New Quadcast: ACE’s Director of Research and Practice, Dr. Hollie Chessman
In the new Quadcast, Dr. Hollie Chessman, Ph.D., Ed.M., Director of Research and Practice at the American Council on Education, shares insights from three major research efforts, including the Presidents’ Pulse Point Surveys, which tracked leaders’ increasing concern for student mental health throughout the pandemic.
Other studies provide best practices on institution-wide prevention and addressment strategies and a deep dive on the mental health needs of minoritized groups – all within the context of the past 18 months and in anticipation of the “new normal.” Read the publications surveying college presidents and the well-being of students with minoritized identities.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
While continuing to defend its actions, Brown University has settled with the US Justice Department for violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Between 2012 and 2017, Brown refused readmission to students who took mental health leaves, even though Title III requires universities to accommodate students with disabilities, including mental health disabilities. Now, in addition to providing Title III training for certain faculty and staff, Brown will have to compensate students affected by its practices, offering almost $700,000 to those denied readmission despite their physician’s approval. The university is also adjusting its policies to facilitate mental health care on leave and ensure communication with students and their doctors in the process. Read more about the case here and here.
Inside Higher Ed discusses the results of the annual Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement, which shows that this fall’s first-year students are combatting higher levels of depression and loneliness, as well as mental and emotional exhaustion. In response to the survey, which has assessed around 35,000 students so far, experts advise schools not to become complacent, even as classes seem to return to “normal.” Erica Riba, Director of Higher Education and Student Engagement at the Jed Foundation, says, “It’s up to institutions to create the right environment for students to succeed during the pandemic.” The Jed Foundation recently released guidance to address campus mental health and well-being for the fall semester.
Other News
The Washington Post discusses how incoming college students can deal with the stress that comes with uncharted obstacles on campus, including navigating new independence, socializing, sleep, and academics.
At Texas A&M, researchers are pursuing a new form of wearable technology that would monitor stress levels and respond by referring the wearer to helpful resources. The effort was launched after a survey revealed a vast majority of students experienced more general and health-specific stress this year,
According to Nevada Today, research from the Orvis School of Nursing draws a link between a sense of community and improved mental health during the pandemic: A survey of nursing students suggests that, despite their increased reports of academic stress, they experienced fewer depressive symptoms because they continuously benefited from a community of nurses and some in-person interaction.
The Dartmouth reveals that a student-conducted report last summer, which included testimonies from students about their pandemic-related health concerns, anticipated what would become rampant mental health issues on campus and result in three student suicides. The report offered guidance for the school on how to prepare for student mental health problems, but the authors feel their counsel was largely unheeded.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In response to legislative efforts across the country to limit discussions of race and diversity training in K-12 schools, university faculty and staff are also preparing, and worrying, for restrictions on their own teaching. Several historical and higher education groups have come together to oppose such legislation, citing its censorship of learning about race and racism. The Chronicle provides a map of states the legislation could affect.
Higher Ed Dive reports that the regents of the University of Nevada voted five to three not to institute new policy that would limit discussions of race and racism within the system. Regent and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen proposed the change, marking “the first high-profile attempt to do so at a college governing board level.” As conservative legislators across the country try to ban teaching critical race theory, Pillen’s efforts to influence higher education met both celebration and condemnation.
The Hechinger Report discusses the persistent racial gaps in higher education, as an increasing amount of 25-34-year-olds earn college degrees, but the disparities between White, Black, Hispanic, and Native students continue to increase or stay the same. Experts say that there are ethical as well as economic incentives to narrow these gaps, and the pandemic has only helped exacerbate inequities. Low-income students need particular support to reach college graduation, as one study found that the highest-income students with bottom-half test scores were more likely to graduate than the lowest-income students with scores in the top half.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced on Wednesday that Baylor University’s sexual assault scandal in the 2010s did not breach N.C.A.A. rules. After a series of omissions of reports against Baylor University’s football players, a law firm hired by the university in 2016 found that leaders and team officials of Baylor’s football program hid sexual violence reports from the appropriate authorities. University officials stated that at least 19 players had been accused of sexual misconduct.
College Affordability
Higher Ed Dive covers the recent surge in pandemic student debt forgiveness, noting institutional efforts to forgive unpaid balances are focused on targeting retention and re-enrollment rates. Federal relief funding has allowed for a stream of colleges and universities, including many historically Black universities, to eliminate immediate debt.
Basic Needs
Diverse Education reports on the vulnerability of student parents facing housing insecurity due to the nation’s housing crisis. A report from the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice discovered “68% of student parents in 2019 reported facing housing insecurity” and were 15% more likely in March 2021 to experience housing instability compared to non-parent student peers. Approximately 1 in 5 college students, or 22% of undergraduates, are parents. Seventy percent of student parents are mothers, most of which are women of color.
Coronavirus: Safety and Reopening
The Chronicle and Inside Higher Ed report on a number of colleges deciding to start the fall semester online due to the recent surge in Delta variant cases. Some universities in Texas and California have announced delaying in-person learning, switching to virtual classes for at least the first few weeks of school. Institutions changing plans to remote learning are in areas with low vaccination rates and rising hospitalizations. The Chronicle continues to report live Coronavirus updates on college reopening plans.
According to Inside Higher Ed, some college campuses are experiencing housing shortages after increased demand for an in-person return, while others are struggling to fill residence halls after a drop in enrollment numbers. Middlebury College in Vermont is offering students a 50% discount in room and board to live in student housing 11 miles away from campus. Wright State University in Ohio, however, cut student housing prices by 35% to attract more students to attend for the academic year. Large land-grant universities and private elite institutions are seeing the most housing shortages, whereas public regional institutions and colleges in the Midwest are unable to reach capacity from the pandemic’s drop in enrollment numbers for traditional-age students.
