The Silent Epidemic: Student Grief in Higher Education

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With up to forty per cent of tertiary students grieving at any given time, it is little wonder that student grief has been described as a silent epidemic. Yet despite these alarming numbers, grieving students have been generally overlooked by universities. In recent years, the emergence of COVID and its respective death toll has magnified the issue, leading scholars to call on universities to better respond to student grief. Our advocacy has, however, been largely ignored to date.

In Australia, students continue to experience limited levels of university support during a time of loss. While university staff have access to dedicated bereavement leave, students do not. Similarly, while students can access counselling, those providing the service may not be grief and loss specialists. Peer based support programs for grieving students are also non-existent. It is not particularly surprising that students regularly struggle to continue their studies. Grieving students are at a higher risk of attrition, while declining grade averages are often observed.

These concerns are not limited to the Australian context but can be observed globally. There is only a handful of universities across the globe, mostly located in North America, who have sought to develop a best practice response for grieving students. This was primarily done by introducing bereavement leave and developing evidence-based systems of peer, and professional, support. It is the successes of these trailblazing universities which have set in motion a path for us to follow. One which, I would argue, centres upon three main themes: time; understanding; and connection. 

Time

Grieving students need time, and they need time on their own terms. Bereavement leave should be made readily available for grieving students. They deserve time to attend funerals and other death rites; to be with family and friends; and to undertake self-care. Bereavement leave should be built into university policies and procedures; promoted widely across the academy; and involve clear and supportive systems of navigation. While not all students will choose to use bereavement leave, it is nevertheless important that it is made available for them to use if, and when, they see fit.

Understanding

Students currently face unpredictable responses when reaching out to academic and professional staff for support with their grief. They may be treated with kindness, empathy and understanding or may be viewed through a lens of distrust. It is thus vital that we encourage staff towards the former. We need to inform university staff of the likelihood of student bereavement; increase staff understanding of specific needs of this cohort; and guide them in effective methods of response. This requires the introduction of evidence-based staff training on how to respond supportively to grieving students and by establishing evidence-based support systems for staff to refer to.

Connection

Grieving students are known to benefit from connecting with others who have had similar experiences. Peer-based support has been particularly valuable for students’ facing loss. For example, groups such as the Actively Moving Forward Chapters in the United States have had great success. By being able to come together and share experiences, identify commonalities, and offer each other support and friendship, peer-based groups allow grieving students to form connections and to advocate together. When these groups operate within a university setting, grieving students connect not only over shared grief but also the challenges of being at university during times of loss.

To date, there has been an invisibilisation of grieving students by universities in Australia and beyond. This is likely to due to tightly held, yet false, assumptions that young people are less likely to experience the loss of someone close. It may also be the result of our death avoidant society in which the topic of death, dying and bereavement is frequently avoided. Whatever the reason for the silence surrounding this topic, one thing is for sure - university student grief can no longer be ignored. The reality is that grieving students currently walk among us and if they are not provided with the necessary support from our universities, the outcome will be that rather than walking among us, they will instead walk away.

 

Banner image source: PowerPoint Stock image

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