Student perspectives on ‘critical compassion’ in higher education: the Nurture-U compassionate campus project

Compassion, the desire to take action to help those in need, is a buzzword in higher education. While its champions argue that compassion is a necessity to support student wellbeing and equity of opportunity, there are concerns that not having a critical approach to compassionate policies will increase the burden on staff. To this end, we asked students from two UK universities whether and how they experience compassion on campus, with the aim of creating practical recommendations for policy and practice. Reflexive thematic analysis of focus groups with 44 students was undertaken by student and academic researchers. Three themes were generated: Compassion is evident when universities proactively acknowledge and act upon issues surrounding individual experience, with particular reference to diversity; for compassion to be the dominant culture in universities, institutions need to prioritise resources towards the student experience; and compassion exists in personal connection, which requires university systems that cultivate community. Our findings add to the conversation of critical compassion on university campuses by highlighting how the concepts of compassion, diversity and inclusion are intertwined in student experiences at university. The move from performative to proactive compassion that truly encourages students from all backgrounds to thrive is where compassion can be fostered.