Durham students push for a statutory duty of care
A Durham campaign group, Safe Education, is backing a bill that would put a duty of care on universities towards students, standardising how institutions must respond to reports of sexual violence. At present each university writes its own procedure, which is why two students at different institutions reporting the same thing get different processes and different outcomes. The duty of care gap has now been raised three times in six months.
More than a quarter of students identify as LGB at some universities
Data across UK universities shows the share of students identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual rising, exceeding a quarter at some institutions. The practical consequence is about provision rather than identity: societies, welfare services and housing policies built for a small minority are now serving a substantial one. LGBTQ+ life at university covers what to look for.
Student mental health, from the research side
Nature publishes an assessment of the student mental health crisis by academics working on it, arguing that universities keep treating a population-level problem with individual-level services — counselling waiting lists rather than changes to workload, assessment and housing. Useful context for anyone who has been told their wait is twelve weeks. Student mental health covers what to ask for meanwhile.