Leveraging social media analytics to assess student well-being and structural needs in a university setting

Background: University students increasingly use online platforms to express concerns related to academic, social, and basic needs. Traditional institutional data sources often fail to capture real-time, unfiltered student experiences. This study leverages social media data to identify emergent themes and sentiment patterns related to student well-being at a large public university.

Methods: We conducted an analysis of posts from a university-specific Reddit community (r/ucr) over a four-month period (November 2025–March 2026). Natural language processing techniques were used to classify posts into thematic domains and compute sentiment scores ranging from -100 to +100. Quantitative analyses examined post volume trends and average sentiment by theme, while qualitative content analysis contextualized key concerns using representative excerpts.

Results: A total of posts spanning multiple domains revealed both high-frequency concerns and variability in sentiment. The most prevalent themes included course-specific help and professor reviews (n=183), academic registration and grading (n=139), and housing and roommates (n=135). Temporal analyses indicated fluctuations in both post volume and sentiment, with peaks aligning with academic calendar stress points (e.g., registration periods). View interactive dashboard.

Conclusions: Social media platforms provide a valuable, real-time lens into student experiences that complement traditional survey-based approaches. Findings highlight critical areas for institutional intervention, particularly in housing affordability, academic systems, and social integration.

Public Health Implications: This approach demonstrates the utility of digital epidemiology in identifying structural vulnerabilities among college populations. Institutions can leverage such data to design targeted, equity-centered interventions addressing mental health, basic needs, and campus climate.

Recommended citation: Ashish Kulkarni, Kritika Gupta, PhD, Denise Woords, DrPH. Leveraging social media analytics to assess student well-being and structural needs in a university setting. Poster presented at American Public Health Association 2026 Annual Meeting and Expo, San Antonio, TX. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2026/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/599587
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