Concerns about Cambridge University’s ability to study, described as “on trial”, have been raised in reviews after six students died.
Two of the deaths between March and September were confirmed as suicides and four were suspected.
At public health meetings over the deaths, concerns were raised about the relationship between suicide attempts and the trial, the transcript shows.
The university said it could not comment due to ongoing investigations.
Prior to the deaths, the university’s mental health services, separate from the college readiness process, were branded “ineffective,” “untargeted,” and “unsustainable” by an outside evaluator it hired.
Last year the BBC was contacted by former and current Cambridge students with experience of these services, with concerns including the Academic Aptitude Hearing, which decides whether a student should interrupt their studies.
They said none of the panels in the trial deciding their future was a mental health specialist, and one student said they “felt like trial hearings, like I was in court when they were talking to complete strangers about things which I hadn’t really unpacked with a therapist.” .
It is not known whether the deceased students had gone through the admissions process or how many had used the university’s psychiatric services.
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The university and local health authorities held meetings to review the deaths and minutes made available to the BBC through the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) raised concerns “about near misses or attempts and their connection to the Study suitability of the students and processes”.
At a meeting after the first four deaths, the transcript noted that “there were no apparent common factors in all four cases” but identified five “themes” which were redacted in the reply to the BBC, with similar themes after the fifth death were identified.
But the “systems learning” included a question about how university support services are linked to external mental health services.
It also included questions about how to support staff to “ensure the safety of the student body” and how to communicate “more effectively” with out-of-area services to ensure continuity of care.
During the first meeting on May 31, in a section titled “Update on University Communications Team Response,” the minutes noted that one individual called for “caution on the content of emails on this subject in the case of FOI requests.” .
Last year Natalie Acton, head of student services, said the university had “invested significantly more resources in student support,” increasing the number of counselors and saying any student who referred himself for counseling would be seen within 10 working days.
In December, an inquest into one of the deceased, Trinity College mathematics student Alexander Horner, found that he took his own life because he “couldn’t cope” with his undiagnosed chronic pain.
Earlier this year, when one history student was examined, there was “absolutely no evidence that he had any problems.”
Further investigations are to take place later this year.
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