New Quadcast Ep. 29 – A Year in Review on College Student Mental Health: Resilience, Awareness, and Opportunities for 2022
As the end of 2021 draws near, the Mary Christie Institute reflects on the impact of the pandemic on college student mental health and higher education’s response to the continuing uncertainty on campuses. Executive Director of Counseling and Wellness at New York University, Dr. Zoe Ragouzeos, discusses student isolation and loneliness, the pandemic’s silver lining that de-stigmatized mental health and outreach for help, and key findings on faculty’s role when it comes to student mental health.
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Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The New York Times and The Boston Globe report on colleges considering more restrictions amidst the emergence of the Omicron variant, however many officials are concerned about student mental health. Colleges across the nation have already announced moving final exams online and many students have been urged to leave for winter break as soon as possible. With in-person events being cancelled, health experts weigh in on what that may mean for college students and their wellbeing. “I am worried about student mental health in places that might become really restrictive in the face of a new variant,” said Dr. Shira Doron, an attending physician at Tufts Medical Center and associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. The Boston Globe also reports on the four suicides that took place at Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus this year, how the administration is responding and how families are coping.
The latest Student Voice survey from Inside Higher Ed reveals insights into the fall 2021 college experience. According to over 2,000 college student responses, 34% said the semester was going better than expected and over half felt safe from COVID on campus. Almost half of private nonprofit college students said they felt that their institutions were very prepared when returning to in-person learning for the fall. Six in ten students say they have socialized this semester more than ever before or more than in the spring. While 35% of students said their mental health was better than it was in the spring, 60% said they are struggling with their mental health this semester – rating it as “fair” or “poor.”
Other News
Inside Higher Ed features its annual showcase of holiday video greetings from colleges and universities, many of which reflect the resilience from this past year, along with hope and musical talent from the nation’s colleges. Many colleges shine a light on their campuses by honoring and celebrating members of their communities and spreading holiday cheer through campus mascots.
The Boston Globe is looking for responses from faculty, students, and administrators on how their mental health is at this point in the pandemic.
The Los Angeles Times outlines strategies on how counselors and other school staff can help students with their mental health. It includes limitations of school-based mental health systems and the role of faculty and staff members.
The New Yorker features an article on how young athletes, such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles, influenced the public on conversations surrounding mental health.
Diverse Education’s podcast, “In the Margins,” covers meeting the mental health needs of minority college students in a new episode. Panelists discuss key points for higher education institutions to invest in mental health to address the unique challenges facing students today.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Inside Higher Ed reports on the myriad of legal obstacles that keep formerly incarcerated students who achieved college degrees from getting jobs. According to the Institute for Justice, the federal government and every state in the country has laws restricting job options for those with criminal records. The Marshall Project’s report found that there were at least “40,000 federal, state and local restrictions across the country, known as ‘collateral consequences,’ that prevent formerly incarcerated people from working in certain jobs and also from accessing various services and opportunities.”
Inside Higher Ed reports on disabled student unions advocating for more accessible campuses, demanding additional accommodations, establishing a greater support network, and raising awareness of the challenges their student population faces. “When the pandemic started, the whole world was able to switch to remote and online learning, whereas disabled students have been asking for these accommodations for years, and the university has in the past said, ‘That’s impossible,’” said Quinn O’ Connor, college senior and co-founder of the Disabled Student Union at UCLA.
In an op-ed for Diverse Education, vice president of enrollment at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Dr. Kristin R. Tichenor, writes about the importance of colleges and universities diversifying their STEM enrollments. “Black students earned only 7% of STEM degrees. Even more concerning, the percentage of Black women earning engineering degrees between 2000 and 2017 declined by 30%. Where have we gone wrong?” writes Tichenor. The op-ed outlines steps for administrators to consider when it comes to recruiting more undergraduate students of color, first-gen, and low-income students in STEM fields.
Student Success
The Washington Post and Higher Ed Dive report on Harvard University’s recent announcement to extend test-optional admissions for the class enrolling in fall of 2026. Harvard cited pandemic-related hardships and restricted access to testing sites as reasons to continue test-optional admissions practices. Many institutions have shifted to test-optional admissions and the social justice reckoning in the past year have criticized the use of the SAT and ACT for their partiality towards wealthier students who can afford extensive tutoring and preparation.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a new statement outlining best practices to accommodate transfer students. Higher education associations, the American Council on Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, co-sign an updated version of the statement that recommends colleges and universities use consistent standards to evaluate transfer credits, remove unnecessary barriers to accessing transcripts and self-audit their transfer policies.
College Affordability
In light of the recent news on the Biden administration reinstating student loan payments that were halted during the pandemic, The Washington Post interviews former students who took out higher education loans. Borrowers discuss what they would change when it came to student loans, such as avoiding high interest rates, how they would re-choose repayment programs, and lingering expenses from graduate school.
Coronavirus: Safety and Protocol
The Chronicle and Inside Higher Ed report on colleges scrambling amidst the sudden emergence of the Omicron variant. Stanford, Harvard, DePaul, and other schools have already made announcements to move to remote classes for the first few weeks of the spring semester. Other schools such as Tufts, Georgetown, NYU, and Princeton have already moved forward to shift their final exams online and cancel in-person events. Public health experts are urging institutions to mitigate the spread of COVID during December graduation ceremonies, which could become super-spreader events. Institutions are also starting to require booster shots and extend mask mandates. The Chronicle’s Live Coronavirus Updates publish updates from institutions and follow news on Coronavirus campus policies.
