Report | Student wellbeing over time: analysing Student Academic Experience Survey data for undergraduates and taught postgraduates

_{13 July 2023}

Summary

A policy focus on widening participation in higher education over the last 20 or more years has increased the number and diversity of students accessing higher education. To ensure that students have the tools and support they need to thrive at university, it is important to understand the drivers and determinants of student wellbeing. 

This report, published jointly by TASO and What Works Wellbeing, sets out results of the analysis of Student Academic Experience Survey data to examine how the wellbeing of undergraduate and taught postgraduate students has changed over time, and how it varies according to demographic characteristics and circumstances. Specifically, the analysis looks at wellbeing inequalities by course load, economic background, family education level, proximity to university, employment status, ethnicity, sexuality, sex and disability. 

Subjective wellbeing is a measure that captures three distinct components of wellbeing: satisfaction with our lives overall, sense of purpose and affect (happiness and anxiety).

The Student Academic Experiences Survey (SAES), conducted by AdvanceHE and the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), has collected data on undergraduate students’ wellbeing since the 2011/12 academic year. It collects answers to questions on students’ subjective wellbeing as well as other measures that capture details of their lives on and off campus.

The report is authored by TASO, What Works Wellbeing and Michael Sanders, Professor of Public Policy at King’s College London’s Policy Institute, Evidence Associate at the What Works Centre for Wellbeing and Academic Lead for TASO.

Read the report