TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of Mitigating Circumstances Procedures: Student Satisfaction, Wellbeing and Structural Compassion on the Campus
AU - Armstrong, Neil
AU - Byrom, Nicola
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by Medical Research Council grant number MR/w002442/1.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/12/12
Y1 - 2023/12/12
N2 - For several decades, universities have sought to promote better mental health amongst students. For example, universities now have formal institutional arrangements to postpone deadlines for students where there are mitigating circumstances, such as ill health. Such provisions might be understood as praiseworthy cases of institutional compassion. But, empirical research is needed to investigate how these measures play out in practice. This paper draws on ethnographic research in several UK universities to explore the experiences of staff responsible for the enactment of mitigating circumstance provisions. We find staff members sympathetic to the aims of the measures but also sceptical, and in some cases angry, because they find that the provisions have unwanted and undesirable effects. This paper uses the wider social science literature on bureaucracy to consider why this might be the case and raises questions about the capacity of institutions to enact ethical ideals.
AB - For several decades, universities have sought to promote better mental health amongst students. For example, universities now have formal institutional arrangements to postpone deadlines for students where there are mitigating circumstances, such as ill health. Such provisions might be understood as praiseworthy cases of institutional compassion. But, empirical research is needed to investigate how these measures play out in practice. This paper draws on ethnographic research in several UK universities to explore the experiences of staff responsible for the enactment of mitigating circumstance provisions. We find staff members sympathetic to the aims of the measures but also sceptical, and in some cases angry, because they find that the provisions have unwanted and undesirable effects. This paper uses the wider social science literature on bureaucracy to consider why this might be the case and raises questions about the capacity of institutions to enact ethical ideals.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85180207961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/educsci13121230
DO - 10.3390/educsci13121230
M3 - Article
SN - 2227-7102
VL - 13
JO - Education Sciences
JF - Education Sciences
IS - 12
M1 - 1230
ER -