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.

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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.?

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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.

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¡°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¡±.?

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¡°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?.

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