The deadline to respond to this call has now passed.

TASO is inviting anyone working in the higher education sector to participate in our research about student mental health.

We are looking for examples of practice of interventions that:

  • Aim to improve student mental health or provide support for those experiencing difficulties with their mental health.
  • Are currently active or completed within the last five academic years.

Scope of the examples of practice

Some examples of projects this might include are set out below. These are intended to be illustrative examples, we would also welcome interventions not mentioned.

We are particularly interested in:

  • Interventions that have not been evaluated, or are difficult to evaluate.
  • Interventions that:
    – are settings-based (consider a “whole institution” approach),
    – consider places and spaces and how they affect users,
    – involve recreational activities, such as arts and music,
    – involve inter-system collaboration (with external services and organisations),
    – involve physical activities.
  • Interventions delivered by:
    – Top Third universities
    – Metropolitan universities
    – Further Education (FE) colleges providing higher education courses

Background to the project

Funded by the Office for Students, TASO is leading a Consortium of five partners (What Works Wellbeing, Universities UK, King’s/SMaRteN, Student Minds and AMOSSHE) to help the higher education sector identify and make use of effective practice to support student mental health.

The project will deliver:

  • A typology of mental health practices delivered in higher education (HE);
  • A toolkit drawing together evidence of what works (and what does not), why, in what context and for whom in relation to student mental health;
  • An evidence map, capturing current practice and evaluation;
  • Evaluation guidance to help providers assess the impact of their mental health practices on longer-term outcomes such as retention, progression and attainment.

To find out more about the project, click here.

What will we do with examples of practice?

Some examples of practice will be used to inform our evidence map, helping the sector understand the effectiveness of student mental health interventions. A selection will be used to inform the digital repository of current mental health evidence which will be going live next year.

How to participate

Please submit your examples using the online web form by 5pm on Tuesday 31st January 2023. We will be in touch with the outcomes of the submissions by Tuesday 21st February 2023.

Please note, this call is a revised version of a call we put out October. The deadline for the call has been extended.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the project’s Research Officer, Tatjana Damjanovic, tatjana.damjanovic@taso.org.uk.

 

Submit your example of practice

Intervention design

Please provide details of your intervention, following the outline below:
  • Aim of intervention (including the key outcomes for students)
  • Who is the intervention is aimed at
  • How the intervention was developed
  • Number of students intervention worked with (if specifiable)
  • Future plans for delivering / scaling intervention
(750 words max)
Intervention status(Required)

Evaluation

Please provide an outline of why you are interested in evaluating your intervention. If you are currently collecting data, please outline your current data collection or evaluation plans.
(450 words max)

Sector engagement interviews

In addition to the call for evidence, TASO will be conducting a suite of qualitative interviews with sector professionals working in this area to discuss how interventions are designed, implemented and evaluated.
Would you like to participate in a qualitative interview?(Required)

Evaluation guidance pilot

As part of this project, we will be selecting 3-5 higher education providers (HEPs) to pilot a measurement framework for assessing student mental health in conjunction with evaluation support provided by TASO.
Would you like to be considered for the pilot?(Required)

Data protection notice

Examples of practice selected may be used to inform a digital repository of current mental health evidence which will go live next year. However, no higher education providers, local authorities, charities or other organisations will be identified in any publication unless we receive written permission.

We may also ask your permission to refer to your evidence in a repository of best practice as part of our online evidence toolkit.

Please read the Data Protection Notice for this project before submitting your evidence.
Do you confirm that you have read and understood the Data Protection Notice?(Required)
Would you like your institution to be identified if you example of practice information is included in the digital repository?(Required)