Student wellbeing and mental health: the opportunities in learning analytics

This report explores the contribution that Jisc’s national approach to learning analytics can make to mitigating the crisis in student mental health in Britain’s colleges and universities. Jisc has well established expertise in the field of learning analytics, that ranges from the development of a student App for self-regulated learning, and staff dashboards for flagging students at risk, through to tools for course management and to university-level analytic systems. Jisc’s learning analytics architecture, based around the learning data hub, makes it possible to assemble large data sets at national levels that enable “whole system” approaches, subject to appropriate safeguards for data protection, ethical practice, and the requirements set by individual colleges and universities. This national dataset and architecture has the potential to make a significant contribution to understanding the dimensions of student wellbeing and to addressing the crisis in student mental health. Worldwide, an estimated 20% of children and adolescents are affected by mental and substance-use disorders, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and drug and alcohol abuse. Student mental health is a subset of this epidemic. In addition to the distress caused, poor mental health and a diminished sense of wellbeing have a significant effect on student academic performance and the ability to complete a course of study.