Table 3.

Key points for tertiary education institutions to facilitate improved educational outcomes for students with a mental health problem.

Have a policy around supporting students with a mental health problem

•The institution should have a mental health policy covering mental health promotion, mental illness prevention and services for students with a mental illness. •The mental health policy and its implementation should be driven by senior management in partnership with students with mental illnesses, staff from different areas of the institution, student associations and representatives of outside services. •The institution should have a strategy for communicating its mental health policy to staff and students.

Provide support to students with a mental health problem

•The disability office should make all staff aware of the range of services they provide to assist and educate staff supporting students with a mental illness. •Support services should develop a mental health promotion strategy which covers prevention, early identification, stigma reduction, availability and access to services. •Support services should provide all staff and students with education on mental illness. •The institution’s support services should adopt an easy access and “no wrong door” policy to entry for assessment and treatment of mental health problems.

Provide reasonable adjustment for students with a mental illness

•Staff should be provided with information about making reasonable adjustments for assessments. •The process for getting reasonable adjustments should be as simple as possible and advice should be available to students if needed.

Have procedures for making staff and students aware of issues around mental illness

•These should include signs and symptoms, causes and treatments, the importance of prevention and early intervention and how to support students with a mental illness in ways that promote recovery. •Support services staff should receive appropriate and ongoing professional development and training in relation to mental illnesses. •The institution should provide staff with training and information about the following: ○The use of non-judgemental listening skills when talking with students about their personal problems. ○How to respond when a student discloses a mental illness to them, including which things are supportive and which are unhelpful. ○Techniques for promoting motivation and self-esteem in students with mental illnesses. ○Curriculum design, development and delivery strategies that facilitate inclusive and effective learning for students with mental illnesses. ○Classroom, examination and assignment adjustments that can be made for a student with a mental illness. •Make students aware of their rights and responsibilities •Staff should be informed about how to handle mental health crisis situations.

Interact with students with a mental illness in a manner that maintains respect, dignity, confidentiality and equity

•When a student discloses that they have personal issues such as a mental illness, confidentiality should be respected unless there is an immediate danger to the person or to others in withholding that information. •If the student has a mental illness, staff should not make assumptions, but rather ask the student what support, if any, they might need. •Staff should explore any challenges or barriers to successful learning with students with a mental illness.

Allocate resources to funding and evaluation

•Adequate funds should be allocated to provide support services to students with a mental illness. •Institutions should seek funding opportunities that can be used to help develop and enhance support services for students with a mental illness. •The institution’s mental health services should be subject to ongoing research and evaluation of their service provision.