Academic Forum – Conflict on Campus and Student Wellbeing

With many parents dropping their children to university for the first time this Autumn, the wellbeing of these young adults will be a focus for many at the moment. The CMC Academic Forum met on the 26^th September to examine how when conflict is added to the student experience it can have a detrimental impact on mental health and how early resolution of disputes can support a more positive student experience and wellbeing.

Different types of disputes on campus were explored. Relationship issues between fellow students, including unequal contribution within academic presentation groups and unequal domestic contribution to student households were discussed, as was political conflict between groups of students. Disputes with landlords over tenancy agreements and living conditions also featured in the discussion as did the types of conflict that can arise for students with lecturers or with the curriculum or with marking, resulting in complaints for universities to manage.

Professor Bob Thomson from the University of Warwick, reflected on particular pressures that can impact students particularly those that are not based in their home country. Bob also spoke about the importance of fostering the parties shared commitment to seeking a resolution. Having spent many years supporting conflict resolution on campus Bob also reflected on how mediators need to be alert to the difference between genuine and ‘apparent’ agreements, illustrating these with anonymised case studies.

Owen Bubbers-Jones from CMP Solutions, spoke next. Owen highlighted how mediation can help individuals to flourish, connect, collaborate and harness difference, a feature that may be of particular importance to a diverse student population. Owen also looked specifically at the benefits to universities of incorporating mediation within their complaints and wider structures. With tuition and accommodation fees now firmly part of the student experience, universities experience students with a consumer mindset and course withdrawals and strikes can play havoc with reasonable expectations. Student feedback surveys could be another casualty if conflict was not resolved quickly and effectively. Owen also highlighted different ways of designing a service and encouraged institutions to look at their own needs when considering what would work best for them. It might be a staff mediation service or a peer mediation service where students were trained to support one another. Maybe outsourcing mediation to an external supplier is the right answer or even sharing a mediation service between institutions is the right approach? Owen concluded by reflecting on the duty of care owed to students and the importance of flexibility when designing accessibility to services.

Emma McAndry, former solicitor, academic and now award-winning mediation trainer at Essential Mediation Solutions reflected on the impact of conflict upon mental health and how it can add to other significant pressures that students experience. Emma referred to how 2023 saw the highest level of complaints in the HE sector ever, with an overrepresentation of complaints coming from post grad students. Emma also reflected on how mediation is being increasingly being built in to university complaint systems.

Having set up mediation clinics Emma noted how students had described their mediation experience as ‘constructive’, ‘empowering’ and ‘therapeutic’.  In Emma’s experience most students were willing to engage and the fact it was free meant that many felt they had nothing to lose.

Emma’s experience included mediating the publicly reported dispute at The University of Warwick between the University and Protect Warwick Women, following death of Sarah Everard. The dispute which lasted for 10 weeks concluded following a 76 day sit in by 3 students which was in turn both disruptive to the university and distressing to the students involved. The conflict was resolved by mediation and resulted in a joint public statement.

All speakers stayed for an in-depth Q&A, which included looking at how universities using a peer mediation model could promote diversity within its student mediator cohort. Geoffrey Milton spoke about the importance of the mediator recognising their boundaries around mental health support and the value that a mediator can bring by signposting students to professional and other suitable support. In response Emma referenced the fantastic training offered by Mental Health First Aid England in this area. A further question was asked by Michael Bartlet from SOAS about incorporating mediation within university complaints processes, with feedback given that it is often incorporated as a first and non-mandated step to resolving conflict.

CMC will be launching mental health signposting resources and other information for mediators and individuals impacted by conflict, on World Mental Health day next month.

The next CMC Academic Forum will be on 30^th January 2025 at our usual time of 1pm and will be on the topic of the post graduate experience of mediation. If you would like to attend or contribute to the next meeting, please contact Victoria at projects@civilmediation.org.