Exploring Management Interventions in a Higher Education Institution for the Improvement of Student Well-being

Introduction

The quote above was written by Anita in her counselling log. The Student Affairs Department informed Anita that a female student had committed suicide and asked her to inform the student’s parents The student, Fatima Ahmad’s body was found at 5.30 PM, sprawled at the foot of the new four-storey building. She had died of serious head injuries and broken legs. Many students attending classes on Saturday had left after attending the last class. However, an eyewitness saw her fall from the top floor of the building. Police had ruled out foul play. With a heavy heart, Anita picked up the phone to inform Fatima’s parents. Her mind was thinking about the other troubled students? What intervention should she do? What intervention can her department do?

The University College

After reviewing the institution’s latest report on the findings of Fatima’s investigation, Anita, the University College Student Affairs Officer had a growing sense of discomfort about the status of well-being of students in the campus. On one hand, The University College is known as one of the thriving colleges in the state, with an enrolment success of 15,000 students; on the other hand, Anita was concerned about the growing number of students receiving less attention, care and counselling. The undivided focus on student academic achievement may contribute to a student’s imbalance in life. She feared that this suicide news would have an adverse impact on the University College ranking and competitiveness of being one of the top universities in the country, an ongoing effort was not yet achieved. Anita recognized that the institution’s distinctive specialization area was a major attraction for students to select this institution. She also knew that future graduates need to be mentally healthy to perform their duty and responsibility.

The University College originated from a college and was upgraded as University College more than 10 years ago. Throughout its history, the University College had been recognized as an institution that advanced new ideas in the specialized fields. It has 10 faculties.

The University College also offered programmes to foreign students interested in specialization. In 2012, undergraduate enrolment was about 14,500 students. There were more women than men attending the programmes in this university. About 850 faculty and 1,100 administrative, technical and support staff were employed by the University. As the campus continues to expand in numbers of students and staff, the numbers of infrastructure also continue to expand. The latest addition of buildings was the four-storey building that was officiated on 10 January 2012. Being newly completed, it has 20 lecture rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor. On the 4th floor, the building has a large conference room. On the 1st floor, it houses the Information and Communication Technology department. On Saturday, classes were held from 8 AM to 11 AM; 11 AM to 2 PM; and 2 PM to 5 PM.

The duration of the courses varies from one and a half years (three semesters) for post graduate diploma to four years (eight semesters) for a degree programme. The University’s academic programme encouraged regular interaction between teachers and students. It endorses a low 16 to one student/faculty ratio. The University College Vice Chancellor described the institution’s unique approach to learning as:

Our mission is to provide the best education in the country. We emphasize a liberal and multi-disciplinary education. Students are equipped with a broad knowledge encompassing global issues, including science, ethics, culture, language, and humanities and in-depth studies in specialised fields. This approach will enable students to be open-minded and look at national issues.

During the freshman year, students are assigned to an academic advisor who works with the student to understand what the student needs to know and the most suitable way to complete his or her studies. The faculty practises personalized and ‘Open door’ educational approaches where students can obtain appropriate feedback and guidance on planning their academic learning.

The University College’s intensive education required long days. Lecture hours begin at 8.00 AM and end at 7.00 PM. Lectures for a three credit course are divided into 2 + 1 (2 hours and one hour) in a week. Academic requirements for students included attending at least 15 credit hours of courses a semester. However, many students choose to attend a maximum of 21 credit hours to have more free time in the final semester to complete their project thesis work. This structure placed great importance on student interaction where for every course, students are required to do presentations, and be involved in group discussions to develop their communication, teamwork, critical thinking, leadership and other skills.

observed Professor Ali, head of the Student Affairs Department.

Student Affairs Department

Over the years, the university administrators faced multiple changes mandated by the government. Student Affairs Department is set up in every university to oversee the problems and welfare of students. This department offers services such as psychological assessments, individual and group counselling, self-development workshops, career planning, sports and co-curricular activities, training and leadership and e-counselling services. There were also character-building activities for students and to encourage student involvement in healthy activities such as entrepreneurial efforts within and outside the campus. With the amended universities and University College Act, students were also awarded more freedom to speech, being critical, channelled through prudent and civilized manner and students 18 years and above are able to join political parties.

Anita was the head of the student counselling unit. Besides counselling students who walk in voluntarily or referred by faculty, she also organizes group counselling for various high-risk groups. In a meeting with the Professor Zainal, deputy vice chancellor, Student Affairs, Anita remarked, ‘We have already organized workshops for groups such as recently divorced students, self-esteem, coping skills, drug or other substance related, nutrition, sexual health programmes aimed to improve aspects of mental health and well-being of the students. The programmes are aimed at students who are already manifesting signs of mental health and some are aimed at increased risk of mental health’. However, Professor Zainal argued that the efforts need to be increased.

He felt interventions should not be confined to just Student Affairs Department’s role. Intervention should start in class and aim to deliver a specific curriculum to the students and school should change the ethos and culture.

Anita recalled reading about the rising rate of depression. A prediction by World Health Organization stipulated by the year 2020, depression will have risen to become the second greatest cause of human suffering and disability (Yapko, 2009). ‘What are the guiding principles of health promotion (Rothwell et al., 2010) What are the key challenges in the short-term and long-term nature of health promotion?’ asked Anita.

Report on Fatima’s Case

Fatima came from a family of five siblings. Her parents are farmers who had high expectations from her as she is the eldest in the family. She was a shy, quiet and introverted person who loved to read books. A shy and an introvert person often turns inward and withdraws from socializing as it causes anxiety (Cain, 2012). She did not ‘mix’ well and interact with her classmates. Coming from the rural area, Fatima’s poor command on English language became a hindrance to her performing well in the examination of a few papers. At the end of the semester, although she had worked hard, her accumulative point was not higher than 2.5. She was one of the top students consistently but now things had changed with her being one of the students at the bottom of class ranking. Her self-esteem plummeted more after the first semester.

By June 2012, Fatima would have completed her studies in the final semester of her four year degree course. At 23 years she was studying for a degree majoring in early childhood. She was in the faculty of education. ‘Fatima didn’t want to become a teacher. Her parents had high expectations from and wanted her to become a teacher in her hometown. She was interested in Art. But her father convinced her as a woman who will marry later in life will be able to take care of her children better if she were a teacher’, described her close friend, Mina. There are cases where students choose a discipline not because they were interested, but it was their parents’ choice. Most parents often force their children to opt for professional education without considering the reality and capabilities of their children (Doble & Supriya, 2011).

She started missing classes after the 2nd week of lecture and could barely scrape through her result. Her less competitive result rendered her inability to obtain a scholarship.

‘Fatima gave me a letter requesting to be excused as she wanted to go back to her hometown to see a traditional healer’, recalled her course lecturer and academic advisor, Dr Siah who teaches puppet making. ‘I suggested to her she should see a counsellor to talk about her problem. There are four counsellors in the University but she didn’t want to go. She said other students will label her as ‘Crazy’. It is a stigma to be called Crazy.’

He further described in class, it was scary to look at her. She would sit upright, uptight, her body rigid and her eyes staring into space. Other students would be laughing and enjoying with the puppets they had created but she had no response. Other times she would start crying suddenly. It is not surprising that many choose not to be assessed or ascertained about their mental health status due to stigma (Hoque, Rossen & Tse, 2011).

She told the counsellor that she often heard voices. Her friends said she looked sad, was often heard talking to herself, at times crying and suddenly laughing loudly. Sometimes she chose to sit in a dark room and contorted her body without moving and without switching on the lights. She had stayed in a house with 11 other girls in a housing area, 4 kilometres from the campus.

recalled Siti who was Fatima’s room-mate.

‘She doesn’t open up to housemates. She often has anxiety. She worried she would not get a job and would then join the crowd of jobless graduates. She heard she would not be given posting to a school and there are many unemployed graduates and the number is rising. She would rather share her problems with her friend, Kak Hani on Facebook’, mentioned Siti. Social networking sites have in recent years become an increasingly popular avenue for young people to express and to share their thoughts, views and emotions (Goh & Huang, 2009).

She once went to see the campus doctor and told her about the incessant voices she keeps hearing but she was given ‘ear medicine’ to reduce the ‘voices’. She wrote to Kak Hani on Facebook that she was frustrated and disappointed and decided she would see the traditional healer over the weekend. She also asked Kak Hani for forgiveness and sent her some photographs she had taken with both of them together. When Anita was told that Fatima had missed her appointment and had gone back to her home town for traditional treatment, she thought when Fatima came back; she ought to engage an ustazah, a religious teacher to pray with her. Many using mental health services increasingly state they wish to have the spiritual dimension of their lives attended to by professionals (Gilbert & Parkes, 2011).

Conclusion

Higher education institutions worldwide are under tremendous pressure to compete for students and to capture a share of the education market. With multiple study options available to students locally and internationally including virtual education, higher education institutions incessantly try to improve, renew, rebrand and provide unique learning and well-being experiences to students. However, campus services often cannot cope with increasing demand for counselling or other forms of well-being treatment with the large number of students in their campuses. Given the importance of student well-being, this case presented a situation where a student was depressed and committed suicide due to her inability to cope with student life. From a management’s perspective, student self-injury behaviours are serious problems and need to be prevented as they can affect an organization’s performance and reputation. The issue of mental health and well-being is difficult to be handled, as there are many possible factors that contribute to it. However, if the management and staff have the knowledge and skill to observe and recognize the symptoms and behaviours of students at risk, strategies can be formulated to prevent the occurrence of injury to oneself and to others. The challenge lies in having a better understanding and attitude towards students and other people with mental or behaviour problems. More importantly, education providers should also consider fostering a supportive campus environment by strengthening students’ resilience and coping ability through early intervention, preventive measures and other help-system.

Questions for Discussion