Thanks for Asking! How UAE-Based University Students Conceptualize Happiness and How Institutions Can Improve It

Abstract

How happiness is defined depends on who is asked. In the case of universities, student happiness should prevail, yet their voices are often overlooked. This is also the case in the research literature where non-Western views are less frequently reflected. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country whose population is comprised of nearly 90% expatriate residents, is a good study case as campuses are filled with international students and the wellbeing of residents is a national priority. Responses from 80 UAE-based expatriate students reveal they are happiest with friends and in social activities and interactions; they want more opportunities to connect socially in classrooms and campuses, efforts which can be crafted by faculty. They also want joyful, inspiring learning where they can discuss and be exposed to other views, with many driven by the need to feel productive, efficacious and engaged. Solutions included the need for faculty to develop warmer student relationships, the maintenance of online learning to reflect realities of work and relationships, and for students to be treated with more respect as fee-paying adults. As the number of international students rise, research into their happiness and what universities can do to increase it remains a global priority.

1. Introduction

University is a time of transition; greater independence and less oversight mark the social, learning, and emotional worlds of young adults. With freedom to make life choices, have fun, and choose one’s friends, there is also more isolation and stress, financial worry, and learning struggles [1, 2, 3]. Early adulthood’s slope is slippery; many young people thrive, but some flounder, and others even suffer. Indeed, mental health is taxed upon university entrance with depression, anxiety, and stress peaking around the age of 25 [4, 5, 6]. In the Middle East/North Africa region, depression and anxiety in young people are higher than global averages [7, 8] and the prevalence of mental health issues is growing with implications for learning, quality of life, relationships and future work outcomes.

Yet, greater than the mere absence of illbeing, the presence of wellbeing is also conducive to a good life. Young people who experience greater life satisfaction and more frequent experiences of positive emotion are more likely to attain a post-secondary degree, search for work, be hired and promoted, as well as get a higher salary [9, 10, 11]. Studies conducted in schools and universities show that greater wellbeing boosts learning by as much as 6 months of additional learning and reduces the chances of poor performance [12, 13, 14, 15]. Greater wellbeing also spells fewer mental health issues such as depression, loneliness, and anxiety into adulthood [16, 17]. More than simply “nice to have”, wellbeing is protective as well as promotive of good living, social relating and learning.

Still, wellbeing is often positioned as the responsibility of counseling departments alone and often takes the form of consumable skills and awareness raising initiatives [1, 3, 18]. By construing the psychosocial needs of students as individual mental health issues, institutions avoid the responsibility of building positive ecosystems. Yet, with local stigma around help-seeking and poorly resourced mental health services [19, 20], alongside post-COVID learning losses and weak performance on university exams more generally [21, 22], and ongoing future economic and employment uncertainty, learning institutions must and can do more [2, 3, 23, 24, 25]. Further, as many countries are now focused on wellbeing as a national priority, as is the case in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where this study is situated, educational institutions have additional incentive to meet this national aim, although universities have been slow to adopt the view that wellbeing matters. Knowing what students perceive as helpful is necessary. Comprised of nearly 90% expatriates, the UAE is a hub for university students. Soliciting their views can help pave the way towards developing more responsive institutions.

1.1 “Positive universities”: more than learning and profit

Positive universities [26] have recently been identified in the field of positive psychology as institutional ecosystems that are expressly designed to nurture and facilitate student wellbeing. Positive universities explicitly prioritize wellbeing as much as academic performance. To drive wellbeing agendas, they have at their disposal a range of drivers including potential curriculum adjustments, special for-credit wellbeing courses, campus initiatives, architectural design specifications, wellbeing policies aimed at student, administrative, learning and management processes, as well as aims to strengthen interpersonal relationships. Topics such as fairness, inclusion and integrity, as much as joy, curiosity, depression and loneliness are routinely discussed. This focus is primarily aimed at students, but the wellbeing of faculty, employees, as well as leadership and management is also maximized. Wellbeing is construed as a business imperative given its links to organizational productivity, turnover, profit, and customer loyalty [27, 28, 29]. It is equally a learning instrument and student retention tool given that it is tied to employability, university drop-out rates, academic learning and future work satisfaction [30, 31]. Positive institutions are preventive as much as proactive in nature, predicting what students, faculty, management, employers, and community stakeholders need to emotionally thrive. Parents, alumni, and institutional partners are also actively involved. Positive universities deliver students ready for work and more importantly, prepared to contribute to society and maximize their own potential.

Yet, the reality is that being a university student is often marked by loneliness, lack of meaning, and low or negative moods [1, 2, 3]. For students in international forms of education, there is often a disconnect between student’s prior education systems and that which is being offered, such that independent critical thinking, student-led motivation, academic writing, defending one’s ideas, and group-based learning conflicts with memorization and rote learning [32, 33, 34]. English language proficiency not only affects learning, but socialization and the ability and willingness to ask for assistance [32, 34, 35]. That nearly all faculty are also expatriates and have their own culturally embedded notions of learning and relating is another adjustment students make [34].

Further, the wellbeing of young people has often been overlooked as institutions do not consider it their concern [36]. In the UAE, young people are often “Third Culture Kids”; that is, not a product of their parent’s home country (i.e., in some cases parents come from two separate countries, in which the young person has spent no time), and not belonging to the UAE national culture either, making needs for attachment and belonging salient. Further, after completing secondary school, they transition to higher education while continuing to live under their parent’s roof and are often more motivated to spend time on campus in a bid for independence [37]. Their continued parental living arrangements and expatriate status has paradoxically meant institutions construe wellbeing as a private family and not an institutional concern.

Moreover, in the Arabian Gulf emerging economies, the focus of private institutions as new operating campuses is to prosper in competitive institutional markets, climb international rankings and generate profit for local investors or home campuses [34, 38, 39, 40]. Efforts to stem costs have meant that community service, professional development, wellbeing and mental health commitments are not priorities. With the number of international students rising and the internationalization of higher education growing globally, including in the Gulf [34, 38, 39], institutions have an interest in developing themselves to meet the demand alongside the psychosocial and academic needs of those who attend them.

1.2 The case for asking what matters

Despite growing interest in wellbeing, there is little consensus around what it means [41, 42, 43], especially at university [3]. It is often used interchangeably with the umbrella term of “happiness,” referring more generally to an affective state of feeling good, while “wellbeing” refers to, and also includes functioning well over time. Further, while research to guide initiatives grows, what is relied upon more often stems from the West (e.g., [1]) and is based on “WEIRD” samples, i.e., Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic [44] that is not always helpful elsewhere. Further, the most recent iteration of positive psychology 3.0 construes wellbeing from a systems perspective, whereby contexts are the unit of intervention and understanding, versus individuals alone [41, 45]. This removes the onus on individuals to singularly engage with their wellbeing, instead sharing that responsibility with the systems in which they operate.

There is also a growing importance of the need to include participant voices, often via a qualitative lens to produce insights that are not available through standardized means, but also to understand how wellbeing is lived [46, 47]. The lay conceptions that individuals hold, that is, their personal beliefs about the nature of their own happiness, its values, antecedents, as well as outcomes, highlight what matters to them and reflect their values and experiences [48, 49, 50]. Listening to the views of young people as consumers of education and wellbeing can help institutions guide actions, policies, and initiatives accordingly [2, 51].

Indeed, research involving young people often reveals a disconnect between the approaches they deem important versus those put forward by institutions [52]. For example, in school, young people identified the need for informal, immersive ways to foster social connectedness and support, over individual skills-based tools and strategies [18, 52]. Similar results have been found in a group of Chinese university students studying in Australia who identified wellbeing offerings they felt would help them best, including cross-cultural interactions, non-discriminatory campus environments and greater support with employment and housing opportunities [48]. These were in great contrast with what was being offered on campus, such as stress-management services and individual counseling. Considering students as both consumers and co-producers of interventions [53] alongside other institutional and community changes can give them voice, a wellbeing intervention itself, and remove the burden from either group solving wellbeing challenges alone.

In sum, higher education has a role in strengthening student wellbeing [1, 2, 3, 23, 48]; yet individual-level interventions designed to “fix” students rather than identifying the institutional drivers that fuel problems are often preferred. Inquiry into the broader systemic factors to support the wellbeing of young people is growing as institutional transformations, like physical space, part-time study options, faculty training in wellbeing, and policies around mental health, diversity and inclusion for example, may have larger impacts than individual intervention [1, 3, 54]. Thus, what institutions can and should do is growing as a topic of scientific inquiry, as well as a business imperative. Accordingly, we explore these views.

2. The present study

A qualitative design was utilized to gather responses, with the following written prompts given to participants. We used the term “happy” rather than “wellbeing” as we felt it was more readily understood by students as an immediate emotional response that could be traced back to an event, set of circumstances or replicable moments that presumably could lead to greater wellbeing if instituted over time. The questions included:

1. Describe moments when you are happy at university. What is involved, what are you doing, where are you, how do you feel? Is anyone else with you or involved somehow?

2. Describe moments when you are unhappy at university. What are you doing, where are you, how do you feel? Is anyone else with you or involved somehow?

3. What are two real, practical small things your university could do to make you happier?

2.1 Participants

The survey link was given to students in various universities (i.e., Canadian University Dubai, University of Sharjah, Murdoch University, Ajman University and New York University Abu Dhabi) in the UAE, with the overall sample reaching 80 students, of which 59 were female. The ages ranged from 18 to 25 years, with one student being 44. The sample included 31 students from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), one from South Asia (Japan), 26 from the Middle East (Bahrain, UAE, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan), 14 from Africa (Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, Tunisia, Sudan), three from Europe (France, Swiss), three from America (Canada, Brazil) and two did not share their nationality.

2.2 Procedure

Data was collected in spring and summer of 2022, with ethics approval being granted by the host institution, Canadian University Dubai, with participants giving informed consent to take part. Responses were anonymous and respondents could withdraw at any given time. Only demographic data such as gender age and nationality were collected. Functioning as a convenience and snowball survey, students referred the link to whomever they felt would be interested in taking part. The survey link was further shared across UAE student social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn) for participation.

2.3 Analysis

Given the need to understand the experiences of students, as well as their preferences and views of what makes for a good learning experience and what can be done to instill it, a qualitative design was utilized to gather responses, with thematic analysis [55, 56] used to draw patterns and commonalities. In developing a coding system, values, and beliefs rather than behavior were the initial focus. This was followed by a second round of coding that identified practices, often understood as outward manifestations of deeper value systems. The codes were placed into a master list and organized into higher-order themes. The third stage involved categorizing behaviors under the themes and seeing the sub-themes emerge. Given the number of responses received, only a sample is included to illustrate each theme.

2.4 Results

Happiness. In asking when students were happiest at university (Question 1), several themes arose including: Social interactions, Efficacy, Group projects/events, and Social/Physical environment. Each is illustrated with examples below.

Theme 1: Social interactions. Social interactions were the most frequently identified and broadly distributed contributor to happiness among participants (74 responses), with friendships being cited most regularly. Participants were happiest when “talking to my friends” (India, 19, Female), “meet my friends after a while we go grab lunch” (Jordan, 19, Female), “hanging out with friends between classes” (Sri Lanka, 19, Female), “when I am surrounded by my friend group” (Pakistan, 21, Female), “working on projects or assignments with my friends” (Pakistan, 19, Female), and “when I’m hanging out at friends in one of the nearby coffee shops” (India, 22, Male). The “ability to make new friends and colleagues” (India, 21, Male) was also noted. It was not only close friendships that mattered, but loose ties and being in the midst of others social interactions and activities, i.e., “when I get to interact with a lot of people” (Pakistan, 21, Female), “when I am around people who entertain and challenge me” (India, 20, Male), “meeting new people and learning from them” (South Africa, 20, Female), “being around new people” (India, 21, Male), “interacting with random nice people” (Female), “when I meet new people and have a fast, fun bond with them” (Jordan, 18, Female).

Theme 2: Efficacy. Another theme identified in this question was feeling productive, accomplished and as though time was well spent (34 responses), particularly across academic endeavors, i.e., “getting good grades during my courses” (Jordan, 18, Female), “when I do well on my exams and get the grades I want” (Bahrain, 20, Female). Yet, such feelings were deeper than extrinsic concerns, they also involved feeling as though “I am learning something valuable and my time is being spent well” (India, 21, Male), “happier moments for me are those which I gain knowledge” (Jordan, 19, Male), or when “I feel really motivated to work” (Jordan, 18, Female), “I have a passion for learning those courses” (Tanzania, 21, Female). A sense of working well was also noted: “I know I’m being productive” (Jordan, 19, Female), “getting positive feedback” (Iran, 22, Female), “have a productive study session and get done with work” (Pakistan, 20, Female), as well as feel the “satisfaction of completing a task” (Bahrain, 21, Male) and feeling “good about myself and accomplished” (Syria/America, 25, Male). Others felt good about their continued language acquisition and felt it contributed to a good day: “when I feel I am understanding the whole lecture, this might be weird but my english level [is] not that good, so when I am speaking, listening, and understanding, I feel so happy” (Iraq, 22, Female).

Theme 3: Participation in Group Projects or Events. While socializing was important, so was working towards something across group projects in or outside classes, as well as during events (31 responses). This feeling was expressed “when I am able to participate in extra curriculars and engage in club activities and events being hosted at or by the university” (India, 21, Male), “when its fest day and we have to volunteer to make things happen” (India, 20, Female), or during “creative activities kept by the university [which] keep me happy as well” (Pakistan, 21, Female). It also emerged while “working on projects or assignments” (Pakistan, 19, Female), with “team members who are all willing to do their part of work for a project” (South Africa, 21, Female). This feeling of engagement also grew from students “participat[ing] in class” (Pakistan, 23, Male; Syrian, 19, Female), particularly “in an interactive class” (Nigeria, 20, Female), as well as “when I make money and work on big projects” (Syrian/American, 25, Male), “engaging in some sort of activity or attending/hosting events” (Egyptian, 19, Female), or “involved in interesting debates, extra curricular activities, wellness Wednesdays” (Brazilian, 20, Female).

Theme 4: Social and Physical Environment. The final contributor involved the physical and social atmosphere (19 responses), which included physical spaces in which to feel good, i.e., “when I’m at the university library and when I can enjoy the peace and quiet and study/read by myself” (India, 20, Female), “sitting outside in the sun” (Bahrain, 21, Male), as well as classroom dynamics where positive interactions were mobilized. Examples include, “I love having more people in the group involved, it makes the setting welcoming and more fun” (Egyptian, 18, Female), “Fun discussions, disagreements, solutions, etc., majority of the class is involved in discussion, the professor is participating, the classroom isn’t too cold” (Lebanon, 22, Female), “the classroom is uplifting and professor engaging” (Malawi, 19, Female), “when I go to a certain class that I know everyone is interacting together and the professor is very much passionate about what he/she is talking about. It makes me feel like I’m actually being taught and helps me with my communication skills” (Lebanon/Palestinian, 19, Female), “It’s calm at class so the atmosphere is good” (UAE, 18, Female).

Unhappiness. In learning more about what made students unhappy (Question 2), participant responses revealed three themes: Classroom difficulties, Personal/social issues, and University-specific issues.

Theme 1: Classroom difficulties (academic pressure and faculty relationships). A recurring theme was academic pressure as well as tense or dull classroom settings (76 responses). Examples included, “being given an assignment I don’t think I’d be able to do” (19, Sudan, Female), “overwhelmed with work or did bad on an exam” (UAE, 19, Male), “studying for an exam and not receiving a good grade even though I worked really hard” (Jordan, 18 Female), “receiving negative feedback” (Brazil, 20, Female), or “when my grades are lower than expected and I feel crushed by the pressure to increase my GPA” (Bahrain, 19, Female). Being only assessed via grades was also disheartening, “allow us to somehow enjoy the process of learning with less fear of the way we will be graded” (Jordan, 21, Male). It also related to managing one’s time and tasks: “I’m in a terrible mood when there’s too many assignments and the due dates are at similar times” (India, 19, Female), “stress due to group assignments especially when the other members are uncooperative” (Sri Lanka, 22, Female), or “lack of communication between group members” (Iran, 22, Female).

Many responses reflected issues with professors as well as the classroom environments they cultivated: “a monotone lecture with very few people attending the class” (Lebanon, 22, Female), “I dislike certain professors because they really drain me and make me want to go home” (Malawian, 19, Female), “when the professor is just reading off of presentations and doesn’t form a connection with the students and teaches very bluntly” (Lebanon-Palestine, 19, Female), “when professors aren’t engaging with the class I might as well read off a textbook at home” (19, India, Female). The lack of active engagement was often noted, i.e., “when the university is very stagnant and we fall into the same routine every other day as well as bad professors who aren’t able to teach their course material effectively” (India, 19, Female), “when I don’t get to interact with my peers” (Bahrain, 19, Female), “feeling undervalued or unengaged by a class and its material or being forced to take a class that does not add any value to my major are all pretty ‘feels bad’ moments (India, 19, Male).

Other issues involved professor-student interactions and resulting learning issues, i.e., “when I don’t understand a topic” (Iran, 19, Female), “when questions aren’t answered and there is a lack of communication between the instructor and I” (Iran, 22, Female), “disrespectful professors” (N/A). Others felt “anxiety about presenting in class because I feel the professors judging me” (Egypt, 19 Female). The perception of being “treated like children rather than working adults” (India, 22, Male), or “not being treated the same as offline students” (Iran, 20, Female) was bothersome, especially in a continued hybrid learning model where some students attended class in person, while others attended the same class virtually and felt ignored on screen. This student further shared his thoughts: “Being anywhere on campus often makes me feel unhappy. Most of it comes from how students are often treated as children or teenagers instead of working adults. We have school staff constantly policing us and watching our every move. It’s ridiculous how some staff think they can get away with talking to students the way they do. As someone who’s never lived here before, it’s not normal. Everyone should be treated with at least some respect. If the university could ease up on silly policies and rules that don’t enhance a student’s learning experience, that would help” (India, 22, Male). Feeling isolated due to language was also difficult, i.e., “I noticed that start affecting me in class when I see students speak and communicate easily; sometimes I feel I am dumb; my emotions start rising when I try to develop my English” (Iraq, 22, Female).

Theme 2: Personal and Social Issues. Several students (38 responses) reported difficulties in feeling connected with others, i.e., “it’s just lonely” (UAE, 19, Male), “living without my parents here can be lonely sometimes” (Madagascar, 19, Female), “when I’m eating alone and there are a lot of students laughing around me” (Iraq, 22, Female), “when I feel left out socially. No one thinks to include me or ask me if I would like to join them. Or if I’m sitting alone and none of my colleagues decides to chat me up” (Jordan, 21, Male), “not being able to meet new people because I’m a shy person” (Jordan, 18, Female). A lack of belonging made being alone worse, i.e., “when I’m outside class alone and not doing much” (India, 17, Male), “I hate sitting or walking alone at university because I’m afraid people will think I don’t have friends” (Syria, 19, Female), “when I’m alone in university, time goes by slower” (Switzerland Pakistan - Iraq/Iran origin, 21, Male).

Other issues involved stress, anxiety, and irritations, such as “lack of sleep, feelings of depression and anxiety” (N/A), being “overworked between work and university, I have burned out and am constantly exhausted” (Lebanon, 21, Female), “my life at uni is miserable, I suffer from a few auto-immune diseases/conditions, I work a part time job 3 times a week from 7-4, I have to manage things at home with my family, and my romantic relationship as well as the 2 friends I have. University does not make it easier or better to handle any of my stress, rarely do I find happiness on campus” (Lebanon, 21, Female). Too much stimulation was also a problem: “when it’s loud and people are making unnecessary noise, it makes me feel overwhelmed and stressed” (Egypt, 18, Female), and “when I don’t get at least an hour of alone time, I feel drained” (Jordan, 18, Female). “Issues at home” (Nigeria, 20, Female) did not help.

Theme 3: Instrumental issues. Finally, issues were noted with respect to universities themselves (12 responses), including “finding my way to the university as there is no transport for me” (Iran, 20, Female), “paying extra fees especially for parking” (Tanzania, 21, Female), “worrying about housing and tuition” (Iran, 20, Female), “stressing over the financial burdens of being a college student and feelings of anxiety caused by that” (India, 21, Male), “not having access to free COVID tests” (India, 21, Male), “frustration with the Wi-Fi speed because it’s too slow and makes basic tasks impossible” (Tunisia, 19, Female), and when “the classroom is really COLD” (Lebanon, 22, Female).

Solutions. A range of solutions were provided to improve university life, including more attention to mental health and wellbeing, affordability, and improvements in accessibility.

Theme 1: Social Interactions. Students reported that their university could initiate social events such as field trips, sports, and skill development activities to make them happier (30 responses). These included suggestions to “involve more community-building or friendship-building activities” (Jordan, 21, Male), “provide university events like MUN [Model United Nations], global cultural day, or festivals” (Jordan, Canada, 18, female), “host more fun events such as debate competitions, cultural days, trips, workshops, fashion shows, movie night, open mic night” (Egypt, Sudan, 19, female), “fun events like bake sales or anything that everyone could participate in” (Syria, 19, female), “activities and workshops (ex: painting or bracelet making)” (Pakistan, 21, Female) and other events, “so we can get out of studying mode for some time” (Jordan, 19, Female).

Yet, it was not only events in themselves, but curated, intentional activities in which students could develop social connections, particularly in the classroom. For example, “maybe if they give us some [students] or create a group of students who have problems to make friends” (Iraq, 22, Female), “make it easier to meet new people” (Sudan, 19, Female), “involve more community-building or friendship-building activities. I do not mean events where we meet new people, but events where we get closer to the people we already know” (Jordan, 21, Male), and “adding more group work and keeping it all in uni [classes], so that we meet new people” (Jordan, 28, Female). Recommendations to “have professors think of small things to make classes more interesting. Short surprise activities that relate to the course and are fun to do will really lift my mood up and actually make me want to stay for class” (India, 19, Female) were also advised.

Theme 2: Greater Empathy. Participants (11 responses) expressed the need for greater understanding and flexibility. For example, “make exams easier” (Bahrain, 19, female), “give us 5 minutes break to pray” (UAE, male). Students wanted to build good relations with their professors and requested “more understanding professors” (Bahrain, 21, male), “friendly professors” (India, 20, male). Several noted that stress levels needed to be addressed, i.e., “creating a less stressful environment for students” (Pakistan, 21, female), alongside an understanding that students also had lives beyond the classroom, i.e., “the stress that is given to us is not only taking time from us in university, it is taking time from us outside of university as well” (UAE, 22, female). Students added that universities could “actually care-- it is unbelievably stressful for students, specially new ones, and people that could helped have done nothing for me so far” (Iran, 20, female), “allow accommodations/extra understanding for many people that have much to handle in their daily lives, like work, and health issues” (Lebanon, 21, female), as well as “make more efforts to ensure we feel taken care of and that university is a safe and supportive place” (Brazil, 20, female).

Theme 3: University Services. Participants offered ways in which universities could satisfy needs (70 respondents). Five identified the need for mental health education, i.e., “focus on educating students about the importance of mental health. Help students overcome burnout” (South Africa, 20, female), “provide mental health courses [to] help students build self-awareness” (South Africa, 21, female). Others focused on physical wellness: “Nap room, Workout sessions” (Pakistan, 19, female); “A gym, unopened football field” (India, 20, male); “basketball court and events that gather people” (Canada, 18, Female). Others were more practical suggesting that “extra-curriculars [be] available and just as important a part of our university journey as education, so we could experience team work and leadership in different practical scenarios and receive certificates to document these experiences to add to our qualifications” like First Aid and/or “CPR training”(Egypt, 19 female), as well as “provide jobs within the university” (Pakistan, 23, male). Others added “flexible timings” (Malawi, 24, male; Pakistan, 23 male), “maybe shorten[ing] the time allotted for each class and add more breaks” (India, 20, female). Continuing online learning implemented during the pandemic was also noted, i.e., “allowing for the hybrid class model to continue is, in my opinion, necessary” (India, 21, male).

Non-classroom stressors were also noted, such as “affordable housing” (Iran, 20, female; Pakistan, 23, male) and “transport for ALL students” (Iran, 20, female). Others added, “provide us with free food” (Bangladesh, 18, female); “Snack boxes” (India, 18, female), “There are students who stay in the university for up to 12 hours and some of them are not able to afford food every single day for themselves” (Bangladesh, 18, female). “Access to free covid tests” (India, 21, male), free parking as many students drive to university, i.e., “parking is limited in time and can complicate things throughout the day” (France, 20, female), “sanitary pads in the girls bathroom”(Jordan, 18, Female), more “private”, “common” “Zen zones and an area where you can chill without being in the library and surrounded by other students” (Sri Lanka, 19, female; UAE, 19, male; 22, female), including “IMPROVE THE WIFI” (Tunisia, 19, Female), were identified. Tuition fees, hidden costs, and providing more accessible scholarships for all students and not only rewarding academic performance was finally highlighted: “Offer more realistic grading requirements for scholarships, for example a 4.0 GPA for 40/50% doesn’t seem fair” (Egypt, 18, female); “offer more scholarships and increase the range of students who can get it” (Tanzania, 21, female).

2.5 Discussion

Many themes emerged, notably student happiness stemmed from (1) social interaction, including sharing, moments of fun, being seen and socially included; (2) feeling a sense of progress, efficacy, and that meaningful learning was occurring; and (3) being engaged in action, discussion, and working towards something worthwhile with others. In contrast, unhappiness was experienced when students felt (1) uninspired, unsupported, or disrespected; (2) misunderstood, excluded, and ignored; as well as (3) frustrated and anxious dealing with university services. Solutions involved the creation of connection opportunities, as well as the deliberate creation of interactions themselves. Building empathy and understanding across the university was also stressed as students, emerging adults with social, psychological, learning and financial needs, wanted less juvenile surveillance and more adult flexibility, respect, and engagement. Meaningful learning experiences that met their needs for growth over mere knowledge, were also identified. Facilitating parking and dining solutions, social events, as well as scholarships that were less oriented to grades were other solutions. Far from being naïve consumers, students are clear on what they need and how institutions can help. How their responses coincide with the literature and the practical steps universities can take is explored.

Belonging. In recent studies and reviews [3, 48, 57, 58], students noted relationships, social supports and a sense of belonging to, and identification with the university as vital to their wellbeing and academic performance. Indeed, interacting with classmates is linked to greater social and emotional wellbeing after class, feelings of belonging, as well as enjoying university to a greater degree [59]. To counteract rising student loneliness [60], feeling connected is not only vital in meeting psychosocial needs, but learning too. Students with a low sense of belonging often have lower GPAs, but in-class strategies like a writing exercise to affirm one’s values was effective in reversing GPA and improving wellbeing [57]. Strategies can be useful in managing disappointments around learning, particularly as students downgrade subsequent learning goals in the face of failure [61]. Online courses do not preclude togetherness either. Faculty can create online interaction as much as in the classroom, by using chat rooms, joint whiteboard activities, breakout rooms for discussion, etc. [62].

Peer Opportunities. Research is focusing on the development of positive student relationships to sustain nurturing environments versus an individual skills approach [52, 63]. Indeed, students who reported strong peer attachments had higher levels of adjustment to university life, with weaker attachments predicting more difficulties in adjustment [64]. Students who relied upon peer mentoring programs for example, showed significantly higher levels of self-esteem and social competence [65], with those offering mentorship also experiencing the same benefits [66]. Peer opportunities can extend to volunteer academic role models, institutionally designated study mentors and formal academic learning communities (i.e., peer cohort groups that study together over an academic program versus semester), which initiate students to more rigorous academic standards and learning processes, promote social inclusion and support [3, 67], and increase exposure to English speaking, a known stressor to those still developing language skills [32, 34, 35].

Wellbeing pedagogy. Positive psychology intervention programs are effective in decreasing symptoms of mental illness and increasing wellbeing [25, 68, 69, 70] and have been used in the region [71, 72, 73]. A for-credit course can remediate mental health concerns and strengthen wellbeing [2, 25] and also include financial literacy, career guidance, and attention to social issues. For example, a study in Lebanon [30] showed that university students with low life satisfaction were unable to envision their future employability; however, a greater future focus evolved alongside greater wellbeing. Including wellbeing promotive content into courses also aligns with evidence that changes to syllabi, courses, teaching pedagogy and classroom cultures can foster more positive student experiences and are solutions for faculty who do not know how to create more positive learning and social experiences [1, 2, 74, 75]. Simple strategies like the inclusion of a syllabus statement outlining the value of good mental health and resources for its promotion can help [76].

Faculty Relationships. Considered mentors, faculty members are often identified by students as being the top source of support [2], in addition to their teaching practices and methods of course design (i.e., opportunities for discussion, insight and personal development, and social connection) [74]. Thus, professional development for faculty in perceiving themselves in this role and not only dispensers of knowledge, is imperative. Much like schoolteachers or managers are being called upon to support the wellbeing needs of employees and students, faculty members will soon be called upon to add this to their responsibilities as the research is clear: greater wellbeing in young people produces greater learning [12, 13, 14, 15]. Yet, faculty need not be concerned about being “soft”, in fact, students rated more positively faculty who were demanding, but helpful, attentive and engaging at the same time [77]. Psychosocial training for faculty around how not to cause micro-aggressions in the classroom, as well as mentor students effectively [78, 79] needs priority.

Institutional Policies & Practices. Mental health screening tools at entry and mechanisms to update one’s mental health status each semester are cost-effective, simple ways institutions can address issues. Done online much like student satisfaction surveys, these identify at-risk students. While these carry a degree of responsibility to self-identify, such systems are already used in communities and institutions [80, 81, 82]. Policies around mental health leave of absence, part-time study, alcohol or substance abuse, and financial aid are other examples. Financial aid (i.e., scholarships, bursaries, or loans) that is not tied to grades, but overall contribution, a learning mindset, social impact or other talents may lessen academic pressure [83]. Policies around how to welcome non-binary students in classrooms at registration, during exams and in the provision of physical spaces is key and rectifiable by designating gender-neutral bathroom options, offering preferred name and pronoun options, and providing campus-issued identification cards for exams (versus drivers’ licenses which “out” students) [79, 84, 85] are other interventions.

A frequently noted issue was financial costs of attending university, including ancillary costs relating to housing, parking, food, etc. As public transportation is developing and as many university students travel by car, parking is expensive. To help, universities can organize reduced-fee designated parking spaces for students, offer free bus service from designated pick-up and drop-off points [86], as well as sponsor ride-sharing apps designed to be shared among universities. Offering part-time study options is an uncommon route as the student body remains traditionally young, but also as part-time employment has not been a legal option until recently. With a change in regulation, more students now work as they pursue studies, but universities have been slow to cater to this group. Indeed, students have better mental health when they enjoy a balance of study, work and family life, as well as less financial [87]. Likewise, requests for online learning remain beyond the pandemic; yet, many universities have opted to return to traditional “seat time” or offer zoom-like options, both of which are not particularly effective if teaching quality and instructional design is not maximized [88]. Offering online options for third or fourth year students already socialized to effective learning and known to faculty, combined with in-person working sessions can be effective ways to combine technology and work-life flexibility.

Closely related are concerns around the availability of affordable meals and housing. At present, university housing is often far from campus and prices are market rate [89]. Organized by the local education authority, cheaper rent options, public-private arrangements, rent to buy, or local room rental schemes must be examined as the high costs of city-living are passed on to students. Further, many students struggle with sourcing meals, especially when universities are centered in commercial centers catering to higher-end organizations, or when there is no access to on-site cooking facilities. Students are away from home for the first time and also not in the habit of cooking and or/preparing food for themselves leading to weight gain and unhealthy choices (i.e., [90]). Offering meal plans, canteen facilities, organized cooking classes with preplanned affordable menu examples, daily cooking with shared bulk-buying costs as a scheduled event, and availing discounts at grocery stores can help better habits be regained, costs to be shared and students and faculty to come together socially.

Regulation. At last, like the recommendations made by the OECD [91] to include in UAE institutional rankings a measure of student wellbeing, we recommend that universities include the same wellbeing, mental health, and satisfaction rankings for students, as well as faculty, as their own happiness has a bearing on that of students [92]. As mental health concerns hit their peak by age 25 [5, 6], and the implications for learning, health, and employment outcomes are significant [93], regulators must support institutions with guidelines and programming options to improve the wellbeing of students that is of an academic, psychological, social and financial nature, as much as they do for institutional effectiveness. This will force a shift in institutional mindsets away from a singular commercial interest to a more student-centered as well as student-as-customer aim, which is incidentally, what students are requesting. Students expect their psychosocial and learning needs to be met.

3. Conclusion

Our study was small in size and limited in its generalizability as it only included private universities in the UAE. Further, response bias was possible as only students who were interested in responding did so. Focus groups may have helped generate deeper insights, as well as the inclusion of older students benefiting from the passage of time. Still, our study offered insight into what non-Western students feel matters, a vital contribution to knowledge around wellbeing across both institutional and cultural contexts, where scientific inquiry continues to evolve [3, 41, 43].

Overwhelmingly, what students construe as vital to their wellbeing is not what universities typically offer [e.g., 18, 48, 52]. Beyond learning, they want connection, as well as to be seen, heard, and inspired. They want to feel as though they are doing something worthwhile with their days and enjoy themselves. They want to worry less and be helped when they do. Most of all, they did not want to flounder on their own and feel unheard and ignored. More critically, they wanted universities to help orchestrate their psychosocial needs. This last finding supports developments in positive psychology reinforcing the need for systemic changes over singular, individual-level interventions [41, 45] and is also the foundation of positive universities [26]. Yet, that universities have a role to play in student wellbeing and that students are cognizant of that role has been difficult for institutions to grasp as many remain fixated on a purely commercial lens, or on how they feel education has been and thus, should be. Others are satisfied separating learning from existing, without realizing that these needs are one and the same. In fact, these emotional needs are also those not being met in faculty, other employees, as well as managers, senior leaders and CEO’s [94] more generally.

Student wellbeing has positive outcomes that can avert mental health concerns [4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. However, ensuring that wellbeing needs are met can also promote social, learning, economic and employment outcomes critical not only to students and institutions, but for the nations in which these operate (e.g., [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16]). For institutions wishing to position themselves as first-choice institutions, especially relevant in contexts like the UAE where students have many local as well as international study options, attending to wellbeing as an institutional driver can maximize institutional competitiveness, fuel student and faculty recruitment, leverage academic performance and strengthen organizational outcomes, including profits, on which many depend [27, 28, 29]. Accordingly, institutions must heed the OECD’s [91] advice to include wellbeing as a legitimate performance indicator and position it as a serious endeavor. In this manner, students primarily benefit, but institutions and their respective stakeholders, as well as the nations in which these operate, can as well.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all of the students who chose to use their voice and share their experiences of what matters to them most.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.