Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
On June 4, the board of trustees at Washington and Lee University voted 22 to 6 to maintain the school’s name, which in part commemorates Confederate general and former university president Robert E. Lee. According to the New York Times, calls for the university to change its name intensified last July and prompted a months-long review of the history of the school and its surrounding town, Lexington, Virginia. The board ultimately approved plans to change the name of the Lee Chapel to University Chapel, renovate the chapel to separate Lee’s crypt from the auditorium, and disband Founders Day celebrations typically held on Lee’s birthday. Inside Higher Ed reports, however, that controversy continues in the wake of the board’s verdict: While some support the decision, other students and faculty members feel let down, worrying that existing efforts to encourage diversity and inclusion will not be enough.
Inside Higher Ed covers the recent announcement on Amherst College’s newly admitted class, which is majority (50.2%) nonwhite students. Once known for its reputation in educating white, New England elites, the liberal arts school dedicates its increase in nonwhite enrollment towards an ongoing commitment to diversity and positive minority student experiences, which impact future students’ decisions to enroll. Dean Matthew L. McGann notes student outreach being a part of Amherst’s success as well as hiring more minority faculty that can serve as mentors.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Higher Ed Dive reports on two newly proposed bills that aim to improve sexual assault reporting at public colleges in Louisiana. After investigating Louisiana State University’s handling of sexual assault reports, USA Today found repeated counts of Louisiana state officials failing to properly investigate sexual assault cases. The two bills would implement a committee comprised of lawmakers, state officials, university presidents and students to review institutional policies on sexual violence and require termination for employees that do not properly report sexual assault cases.
The Department of Education is hosting five days of public hearings on improving the enforcement of Title IX. Last week, over 700 people registered for the virtual slots, and 15,000 written comments were submitted. Some argued for transgender athletes to compete on sports teams. Others protested the Title IX regulation changes that were made under former secretary Betsy Devos last May, which mandated institutions to allow for cross-examination hearings for the accused in sexual misconduct allegations. Speakers advocated on the behalf of survivors, calling the regulation burdensome for survivors to have to face alleged perpetrators.
Greek Life and Hazing
Fifteen men were charged in connection to the death of Samuel Martinez, 19, who died of alcohol poisoning from a fraternity pledging event at Washington State University in 2019. Fraternity members of Alpha Tau Omega were each charged with supplying liquor to minors after a yearlong police investigation. The family of Samuel Martinez stated feeling “deeply disappointed,” saying, “The Pullman Police Department allowed the statute of limitations for that charge to expire. That’s despite the fact that Pullman police found substantial evidence of hazing that would have supported hazing charges.” A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family is currently underway against the university.
Student Success
Some colleges are redirecting their efforts to reach out to students who recently dropped out to finish their degrees. In efforts to revert declining enrollment rates from the pandemic, universities are taking measures to invite students to return to college. For some students, The Washington Post reports, the pandemic made college more accessible through online learning.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some high schools are expecting graduation rates to stall, and many seniors may have to complete summer school in order to graduate. Despite state and schoolwide changes to graduation requirements, the hardships brought on by the pandemic negatively impacted assignment completion rates for seniors. Schools have taken measures to eliminate completing standardized test requirements and extending deadlines. In Ohio, 46% of seniors in the Columbus City School system were off-track to graduate in mid-April. Additionally, the graduation rate fell from 81.3% in 2020 to 72.6% this spring.
Higher Ed Dive reports on the findings of a National Student Clearinghouse investigation on transfer student enrollment this spring. According to the report, colleges experienced a 10% decrease in transfer enrollment from the 2020-21 academic year. Transfers to community colleges and among 18 to 24 year-old and male students account for some of the greatest declines. Transfers increased, however, from two-year to four-year schools and among Latinx and Asian students at public four-year colleges.
According to Diverse Education, some schools have turned away from the traditional 16-week semester in the hopes of increasing equity amidst pandemic-related mental health concerns. Allowing students to take two to three classes per eight-week semester — rather than four to six classes per 16-week semester — may provide critical flexibility for those with outside responsibilities, including student-parents, many of which attend community colleges. Still, experts stress the careful planning and communication necessary for colleges to execute this type of restructuring, as some faculty members may be hesitant to condense their course material into a much shorter time frame.
A new report from the College Board examined the pandemic’s effects on college and university enrollment rates last fall semester. According to the data collected from over 22,000 high schools and 2,800 colleges in the United States, the report found first-generation, minority, and low-income students were most deeply affected in their college trajectories from the pandemic. Four-year colleges also saw a decline in enrollment from students with higher grades. The report identifies that the students with higher GPAs that did not enroll “may have made room [for extra spots] at four-year colleges for students with lower high school grades.”
College Affordability
Higher Ed Dive reviews the Senate’s most recent proposal to expand the Pell Grant by amending the US Innovation and Competition Act. If approved, the amendment would make grants eligible for students in job training programs as short as eight weeks — rather than the current minimum of 15 weeks. While some worry that shorter-term programs do not produce as successful student outcomes, the current proposal restricts grants to programs operated by nonprofit and public colleges whose graduates “receive a median 20% increase in earnings after finishing.”
In an op-ed for The Hechinger Report, Tashauna Stewart suggests that with the price of college still rising, Congress should double the Pell Grant to be able to adequately and equitably support students across the country. She cites her own experiences in immigrating from Jamaica at twelve years-old, determined to take advantage of higher education in the US, even when she was far less certain of how she would afford it. When Stewart enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno, the Pell Grant became a lifeline for her, helping cover the costs of tuition as well as other basic needs.
Inside Higher Ed reports that several historically Black colleges and universities in the US have decided to forgive student debt for their latest graduates. While the racial wealth gap leaves Black students on average more burdened by debt than white students, the pandemic further disproportionately affected Black Americans, economically and otherwise. Acknowledging that many graduates may still have outstanding federal or personal loans, schools hope that some debt relief will mitigate financial stress going forward.
Coronavirus: Safety and Reopening
With over 400 institutions requiring students to be vaccinated before coming to campus in the fall, the New York Times explores the unique challenges posed for international students. For students overseas who have already been vaccinated, some have found that their school does not accept the particular type of vaccine that they received; now, they are contending with the uncertainty of undergoing a second round of vaccination. Meanwhile, for international students yet to be vaccinated, they face the possibility of isolation and quarantine once on campus while waiting for their first and potentially second doses.
As international students make plans for their fall semester, Inside Higher Ed reports that the US State Department is struggling to field all of the requests for student visas. Although aiming to prioritize student visa applications, the department is not yet operating at full capacity and may not be able to assist every student in time. Weighing ongoing concerns that the pandemic will intensify in other countries, the State Department is also trying to facilitate entry into the US while still upholding safety standards.
Inside Higher Ed reviews the results of its recent survey on student sentiment surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, finding that 69% support vaccination mandates for in-person classes and 85% had received or planned to receive the vaccine before May 2. For the 15% of respondents yet to be vaccinated, 40% say that they may leave their school if it instituted a vaccine mandate. But one expert is skeptical that students would actually drop-out in this case, especially if on-campus educational resources helped persuade unvaccinated students to change their mind.
The Chronicle discusses how, as the CDC updates its guidelines on mask-wearing in response to vaccine rollout, colleges are similarly deciding how best to revise their protocol. While some schools have lifted mask mandates entirely, others still require masks indoors or for unvaccinated people. In states including Oklahoma, Utah, and Texas, however, recent legislation that prohibits mask mandates for all public institutions has predetermined regulations for certain universities come fall.
The Chronicle considers the CDC’s latest guidelines for colleges to safely reopen during the pandemic: For school communities that are entirely vaccinated, members may attend in-person classes and do not need to wear masks or undergo regular testing. For other schools, protocol becomes more individualized and must consider “the rate of community transmission and the percentage of the campus that is vaccinated, among other factors.”
Some colleges that have decided not to require vaccinations for community members will be regulating the ways in which faculty can talk about the vaccine with students, according to The Chronicle. At the University of Iowa, for example, the school formally encourages students to get the vaccine but asks that faculty and staff not ask students about their vaccination status or generally discuss the vaccine with them.
Quadcast: UVA’s Dr. Michael Gerard Mason
In this week’s Quadcast, University of Virginia’s Dr. Michael Gerard Mason spoke with us about the new norms for student mental health and the necessity for remembering race in America long after 2020.
Dr. Mason, PhD, LPC, NCC, NCSC, is the Associate Dean of African American Affairs, Director of the Luther Porter Jackson Black Cultural Center at the University of Virginia, and expert advisor to The Steve Fund. Dr. Mason discusses his ground-breaking work on Black student mental health at UVA as well as how caretaking norms on campus have changed with the pandemic, and the inflection point that now exists for how we respond to racial disparities in this country.
You can listen to this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. While you’re there, share and subscribe for more conversations on student mental health with higher education leaders and researchers. Thank you for your listenership.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
In an op-ed for The Hechinger Report, Dr. Jill Grimes, M.D., FAAFP, and Jill Henry, M.A., describe the newfound strength and resilience attained by high school seniors who graduated during the pandemic. For many seniors, the pandemic upended major life changes and plans for students “transitioning from high school to college or career.” However, Grimes and Henry argue that students “gained invaluable experience being resourceful when they didn’t know how to proceed.” Students learned the value in extracurriculars when classes were no longer held in-person; gained money management skills and at times contributed towards family expenses by obtaining part-time or full-time work, and benefited from increased “national health IQ” through proper-handwashing and health safety practices. Authors write that the transition to telehealth and online counseling could be “a game changer for students going forward.”
The Boston Globe and Vermont Public Radio report on the four student deaths at Dartmouth College this year, at least two of which were suicides. The disheartening events act as a reminder of the loneliness and isolation experienced by many students as a result of the pandemic. The deaths called into question the school’s policies and support around mental health. Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Reimer ‘24 died by suicide in mid-May after being sent home involuntarily following a suicide attempt and hospitalization. Colleges navigating COVID-19 policies have struggled to create safe measures on campus while also maintaining the much-needed sense of community. With schools cancelling all campus events and some even forbidding students to leave their dorm rooms except for strict necessities, students report feeling solitude and increased rates of depression and anxiety. Nance Roy, a professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School and the chief clinical officer at the Jed Foundation, said in the article, “This age group, the sense of belonging and connectedness with peers and being part of a community is key to their identity.”
Host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Noel King, speaks with Colorado Public Radio education reporter Jenny Brudin about the recent decision by Colorado Children’s Hospital to declare a pediatric mental health emergency. Pediatric visits to Colorado emergency rooms between January and April increased by 72% in 2021, largely due to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. While anxiety widely affected adolescents before the pandemic, Brudin suggests that their resilience has been further diminished by the toll of remote learning, social isolation, family problems or even a parent death. As teens continue to deal with the acute stress of academics and college matriculation, they are now also battling heightened feelings of burn-out and hopelessness without adequate systems in place to support them. With hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of need and students struggling to find safe spaces at school, Brudin says, for many, “Their question is, is anybody listening?”
Other News
As Winona State University’s director of Integrated Wellness, Kate Noelke is collecting data and working with experts on a mental health initiative that would better connect students to communities through music, art, volunteering, and recreation. Noelke stated, “Getting counseling is great. But we want students to stay well between their appointments.”
A study conducted by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) found that a 4-week stress prevention program involving college student interaction with therapy dogs significantly improved their metacognition and executive functioning.
In an op-ed for the LA Times, novelist Jasmin Iolani Hakes, discusses how the US mental health system continues to let down her 20-year-old daughter, whose lifelong emotional problems left her hospitalized after a recent suicide attempt. In struggling to find her daughter adequate care over the years, Hakes says she finds herself navigating a system that requires patients to hit “rock bottom” before recognizing and treating the seriousness of their issues.
University of Illinois student Nolan Clarke has co-created Vrtumind, an iOS app designed to achieve mental health goals through artificial intelligence optimization. The algorithm determines the most beneficial sessions for users, be it exercises, meditations, or helpful videos.
Yale University announces its new Yale College Community Care program, an initiative that will hire eight full-time, diverse mental health experts to provide culturally competent care, some of whom will be embedded in the school’s residential colleges.
On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, the University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity will host a Zoom discussion about “Anti-Asian Hate and the Mental Health Crisis on College Campuses.” With anti-Asian hate crimes still on the rise in the US, the session brings together specialists in higher education, mental health, and Asian American studies to explore how colleges may best support and foster wellness for their Asian American/Pacific Islander students going forward.
In a perspective piece for The Washington Post, columnist Petrula Dvorak writes about incoming Cornell University student Nick Asante’s push for policy on school mental health days in Montgomery County.
KPVI News reports on Nebraska Wesleyan University’s decision to continue utilizing online or remote counseling sessions even after the pandemic. To meet the demand for mental health services at NWU, director of counseling services, Kim Corner, says the privacy of remote sessions could have also “helped remove the stigma for some students who may have been avoiding seeking help.”
In an opinion piece for Inside Higher Ed, Melody Moezzi, a visiting associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, argues that suicide prevention training should be mandatory. Despite the recent survey report showing faculty welcoming further mental health training, Moezzie states that it remains optional for many universities to train on suicide prevention, whereas active shooter training is mandatory for many universities.
Denison University announces the Ann and Thomas Hoaglin Wellness Center, which will serve as a holistic place for students to engage with resources to meet their physical and mental health goals.
