Advance HE has been commissioned by Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity, to design an impact evaluation framework for the new University Mental Health Charter Programme launched today (29 April).
The Charter framework was created with thousands of staff and students to support universities across the UK to adopt a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing. The Charter Programme brings together universities committed to university mental health to share practice and create cultural change.
Advance HE’s impact evaluation seeks to capture and review the perceived outcomes, process and experience of participating in an intervention encouraging settings-based approaches to improving mental health and wellbeing. The framework will detail an overarching strategy for assessing the long-term impact of the Charter, and will translate the impact at individual universities into an index of impact at programme level.
In addition to the impact evaluation framework, Advance HE is conducting a baseline assessment of those interested in participating in the Charter programme and Award, to understand their views and perceptions of the Charter, and to identify within areas such as university culture, policies, process and practice where change is likely to happen.
Gary Loke, Director of Knowledge, Innovation and Delivery at Advance HE, said, "Advance HE is well-placed to support institutions in their work to promote better mental health.
"We are fully supportive of an holistic approach to mental health, recognising the need for safe, effective and evidence-based support services and making it a university-wide priority so that all students and staff may thrive."
At Student Minds, the UK's student mental health charity, we are excited to be working with Advance HE to create a framework to evaluate the long-term impact of the University Mental Health Charter. This work will be fundamental to evidencing and enhancing the positive impact of the Charter, which aims to improve approaches to mental health and wellbeing in participating universities and across the UK higher education sector.
“Advance HE's expertise in delivering and evaluating programmes in inclusion, equality and wellbeing in higher education mean they are ideal partners to help shape our approach. Together, we can shape a future in which everyone in higher education can thrive."
Leigh Spanner, Interim Head of Engagement at Student Minds
Explore the new Charter website and find out more about how the Charter Programme and Award can support your university.
Are you interested in leading your university's application to the programme and want to find out more? Join Student Minds for a live Q&A event on Thursday 13 May at 12-1pm in partnership with JISC where they will be answering your questions about the programme.
The virtual Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference on 18 May, organised in collaboration with MWBHE, focuses on the theme 'Radical and Creative Partnership Working'. View our full programme to find out more.