Abstract
This chapter explores the concept of resilience in the context of higher education. It discusses the
significance of resilience for university students, arguing that although the term is commonly used and
understood, there remain questions about the nature of resilience, its measurement and its desirability as a
characteristic of student development. The lack of equity in student experience and the need for some
students to be more resilient than others is also explored. The discussion subsequently questions the
conventional emphasis on developing student resilience and it raises the possibility that universities
demonstrate resilience by shifting the responsibility to be resilient away from themselves and onto
individual students and minority groups. The chapter also offers an unconventional path for equitable
support by proposing a resilience equation. Overall, the key idea emerging from the conversion is that a
significant re-evaluation of the concept of resilience in higher education is required.