A survey undertaken by Unite Students, in collaboration with Youthsight reveals that university students are less socially confident, less ready for university, and have a higher incidence of mental health condition.
A rise in eating disorders has sparked the biggest concern from this research, with almost a quarter (24%) of the 1,000+ students saying they had experienced issues with eating in the last year. This is up by six percentage points on the 2017 figures.
In order to respond to the different needs of the incoming cohort of 2021, Unite Students discussed these issues at an expert Round Table, where they were joined by a wide range of experts from the Higher Education sector.
Building on the emerging themes from this round table, contributors including University of Exeter Students’ Guild president Sunday Blake held a further discussion on the June edition of Unite Students’ Accommodation Matters podcast, which covered topics including parental involvement in their children’s university plans, the need for universities and accommodation providers to support new students in building communities, and the prevalence of imposter syndrome in students who have been graded on teacher assessments rather than exams.
To read a comprehensive summary of the research by Jenny Shaw, click here.
