Wellbeing: The chasm between students’ expectations and institutional provision.

Abstract

Mind the gap “Be more mindful about the situation, be more kind”. Advice to academic staff from an undergraduate student. “Be better at supporting students who need help or who are behind” “Be more understanding especially with non-visible disabilities and health issues!” This blog post reports on a piece of work we carried out in May-June 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic where we asked students about their experiences of using technology, and their experiences of accessing wellbeing support. The results were not at all what we expected. We were surprised at the technologies they were more confident in using, and our assumptions about easy navigation through our Virtual Learning Environment were challenged. Despite the stresses of the semester, most students had not accessed any of the wellbeing resources the University signposted. We cover the key policy themes before giving a snapshot of the research, and conclude by suggesting some responses that the LD community of educators could adopt.