“What we got was so much more!” Student-Led Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy - Insights from the ‘Barometer Project’ at Bangor University

Sep 12, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

The Barometer Project, delivered in partnership with Bangor University and Undeb Bangor, evaluated a previously developed Student-led Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy and examined how students wanted it to evolve. The project used a Students as Consultants model to commission undergraduate and postgraduate Student Consultants to gather and analyze student experiences, perceptions, and needs. External consultants provided support, training, and dialogue-based methods that aligned with partnership values, using an Institutional Dialogue framework to inform iterative development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time4 min

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Background and Rationale

Developing a Students as Consultants Approach

“What we got was so much more!” Student-Led Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Insights from the ‘Barometer Project’ at Bangor University, utilising a ‘Students as Consultants’ model William Carey, Different Ways of Thinking Ltd, [careywa@gmail.com](careywa@gmail.com) Zoi Vatrani, Bangor University, [zoi.vatnet02@gmail.com](zoi.vatnet02@gmail.com)[ ](zoi.vatnet02@gmail.com)Gian Fazey-Koven, Bnagor University, [gian.fazeykoven@gmail.com](gian.fazeykoven@gmail.com) Rob Samuel, Undeb Bangor, [rob.samuel@bangor.ac. uk](rob.samuel@bangor.ac. uk) Cerys Vernon, Bangor University, [cerysvernon@gmail.com](cerysvernon@gmail.com)[ ](cerysvernon@gmail.com)Marcia Ody, Different Ways of Thinking Ltd, [marcia@dwot.co. uk](marcia@dwot.co. uk) Background and Rationale This ‘Barometer Project’, conducted in collaboration with Bangor University and Undeb Bangor (Students’ Union), aimed to evaluate the student experience of a previously developed ‘Student-led Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHW) Strategy’ (2022) and explore how students consider the Strategy should develop. Recognising the importance of student voice, the project utilised a ‘Students as Consultants’ (SaC) framework to ensure that student experiences and insights directly informed the development and evolution of the Student-Led MHW Strategy (2023-25) . The Barometer Project was initiated to ensure the strategy remained relevant for the student body and was conducted by a team of Student Consultants (SC), comprising both undergraduate and postgraduate students, who were commissioned to gather and analyse data on student experiences and perceptions of mental health and wellbeing, and report their findings to staff colleagues at Bangor. In collaboration with colleagues from Bangor University and Undeb Bangor, the approach sought to adopt the values of partnership (Healey, Flint & Harrington, 2014) with external colleagues from an education and leadership consultancy (Different Ways of Thinking Ltd) providing support, training and advice for the group of SCsand project team. The approach emphasised the value of collaboration between students and staff (Healey, Flint, & Harrington, 2014; Cook-Sather, Bovill, & Felten, 2014) and drew on the external consultants’ own practices of ‘Institutional Dialogue’(Ody & Carey, 2016), which had been received positively in the first iteration of the Strategy’s development in 2022. The model of Institutional Dialogue (ID) emerged from work at The University of Manchester in the late 2000s as its student engagement practices and approaches were developing. There was an increasing demand across the institution for different ways to facilitate student-staff engagement opportunities, which could inform policy and practice. A series of approaches and methods brought together under an ID framework to enable breadth and depth of opportunities for ‘interactions and relationships with peers and staff to inform institutional direction at all levels’ (Ody & Carey, 2016 p. 36) . These approaches were subsequently mapped to partnership values of Healey, Flint & Harrington (2014) to explore how different methods of working with students and staff to inform institutional activity contribute to a continuum of student engagement comprising ‘Feedback’,‘Consultation’, and ‘Partnership’. The model did not propose one method or approach as better, merely that different Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal 119 Volume 7, issue 1, September 2025 approaches would suit different situations. Figure 1 depicts the Institutional Dialogue model and provides examples of the methods used across the different approaches. Figure 1: Model of Institutional Dialogue with associated methods and aligned practice as described in Ody & Carey (2016). “The impetus for the Barometer exercise came directly from the University’s Student Led MHW Strategy. On the heels of the pandemic in early 2022 we looked for ways to more effectively review and reframe our

FAQs

What was the purpose of the Barometer Project at Bangor University?

It assessed student experiences of the earlier Student-led Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy and explored how students believed the strategy should develop.

How did the project gather student input for the strategy’s evolution?

It commissioned a team of Student Consultants to collect and analyze data on student experiences and perceptions, then report findings to staff colleagues at Bangor.

What framework guided the Students as Consultants approach?

The project used a Students as Consultants (SaC) model grounded in partnership values, supported by an Institutional Dialogue approach emphasizing feedback, consultation, and partnership along a continuum of engagement.

Sep 12, 2026

Uploaded by Noah