New Report on Graduate Student Mental Health
A new report from the Council of Graduate Schools and The Jed Foundation provides an evidence-based framework to guide the development of campus-wide, systemic approaches to graduate student mental health and well-being. Through surveys and qualitative data obtained from campus listening sessions and a stakeholder convening, the report authors developed Supporting Graduate Student Mental Health and Well-being: Evidence-Informed Recommendations for the Graduate Community,” which offers recommendations for individual and collective action to higher ed leaders, administrators, department chairs, graduate faculty and students.
Dr. Nance Roy, chief clinical officer of JED, said, “Many schools do not include in their overall strategic plan for the institution, a focus on mental health.” The report calls for identifying mental health in schools’ strategic plans, which guides allocation of resources. Roy also said that it was crucial to recognize the needs of traditionally marginalized groups, including Black, Latinx, first-gen, and LGBTQ students.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The Boston University’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, in collaboration with the Ruderman Family Foundation, released two guides, one for students and one for administrators, faculty and staff, about best practices for leaves of absence from college. The student guide advises students about their options when considering a leave. The administrator guide offers recommendations for how to best support students and reduce the stigma around taking leave. Dori Hutchinson, director of services for the center and a clinical professor at the university’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences said that policies that many colleges have in place for leaves of absence are inconsistent and can alienate students who are facing mental health crises. The guides rely on the input of students who have gone through the process themselves, says Hutchinson.
Other News
The Miami Herald reports on the toll of the pandemic on adolescents and teens, their struggles with mental health and their newfound resilience and coping skills.
The Bowdoin Orient reports on a new development of a COVID-19 Peer Support group program at Bowdoin College. Peer Health, a student organization geared toward supporting student wellness, partnered with the Counseling and Wellness Services office to initiate the onset of the program and learn support group training.
According to the WY Daily, College of William and Mary students are speaking out about the administration’s response to academic and mental health concerns this semester. Among the topics: an adjusted pass/fail policy, implemented under the pandemic for all students, that now applies only to juniors and seniors.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
International student-visa holders from Brazil, China, Iran, and South Africa will now be exempt from COVID-19 bans, allowing them to return to the United States this fall. The travel restriction lift will be significant for China, as the country “accounts for one in every three international students studying in the United States.” Colleges are anticipating increases in the number of international student enrollments after new student-visa holders dropped 72 percent in 2020, according to the U.S. Homeland Security data.
In a new report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the number of Black males and Native American medical students has declined after 40 years. In 1978, Black male medical students made up just 3.1% of the national medical student body population. In 2019, the number has decreased to only 2.9%, of which 0.5% are from historically Black medical schools. Physicians working to increase diversity in the medical field have pointed to the new data as a call for action. The National Academy of Medicine has even established that increasing physician diversity would better improve accessibility, healthcare, and life expectancy for minorities.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Last week, students at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville protested after 2020 alumna Gillian Gullet discovered that the university settled a $20,000 payment to a former student she had accused of sexual assault in 2017. Their objection included the school’s lack of transparency as Gullet had only discovered the news from a local reporter who asked for comment. Student leaders see this as a continuation of university administration failing to support student survivors.
A new bill introduced to Congress called the “Accountability of Leaders in Education to Report Title IX Investigations Act” would require college leaders to review sexual abuse investigations into employees. Any college receiving federal funding would need institution leaders to review employee-related sexual abuse reported to its institution’s Title IX coordinator.
Student Success
Based on recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergraduate enrollment across all age groups has declined by 6% compared to the spring of last year. Community colleges saw an 11.3% decline, while graduate enrollment increased by 4.4%. The data also revealed a rise in online schooling.
Higher Ed Dive’s reporter Kelly Field outlines four ways colleges and access groups can ensure high school students enroll for college. Strategies include reaching out to students, helping students after school fill out matriculation forms and filing the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid, better marketing of community colleges, and creating programs to address employment trends and needs in the workforce.
College Affordability
A new report from the National College Attainment Network shows that public higher education institutions are becoming less affordable. The report revealed that only 23% of almost 500 public four-year institutions were considered affordable in 2018-2019. As one of many higher ed organizations urging a doubling of the maximum Pell Grant, the NCAN has called on the Biden administration to improve college affordability. The data shows affordable community colleges decreased from 49% to 41% in a five-year period, and affordable 4-year public institutions from 31% to 23%.
Over 67,000 people have now applied to the Michigan Reconnect program, which will allow adult Michigan state residents to receive free community college education. Launched by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, the program will help adult learners from age 25 and above with high school diplomas or equivalent to attend local community colleges.
Coronavirus: Safety and Reopening
As the graduation season of the pandemic approaches, commencement ceremonies will vary widely. Many universities holding in-person events will require safety measures, such as proof of vaccinations, a negative coronavirus test, socially distanced seating, and staggered arrival times. For universities that have chosen to conduct virtual graduation ceremonies, parents and students express feeling frustration and a sense of loss.
The American College Health Association recommends higher education institutions require coronavirus vaccinations this fall. The ACHA also said colleges should try to vaccinate as many students, faculty and staff before the end of the spring semester, which would ease the transition for the mandate in the fall, and also reduce public health risks as students leave campus and potentially spread the virus.
With more colleges now requiring coronavirus vaccinations, debate is ensuing nationwide about whether employers, businesses and other institutions can mandate vaccines. Of relevance is the fact that some institutions are hesitant to enforce the vaccine mandate due to legal concerns. Private colleges are more likely to require vaccinations since public institutions are governed separately and may face more difficulty to issue mandates.
Policy and Politics
President Joe Biden is asking Congress to authorize $109 billion to make two years of community college tuition-free for all Americans, including for unauthorized immigrants. The request is one part of the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which also includes $39 billion to subsidize two years of tuition at four-year minority-serving schools, and $80 billion to increase the Pell Grant and support completion and retention in higher education. Higher education leaders are praising the plan, saying it is a significant step. Terry W. Hartle, a senior vice president at the American Council on Education, called the plan a “fully certified innovation,” and said the community college plan could “easily revolutionize access to higher education in the United States.” In a visit to a community college in Virginia, Biden outlined the tax plan that would help pay for the benefits. Some experts, however, warn that free community college could be putting students at a disadvantage “by diverting them to colleges where they’re less likely to succeed, and that it could provide free tuition to those who can already afford it.”
Basic Needs
According to a new report featured in Inside Higher Ed, community college leaders want better data to support the well-being of students but are underfunded or deprived of the resources to do so. A majority of administrators reported wanting to prioritize the health and basic needs of students, such as housing and food security, as well as social justice. The report revealed that community colleges lack disaggregated data by sexual orientation and gender identity, or data focused on student parents, which could point to comprehensive student needs.
