Academic Attainment in Students with Mental Health Difficulties in Distance Education

This investigation studied attainment in students with mental health difficulties who were taking modules by distance learning with the UK Open University in 2012. Students with mental health difficulties who had no additional disabilities were less likely than nondisabled students to complete the modules that they had taken and less likely to pass the modules that they had completed. However, they were just as likely as nondisabled students to obtain good grades for the modules that they had passed when the effects of age, gender, prior qualifications, and financial assistance had been taken into account. Students with mental health difficulties who had additional disabilities were less likely than nondisabled students to complete the modules that they had taken, less likely to pass the modules that they had completed, and less likely to obtain good grades for the modules that they had passed.