A student was left to face a two-month delay to see a mental health adviser before she was found hanged, due to "exceptional circumstances" including strike action, an inquest heard.
University of Liverpool philosophy student Ceara Thacker, 19, on May 11 last year.
An inquest into her death, which began on Monday, has heard the West Yorkshire teenager's family were unaware she had taken an overdose about three months before her death and had been struggling with her mental health.
Ms Thacker self-referred herself to the university's mental health advisory service on February 22 - the day after she was admitted to hospital following an overdose - but there was a delay of two months before her appointment on April 24.
Director of student administration and support Dr Paula Harrison Woods said: "We were in exceptional circumstances at this time.
"As we've heard, it was in a period of industrial action at the university."
She said staff sickness, annual leave, training days and a mental health adviser leaving their post also led to delays.
Dr Harrison Woods said additional staff had been taken on since Ms Thacker's death.
She said other changes had been made within the university, including establishing guidelines on asking students suffering mental health problems whether they wanted their families to be informed.
But she said the university had decided not to introduce an "opt-in" process, which has been adopted at Bristol University, where students fill in a form when registering to ask whether they would want their parents to be contacted in the event of mental health problems.
Dr Harrison Woods said: "We have carefully considered that model, however we have some concerns about the operational impact of that model based on our experience working with students with a range of presenting issues."
She said the university was also working on a project with the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust to provide more accessible and integrated mental health services for students.
Ms Thacker, from Bradford, had suffered with mental health problems since the age of 13.
Her father Iain, from Guiseley, told the inquest her death was a "horrible, terrible shock".
He said: "If we had been told what was happening with Ceara, we would have made a difference."
The inquest continues.
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