The University of Oxford revealed that the number of undergraduates declaring a disability has now risen to 18% of the total student body. The largest single group reported mental health conditions, with 26.9% of this group suffering from anxiety.
These findings were part of the University’s annual statistics for the Oxford Counselling, Disability Advisory and Sexual Violence and Harassment Services, in the 2018-19 academic year.
The report found that there has been a significant increase in student demand for counselling, with 12.1% of the student body requiring the service. Waiting times have increased slightly to 8.9 working days which is still far below the sector-wide average wait of 52 days. However, the report also highlighted concerns surrounding resourcing levels and underserving students with the average number of sessions per student at an all- time low of 3.1.
The Disability Advisory Service has responded to the increase in mental health difficulties by creating a specialist mental health advisor team in 2019 and recruiting more advisors to lower the student to advisor ratio.
Launched in 2018-19, the Sexual Violence and Harassment service was accessed by 150 female and 21 male users. The largest individual group of students seeking support was 2nd year undergraduates reporting an incident of rape or sexual assault that happened in or around fresher’s week the previous year. The service also supported 9 students who were accused of sexual assault.
Student feedback on the services has generally been positive. 95% of students rated the Counselling Service as either good or very good, whilst 90% of students reported that their support arrangements from the Disability Advisory Service had been helpful. However, student feedback on the Sexual Violence and Harassment Service is far more limited, with only 10 responses received from the 52 students contacted in a 2018 survey.
