hours a week would be nice.

But the qualitative data highlighted several factors affecting student sleep patterns:

Academic pressures: “Currently, the workload is too big.”

Employment demands: “Being in my overdraft monthly, long hours at work cuts into my sleep time.”

Irregular timetables: “What would help? A more consistent timetable.”

Housing a problem

Governments love their public policy silos – but one of the things SUs wanted us to look at was the relationship between housing and health. In this data, nearly half of respondents (49 per cent) reported that housing does affect their health – with 27 per cent noting a positive impact and 22 per cent experiencing negative effects:

Many students reported health concerns related to poor physical conditions in their accommodation:

Student houses have mold and have usually been untouched from when they were bought 12 years prior. My house has plenty of mold which no doubt hasn’t helped things when I have been unwell.

I live in a very mouldy flat that I have to spray at least once a fortnight to tackle the mould. It is damp and mouldy, but the landlord just tells me to open a window.

My window doesn’t open and was reported to reception before I even arrived in September I have gone back to report it to them multiple times and they still haven’t done anything about it. I also do not have an extractor fan which works in my bathroom this means I have no airflow in my room.

Housing affordability emerged as a significant stressor affecting mental health:

Every year when my rent is rised it impacts my mental and physical health hugely as it causes me a lot of stress and forces me to cut things that make me feel better.

It’s Cornwall so the housing situation is abysmal… Landlords and estate agents take advantage of this to a disgusting degree and overcharge students to the point of spending all or the vast majority of your student loan just on rent.

After rent I have no money. Landlords know how much student loans we get and scalp accordingly.

The social environment created by housemates significantly influences mental wellbeing, with both positive and negative experiences reported:

My flatmates are incredibly unclean and disrespectful.

My housemates are rude and disrespect and leave a mess everywhere and they smoke weed despite me asking them to stop loads. It makes me not want to be at home.

Although on the positive side:

My housemates are lovely people to talk to and I get along with them really well.

I love my housemates, we cook and eat dinner together every day and it’s nice to just hang out.

Insecurity about housing arrangements creates significant stress:

I rent privately, so the expensive rent combined with low-quality housing and anxiety around the permanence of my home significantly affect my anxiety.

I recently had my housing group fall apart and will need to give my ESA up to a friend of my partner in Essex due to inability to find student housing that will allow me to keep her.

Landlord left us with no heating or hot water for 2 months.

And some students reported significant benefits from supportive housing environments:

It has been beneficial moving out of a toxic home environment. I have become very close with a few of my flatmates here.

I recently got my own place after being in a house where I was abused. It’s more difficult financially but at least I don’t have someone else hurting me on purpose.

I have found moving to a house away from campus with people I am close with has had a positive effect due to the home/uni balance I now have.

It’s another classic silo issue. The failure of any of the four governments to cobble up a student housing policy is a housing issue – but it’s also an educational issue and a health issue. And because it’s a student issue, it ends up being an issue that is not handled or planned as an issue by anyone. And so it just gets worse every year.

Not so free periods

We were also asked to look at menstruation and sexual health. On the former, the results suggest that most respondents find menstrual products reasonably accessible – save for an important minority:

When asked whether menstruation impacts their daily life, respondents were fairly evenly split:

The relatively even division suggests that menstruation-related challenges continue to affect a significant proportion of the student population, potentially influencing their academic performance, social engagement, and overall university experience.

Then on sexual confidence and health, the results show generally high levels of self-reported confidence:

The standout is that approximately 18 per cent lack confidence in accessing NHS sexual health services – the highest area of uncertainty among those surveyed.

The findings present an interesting contrast to a 2021 HEPI survey on sex and sexual health among students. That research found significant variations in consent understanding and confidence levels, particularly when examining school background and gender.

In that work, privately educated males were a key issue:

Only 37 per cent felt “very confident” in understanding what constitutes sexual consent (compared to 59 per cent of students overall)

Only 34 per cent were “very confident” in how to communicate sexual consent clearly (versus 47 per cent overall)

Only 41 per cent were “very confident” in how not to pressure others for sex (versus 61 per cent overall)

Our polling in this wave doesn’t have a large enough sample to offer similar demographic breakdowns, but the overall high confidence levels suggest either an improvement in students’ understanding since 2021 or – importantly – potential overconfidence in self-assessment.

For better or worse

Finally, we wanted to know whether students’ health had changed since coming to university. While 39 per cent reported their health has improved (with three per cent saying “much better” and 36 per cent “better”), 27 per cent indicated their health had worsened (23 per cent “worse” and four per cent “much worse”) – and a significant proportion (34 per cent) chose not to respond to this question.

Many students reported deteriorating mental health since beginning their studies:

Mental health has declined and physical health/pain got worse as well.

Academic pressure has made me feel depressed.

My mental health is no better and I have panic attacks at least two times a week.

Anxiety levels are higher, I feel socially overwhelmed after a day at uni.

Financial pressures emerge as a significant factor negatively impacting both physical and mental wellbeing:

I can’t afford a lot of things. I struggle to buy food period products, and other healthcare. I’m inclined to work when I’m sick because I need to cover tuition and rent.

I can’t afford basic nutrition.

Many students reported having less time or opportunity for physical activity:

Too tired to workout/run most days.

I feel I have less time to exercise. I spend more time on a computer which affects my hands and back.

I was much more physically active before starting university.

Changes in eating habits were commonly mentioned as negatively affecting health:

My diet is a lot worse, and I tend to be generally less healthy.

I put on a lot of weight due to staying in my room all day and not having enough money to afford a good diet.

As I am now living alone, so my eating issues have become worse as I am the one to control what I eat – so I will eat nothing for a month, and then gain all the weight back by giving up and binging.

It’s not all bad news. For those in the “improved” camp, increased physical activity (“I’ve been going to the gym since first year and have really enjoyed doing so”), better nutrition habits (“I have more control and time over my diet”), improved mental wellbeing (“Well at collage I was suicidal but at uni I don’t really have that inkling anymore”), greater autonomy over health choices (“Being more independent and in control of my life has done wonders for my physical and mental health”), and beneficial routines (“The routine has enabled me to keep in touch with my health a lot better”) were all key themes.

The positive experiences suggest that for a significant proportion of students, university can provide both the freedom and structure to develop healthier lifestyles and improved wellbeing.

If it was up to me

When, at the end of the survey, we asked students what they would change about health services if it was up to them, they offered a wealth of practical suggestions.

Mental health services emerged as a top priority, with clear calls for “more therapy sessions,” “expanded mental health services,” and “shorter waiting times or support whilst on waiting lists.” Many emphasised the need for greater coordination: “Less pressure to do so well academically. Student union need to put more pressure on the uni to allocate funds towards mental health services.”

Financial barriers to health featured prominently in student concerns. Suggestions included “lowering the cost of the university gym,” “free prescriptions till you finish uni,” and broader recommendations to “improve student finance so that students can afford to eat healthily.”

Improving access to NHS services was another key theme, with students recommending “a GP on campus perhaps or someone you can talk to before having to go to the GP” and “easier GP registration, shorter wait times for appointments.” Some highlighted specific needs for marginalised groups: “Fast tracking marginalised students who are already forced through forms and waiting list just to access their healthcare.”

Sexual and reproductive health resources were frequently mentioned, with calls for “free condoms across campus,” “free period products,” and “more information about sexual health/like events centred around that, including sexual health for trans people and using inclusive language.”

Many also stressed the need for better information and outreach, suggesting “having a known place to access in a casual manner,” “health advice given in more accessible areas,” and “making clear where and how to access it with a focus on helping international students navigate a new system.”

And several comments addressed broader cultural and systemic issues: “Stop encouraging mid-week drinking, university alcoholism culture is insane”, “More conversations about loneliness, it’s weirdly normalised at uni” and “Address systemic bias in medicine, especially impacting women.”

An agenda for change

There are bits of good news – but the big picture that emerges from our findings is stark and troubling. 20 per cent of students reporting “very good” health compared to 48 per cent in the general population is a disparity that would prompt immediate intervention in any other population group. But that problematic place in the policy Venn that students are in – both largely young and belonging to DfE, not DHSC – leaves them ignored. This student offers a damning indictment of a system where basic physiological needs compete with academic demands:

I literally went to university at the wrong time with how much it currently costs. It’s impossible to concentrate on my studies without the constant fear of how am I going to eat tonight.

Another speaks of “black mould and damp” while their landlord’s sage advice is to “open a window.” Is this really the backdrop against which we expect student success to happen?

The data reveals a healthcare system fundamentally misaligned with student life realities. Only 65 per cent are registered with a GP where they study, just 17 per cent with a local dentist. And why should they bother? With 49 per cent expressing dissatisfaction with NHS services – “12 hours wait time at A&E is scandalous, people die waiting for ambulances, good luck getting an appointment” – the friction in accessing care hardly seems worth the effort. That we ask international students to pay for it is even more scandalous.

The answers lie partly in our addiction to departmental silos and short-term thinking. No Westminster department champions students as a distinct population with specific health needs deserving of targeted interventions. Universities focus on student retention while the NHS prioritises acute care – and students fall through the gap between.

The South African model of mandatory health modules covering mental, physical and sexual wellbeing offers an interesting approach – yet here we continue treating student health as an afterthought rather than a core educational function, something else that used to be developed in the gap between lectures that’s now filled with the demands of long commutes and punishing part-time work.

What might a solution look like? Perhaps it starts with recognising that today’s “horizontal generation” won’t respond to top-down health messaging. Their peer networks and digital platforms represent not just challenges but opportunities for intervention. Digital solutions that personalise support, peer-to-peer health models, and practical education around cooking and nutrition align with how today’s students actually engage with information. But there’s another critical factor – our lack of comprehensive national data on student health.

The current patchwork of institution-specific surveys and occasional national sampling is simply inadequate. How can we design effective interventions without a robust, longitudinal understanding of student health patterns? A dedicated national student health and wellbeing survey – tracking mental health, food insecurity, nutrition, sleep patterns, and their impact on academic outcomes – isn’t a luxury, it’s a fundamental prerequisite for evidence-based policy. Surely the NSS could take a year off every few years?

Then when it comes to delivery, the answer won’t be found in Whitehall but in our regions and cities. Manchester’s integrated approach to student mental health – where university health services, local NHS trusts, and city council public health teams collaborate on shared priorities – demonstrates what’s possible when student health is approached as a citywide asset rather than an institutional burden. It should both be broadened beyond mental health, and replicated.

And whatever is done really needs to be underpinned by rights – encompassing dual GP registration, affordable healthcare, timely disability diagnosis, health-supporting university policies, and integrated NHS partnerships.

The alternative is to continue watching talented students struggle unnecessarily, their potential diminished by preventable health challenges. A student eating so poorly they “can’t afford basic nutrition” or sleeping in accommodation where “mould grew on my campus room’s walls before I even came in” isn’t just experiencing personal discomfort, they’re living the consequences of policy failure – and paying for it, in more ways than one.

You can download the full deck of our findings from this Belong tranche on student health here.

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April 28, 2025
Greg Grandin on Latin American History, from Colonization to CECOT to Pope Francis (Democracy Now!)

We spend the hour with acclaimed historian Greg Grandin discussing his new book, America, América: A New History of the New World, which spans five centuries of North and South American history since the Spanish conquest, including the fight against fascism in the 1930s. He examines the U.S.-Latin American relationship under Trump, with a focus on El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador and Cuba. Grandin also has a new piece for The Intercept that draws on the book, headlined “The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America.” “If the United States really has given up its role as superintending a global liberal order and the world is reverting back to these kind of spheres of power competitions, then Latin America becomes, essentially, much more important,” says Grandin. We also continue to examine the legacy of the late Pope Francis, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina and the first pope from Latin America. Grandin shares how the Catholic Church’s involvement in the conquest and colonization of the continent impacted the pope’s beliefs.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

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April 28, 2025
How universities can turn QILT data into action – Campus Review

Universities today have access to more data than ever before to assess student success and graduate outcomes. But having data is only part of the equation. The real challenge is turning insights into action.

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April 28, 2025
$100m Coalition election promise to fund 200 regional medical students matches Labor – Campus Review

Regional and rural Australia’s doctor shortage is being targeted as an election issue by the Coalition, which is promising to fund an extra 200 students to train as general practitioners to work in the bush.

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April 28, 2025
Melinda Cilento asks if unis are nimble enough – Episode 165 – Campus Review

Melinda Cilento is the chief executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia and Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council Chair.

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April 28, 2025

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