Mental Health & Wellbeing of Online PGT Students: Pinch Points & Good Practice
This guidance document — developed by the Collaborative Research for Online Postgraduate Studies Network (CROPSNet) — identifies key pinch points across the online PGT student journey and sets out evidence‑informed good practice, with a companion self-assessment tool is intended to support translation into action at programme level.
The following guidance document and self-assessment tool identifies key pinch points (pre‑application, programme start, term‑time and assessments, dissertation, and periods of difficulty) where uncertainty, workload intensity, and limited support visibility can have the greatest impact. This resource also include a Programme Self-Assessment tool, which was developed in parallel to the guidance document and aims to both promote its uptake and facilitate its implementation.
About the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Online PGT Students: Pinch Points & Good Practice Guidance Document
This guidance is intended to support programme teams developing and delivering online PGT programmes in embedding mental health and wellbeing within programme design and delivery. It focuses on approaches that can be implemented through programme structure, teaching practices, and communication, rather than clinical or specialist interventions. While many institutions offer dedicated wellbeing and mental health services, the emphasis here is on what can be done within the programme itself to create conditions that better support student wellbeing.
Using this Guidance
The guidance is designed to be applied flexibly across different programmes and institutional contexts. Not all recommendations will be feasible in every setting, and programme teams are encouraged to adapt them in line with local structures, resources, and student needs. In this sense, the document should be understood as a framework to support reflection and enhancement, rather than a prescriptive set of requirements.
To support implementation, a self-assessment tool has been produced in parallel to this guidance. This can be used to review current practice or to structure discussions within programme teams.
Purpose of the Programme Self-Assessment Tool
The self‑assessment tool is designed to help programme teams reflect on how effectively mental health and wellbeing are embedded within the design, delivery, and support structures of online postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes.
It is intended to be used as a developmental and reflective instrument, not an audit or compliance checklist. Programme teams are encouraged to adapt the tool to their local context, prioritise high‑impact actions, and revisit it periodically as part of ongoing enhancement.
Colleagues who wish to share feedback or discuss the guidance can contact the CROPSNet team at team@cropsnet.org.
This is a resource produced by Collaborative Research for Online Postgraduate Studies Network (CROPSNet). UKCGE has not been involved in the production of the content and the materials themselves have been uploaded with the permission of CROPSNet. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders; if we have made omissions or you feel certain materials should not be included here, please get in touch via ukcge@ukcge.ac.uk.