Universities struggle to meet student mental health needs

RNZ 12 October 2019

Universities say they do not have the resources to cope with the ever-increasing demand from students for mental health support, with Universities New Zealand, which represents all eight tertiary institutions, saying it has needed to boost spending on student counselling by 25% since 2013, writes Hamish Cardwell for RNZ.

Victoria University of Wellington Vice-Chancellor Grant Guilford told Morning Report there was a “massively rising tide” of university students suffering anxiety and depression and it’s making their job harder.

Universities NZ Chief Executive Chris Whelan said it was now spending more than NZ$18 million (US$11 million) a year on mental health support – but there was only so much it could do without more funds. “The university sector is now funded on a per-student basis below the rest of the OECD. We're about 27% less than Australia, and only about half the funding per-student of ... a country like the United States … We are absolutely struggling on the resources that we have.”
Full report on the RNZ site

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