Published Findings of Student Welfare and Support Services
In the 2019-20 academic year, Oxford University witnessed a significant surge in demand for counselling, disability support, and sexual harassment and violence services among students, mirroring broader national trends during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The University's Counselling Service reported an 8% increase in demand, with 13% of the student population accessing the service. This rise in demand can be attributed to students grappling with isolation, uncertainty, and stress related to the pandemic and associated lockdowns. To address this increase, Oxford invested in mental health resources, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy programs.
Similarly, disability support services experienced an increase in usage as students faced challenges adapting to new remote learning environments and managing disabilities in a changed context. The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) reported a 21.5% increase in students declaring health conditions as disabilities. To ensure minimal disruption during the move to remote teaching and assessment, the University prioritised protecting disabled students.
Reports from the wider UK context indicate that sexual harassment and violence support services faced increasing demand during the pandemic, while simultaneously struggling with underfunding and barriers related to access, especially for marginalised groups. Although not Oxford-specific, these trends likely impacted students at the university.
To address these challenges, the University is striving to provide Student Welfare and Support Services that are accessible and beneficial to students of all backgrounds and ethnicities. The DAS approach to learning emphasises inclusive teaching, and more Black counsellors joined the Counselling Team in August 2020.
The University's Student Welfare and Support Services webpage provides more information about their services. The annual reports for the 2019-20 academic year, including those for the Disability Advisory Service, Counselling Service, and Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service, are available on the welfare and wellbeing pages.
It is important to note that the pandemic is not the only event affecting students' wellbeing. The University acknowledges the impact of events such as the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement on students' mental health and wellbeing.
The DAS Service user ethnicity and gender details have been published for the first time, showing that female students are over-represented amongst DAS users and Asian students are under-represented. This data will help the University in its efforts to remove barriers for disabled students and provide the support they need.
In conclusion, the pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities and increased the need for comprehensive support services at Oxford. The University's response, which includes enhanced attention and funding to counselling, disability accommodations, and safeguarding against violence and harassment, reflects a commitment to supporting students during challenging times.
- Students at Oxford University sought help from health-and-wellness services such as the Counselling Service, with a reported 8% increase in demand and 13% of the student population accessing the service, due to the stress and uncertainty caused by the pandemic and associated lockdowns.
- The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) experienced a 21.5% increase in students declaring health conditions as disabilities, as they faced challenges adapting to the new remote learning environments, which the University responded to by prioritizing the protection of disabled students and investing in mental health resources.
- In the broader UK context, sexual health services faced increased demand during the pandemic, while struggling with underfunding and access barriers, particularly for marginalized groups, likely impacting students at Oxford University.
- To address these issues and provide support for all students, including those in areas of education-and-self-development, fitness-and-exercise, men's-health, and women's-health, the University is striving to enhance its Student Welfare and Support Services by making them more accessible and inclusive, especially for students of diverse ethnicities and genders.
