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Bereaved families say they feel ¡°vindicated¡± after a major report concluded they had been ¡°excluded¡± by universities during investigations into student suicides, with institutions frequently ¡°evasive and reluctant to answer important and painful questions¡±.

A two-year investigation ¨C known as the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths ¨C has concluded that universities must do more to prevent suicides among their student populations, and support families involved.

It finds that in the academic year 2023-24 there were 169 incidents at higher education providers, including 107 suspected suicide deaths, and 62 incidents of non-fatal self-harm among students.?

The serious incident reports submitted by universities to the Department for Education investigation show that almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of these students were undergraduates, and over a quarter (27 per cent)?of these were in their first year of undergraduate studies. International students accounted for 24 per cent of all submitted reports.

Almost half (47 per cent) of reports identified mental health difficulties as a potential factor prior to the incident, and almost a third (31 per cent) of students had a mental health diagnosis, mainly depression and anxiety disorders.

The report further finds that, while in 72 per cent of cases families had been contacted in the days following the student¡¯s death, this contact was most often to offer condolences, support with funeral and repatriation costs and arrangements, or recovering the student¡¯s belongings.?

Families reported wanting more direct involvement in investigations following the incidents, and the report concludes ¡°we found little evidence of them being invited to contribute to or be involved in the serious incident investigation¡±.

Parents quoted in the report say that their grief had been ¡°compounded by a lack of transparency¡±.?

Consequently a ¡°duty of candour¡± should be introduced at universities, the report recommends, to establish a responsibility to be ¡°open and transparent¡± with families, in line with models in the NHS.

Mark Shanahan, an associate professor of political engagement at the University of Surrey and a member of the Learn network ¨C a group of families bereaved by suicide, said: ¡°In some ways, [the report] is a vindication to see the concerns of bereaved families confirmed, when many feel so excluded when they try to find out what happened to their sons and daughters.

¡°Without families¡¯ strength and persistence this report would not have been commissioned. We need to see it repeated annually if lessons are to be learned over the longer term.¡±

The report says that universities need to work harder to prevent ¡°suicide clusters¡±, after it found six reports from three providers where there may have been evidence for a potential cluster.

Students were most likely to take their own lives in March and May, indicating that there should be greater awareness made available of support at ¡°key points¡± in the academic calendar.

The report further recommends:?

• Suicide prevention training should be available for ¡°all staff in student-facing roles¡±, and providers should consider giving mandatory training for all student-facing staff on identifying and escalating concerns about a student
• University-managed accommodation should be reviewed for physical safety and signposting for support
• Universities should ¡°consider discouraging¡± tributes being placed in an incident area ¡°to avoid drawing attention to the site as a suicide location¡±
• Greater support should be provided to students struggling academically, who should be recognised as ¡°potentially at risk¡±.

Shanahan, whose son Rory died by suicide at the University of Sheffield in 2018, said that while Learn agreed with many of the recommendations, ¡°we take issue with the proposed pace of change¡±.?

¡°Mental health and suicide prevention awareness training must be mandatory for student-facing staff if they¡¯re expected to be informed and proactive in their response to disengaged or struggling students,¡± he said, adding that ¡°a legal duty of care by universities towards students, delivered by statute and/or regulation, is the only way to accelerate the changes advocated in this report¡±.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com

? If you¡¯re having suicidal thoughts or feel you need to talk to someone, a free helpline is available around the clock in the UK on 116123, or you can email?jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In?Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13?11?14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at?.