Universities and colleges face mounting legal challenges to protect themselves from the growing number of complaints from students suffering mental health problems, a report has revealed today.

The Harris report explores what until now has been largely overlooked: the legal liability issues of higher education institutions towards students with mental health problems under their care.

The report highlights potential hotspots left vulnerable by recent developments in the law, specifically by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Law professor Neville Harris of University of Manchester, who authored the report, said: "Nobody would've thought 10 to 15 years ago that students would be suing universities. That's what's motivating [universities] to seek legal advice."

Universities will need to take measures such as training staff in identifying students whose mental health is at risk, and introducing reporting and recording systems.

An area that needs particular attention, the report will suggest, is adding a risk assessment component to the admissions procedure. Ucas, the body responsible for processing undergraduate university admissions, said safeguards are already in place for mental health disabilities on application forms.

Another responsibility would be to ensure that faculty and staff understand their duty of care towards students. For example, the report suggests that tutors could be violating a student's human rights under European convention if a student is caused distress by an issue being handled insensitively within a seminar.

The report was commissioned by Eversheds law firm, which has noticed a rise in complaints from students against universities. "We have seen a steady - not a huge rush - but a steady rise in student complaints and claims against universities where mental health has formed an aspect," said Nick Saunders, senior associate of Eversheds education group. "We only see the tip of the iceberg because institutions will deal with these claims themselves and the vast majority of claims that started in court have been settled."

In response to the report, Universities UK (UUK), which represents vice chancellors, said: "Universities take the mental well-being of their students very seriously and welcome advice on the subject. We will look at this report in detail. Higher education institutions already work very hard to support their students."

UUK and the Standing Conference of Principals (SCOP) have recently established an advisory group on mental well-being in higher education. UUK will host a conference on "Mental well-being in higher education: policy in practice", in February 2004.

According to figures from the Mental Health Foundation, one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. Of young people aged 16-19, 16% of girls and 6% of boys are thought to have some form of mental health problem. Overall, 20% of women and 14% of men in England have some form of mental illness.