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Access, Participation & Success case study: Mental Health Declarations by Black Students

The background 

Open University (OU) data highlights that students with a mental health condition are at a greater risk of under-achieving in their studies. They are more likely to defer, drop-out and struggle to achieve their goals.  

The OU aims to address this risk by providing additional support to any student who declares that they have a mental health issue. This support is proven to help increase rates of student satisfaction, progression and attainment, so it is critically important that students understand the benefits of declaring and feel comfortable doing so, without fear of judgement.  

The challenge 

Further analysis of OU student data reveals that Black students are far less likely to declare a mental health condition than white students (3% compared to 5.1%).  This suggests that we are missing the opportunity to target the vital support that they may need to succeed in their studies.

By increasing the proportion of Black students who feel safe declaring their mental health difficulties, the OU can target support where it is needed the most, helping to increase student success and close the awarding gap for this group. For this reason, the OU has set an internal target to eliminate the gap in mental health declaration rates between Black and white students by 2025.  

The approach 

A Task and Finish Group was established in September 2020 to explore the data further and better understand the barriers that Black students face in relation to their mental health and OU policy.  

The group identified specific areas that were relevant and in need of review: 

  • Data

  • Language and communication

  • Resources

  • OU context, policies and procedures

  • Sector context 

Darren Gray, Group Facilitator and Senior Manager (Access, Participation & Success) comments “The group worked incredibly well because it had a really diverse membership. We had colleagues from across the OU at different levels and from different ethnic backgrounds. This inclusive group gave us strong, direct access to real lived experience, honesty and genuine expertise in key areas”.  

Key outcomes 

  • The group conducted student interviews [1] entitled ‘How do we talk about race and mental health?’ to explore what it feels like to discuss race, the institutional barriers Black students face and their attitudes towards mental health. The interviews revealed significant structural issues that impact on Black students declaring mental health conditions, as well as associated social stigma. This rich insight was used to create new resources, including: 

  • Five personas that represent the breadth and common experience of the Black students interviewed. These will be used internally to raise awareness, inform communication activities and shape support services and module design.  

  • An animation aimed at supporting all Black students with declaring mental health conditions. The animation was funded by OpenLearn, the OU’s free learning platform, and co-created with students who were interviewed as part of the project, to ensure culturally relevant language and style. The animation, which premiered in May 2022, is now widely available across OU student platforms and on the Race & Ethnicity hub on OpenLearn.  

  • A survey of Black staff was followed up with interviews to review the language and terminology used within the OU around race and mental health. A report was produced with the findings presented as part of Black History Month and to senior leaders in Student Support. The recordings are now available on the Race & Ethnicity hub on OpenLearn and on YouTube.  

  • The group helped to raise awareness of the cultural and contextual barriers around mental health, through a number of presentations to OU staff and colleagues from the wider Higher Education sector, including this online seminar with more than 100 delegates (December 2021), which provided a comprehensive summary of the project findings. 

  • A curated list of resources to support Black students with wellbeing (provided by the Black and Minority Ethnic Network Health and Wellbeing pillar of the Task and Finish Group) was added to internal and external OU facing websites and platforms.  

What next? 

Cultural change takes time. It requires awareness, understanding and safe spaces for staff and students to share their experiences.  

Rehana Awen, Group Chair comments, “We have learnt that the students who most need help, are the least likely to ask for it. The OU now needs to create opportunities for positive, ongoing and culturally sensitive conversations with Black students about their lives and their mental wellbeing. Students must be able to see and value the support that is on offer, right from the beginning of their journey with us”. 

The Task & Finish Group is now closed and a number of recommendations have been made around OU policy and communication strategy.  The Group aims to continue to review the impact of changes and ensure ongoing momentum around issues of race and mental health.

For more information about this case study please contact us. 

 

[1] Interviews were part funded by the Teaching Excellence Fund and PRAXIS, the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS) Scholarship and Innovation Centre. An article on the 'How do we talk about race...and mental health?' interviews has also been published in Volume 23 (Dec 2021) of the Widening Participation and Lifelong Journal (subscription currently required but soon to become open access).