Main support
The main responsibility for dealing with welfare issues is sometimes the university’s, sometimes the students’ union’s and sometimes, in a rare outbreak of collaboration, both.
As a far too general rule, however, universities tend to look after the sticky situations that require fully professional help — counsellors with major-league qualifications, even therapists and psychiatrists. The exception is legal problems, which are usually more the domain of the SUs (or, more accurately, of a solicitor occasionally paid by the SU to conduct free surgeries for students).
Meanwhile, the SUs look after the problems that require straightforward information, someone to represent students’ personal interests (to, say, an LEA that’s late in coughing up a cheque) or just someone sensitive and helpful who can listen. SUs also handle anything that involves complaints against the university (such as sexual harassment, disputes over grades, supposed prejudice by tutors or authorities etc.).
SUs are also often responsible for trying to help avoid problems in the first place. They run welfare campaigns and often run the accommodation service for students wanting to live out.
As I said, these generalisations are outrageous and the standards vary more wildly than Carol Vorderman’s fashion sense. While the national average is one counsellor for every 3,753 students, at Queen’s University Belfast, Sussex and Wolverhampton, the level of counsellor provision is more than three times as high. Meanwhile, at Huddersfield, Northumbria and Glasgow Caledonian, there are more than 5,000 students to every counsellor.
No two universities divide the responsibilities in the same way.
Many also have other support mechanisms in place, either as well or instead of those outlined above. Some are listed below, although no university has them all.
Last updated on: 21 April 2008