Measuring well-being in higher education

In this new Policy Note, Rachel Hewitt, HEPI’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, highlights the need to distinguish between mental health and well-being and calls for more comprehensive data to be made available on the well-being of all those work and study at universities. 

Key points:

• The conflation of mental health and well-being is not helpful for tackling either low levels of well-being or supporting those suffering mental ill-health,
• We therefore need to collect data on both well-being and mental health separately,
• We need to collect more comprehensive information on the well-being of those who work and study in UK universities. The lack of any information on staff well-being should be tackled urgently. Consistent information should be collected on applicants, students and graduates, so we can better understand the impact that the university experience has on the well-being of individuals.