Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Exploring Management
Interventions in a Higher
Education Institution for
the Improvement of Student
Well-being1
Introduction
In the university, studying hard is a way of life. Fatima, please take care of yourself. If you have any problems,
please talk to someone. Share with your friends. Find many friends. Dont just keep quiet.
Those were the words I told Fatima the day before it happened. Im shocked. Why did this happen? Why did
she take the easy way out by killing herself? Why?
Anita, 11 April 2012.
The quote above was written by Anita in her counselling log. The Student Affairs Department in
formed Anita that a female student had committed suicide and asked her to inform the students parents
The student, Fatima Ahmads body was found at 5.30 PM, sprawled at the foot of the new four-storey
This case has been written solely for class discussion, for educational and development purposes and is not
intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation or to represent successful
or unsuccessful managerial decision making or endorse the management views. The authors may have disguised
or camouflaged some of the names, events, financial and other recognizable information to protect the identity of
individuals and confidentiality. The case
is developed from field survey and personal experiences.
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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
Fatimas parents. Her mind was thinking about the other troubled students? What intervention should she
do? What intervention can her department do?
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.
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 3, 1 (2014): 101107
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He felt interventions should not be confined to just Student Affairs Departments 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.
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 wellbeing, this case presented a situation where a student was depressed and committed suicide due to her
inability to cope with student life. From a managements perspective, student self-injury behaviours are
serious problems and need to be prevented as they can affect an organizations performance and reputa
tion. 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 under
standing 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.
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Note
1. The authors have written this case as revised and updated version of their case titled Management Intervention
on Injury Behaviour of Students presented at the International Conference on Management Cases, ICMC 2013
held on 56 December 2013 at the BIMTECH Campus, Greater Noida, India.
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