Mental and Behavioral Health
According to a new survey of more than 400 college presidents by the American Council on Education, students’ mental health has become more of a priority for colleges which are allocating more resources to address it. More than 80 percent of the presidents surveyed say that mental health is more of a priority on campus than it was three years ago, The presidents reported that that anxiety and depression were the most common mental health issues they were aware of. Seventy two percent of the presidents indicated they had allocated more funding to mental health initiatives than they did three years ago. The presidents also said they relied mostly on their top student affairs professional to handle student mental health matters.
A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders assessed the acceptability and effectiveness of a 5-week, internet-based mental-health intervention program for college students with anxiety or depression symptoms. The intervention included 4 online lessons, 4 downloadable summaries, and homework activities based on principles of cognitive behavior therapy. The study showed that the intervention may provide meaningful clinical outcomes in an acceptable format. Clinically meaningful improvements were reported in 59% of students with depression and 66% of students with anxiety. Overall satisfaction was high with 75% of students reporting being satisfied or very satisfied with the intervention program and 93% of students reporting that they would recommend the intervention program to others.
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc., a provider of educational products and services solutions for higher education and K-12 institutions, produced a report titled, “Mental Health and Well-Being on Campus: How We Better Care for the Whole Student.” The report surveyed college students and parents of current college students to better understand the state of mental and physical well-being on campus. The report found that college students are under more stress than ever before – driven by a variety of factors such as the current political environment, academic expectations, financial concerns, and relationships. In addition, the report underscores the role of universities, parents, friends and extended family members to better assist students in addressing mental health issues. The report cited the perspective of three experts on this topic – Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D., Healthy Minds Network, University of Michigan, said Victor Schwartz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of The Jed Foundation and Ron Goldman, co-founder and CEO of Kognito.
Diversity and Inclusion
Colleges and universities are identifying ways to reach prospective students from rural America, who often live in “education deserts” and are less likely to have postsecondary degrees. Inside Higher Ed highlights the efforts of the University of North Carolina system in connecting with students in the far corners of their state. During the 2018-19 academic year, UNC Chapel Hill’s admissions officers hosted and attended 435 recruitment events across North Carolina for admitted students and families, including many in rural communities. They hope the efforts are opening up pathways for NC Community College transfer students to pursue bachelor’s degrees, providing more options for online education and implementing NC Promise, which created a fixed $500-per-semester tuition rate last year at three state universities.
As Illinois lawmakers scrutinize steps to address the legal loophole used by some affluent families to improperly gain access to financial aid, some national student access and financial aid groups warn against overreaction that would hurt low-income students. “I’m absolutely aware that we could have an overreaction to what is an egregious but localized issue that would negatively impact all legal guardianships, including legitimate ones,” said Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. According to the reporting on the issue, roughly four dozen families had given up legal guardianship of their children shortly before they turned 18. There’s little evidence so far that other institutions in the state have had similar cases.
A column for the Center for American Progress asserts that as hate crimes on campus have increased, universities must further address racial trauma and commit to ensuring that students of color have access to the mental health resources they need to succeed. According to the column, universities should decrease fees, reduce wait times, and promote staff diversity at campus counseling centers.
Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today, or ACCEPT, is a newly created non-profit organization that started as a Facebook community of admissions officers and college counselors discussing racial and socioeconomic inequity in the field, and microaggressions they’ve faced in their work. The organization plans to host a national conference this fall and offer consulting services (including “bias and equity assessments”) to admissions offices. The group wants colleges to think harder about the composition and well-being of admissions staffs, with a goal of dismantling admissions practices that promote inequality. The diverse forum throws white and nonwhite people into discussions, often uncomfortable discussions, they otherwise might not seek out.
The first African-American female student body president of American University won a $725,000 judgment in a lawsuit against Andrew Anglin, the publisher of the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer who incited a racist “troll storm” targeting her. In May 2017, on the day Taylor Dumpson was sworn in as American University’s student body president, bananas with racist messages written on them were found hanging on nooses around campus. After news outlets reported on the nooses, Anglin posted Ms. Dumpson’s personal information online and encouraged his followers to harass her. In the aftermath, Ms. Dumpson constantly feared for her safety and learned she had post-traumatic stress disorder. “Ms. Dumpson was targeted because of her race and gender,” Judge Rosemary Collyer of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in her ruling on Friday awarding the judgment.
Although racial and ethnic diversity has improved among college faculty, it still lags that of students, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics analyzed by the Pew Research Center. The share of nonwhite undergraduate students rose to 45% from 28% in the two decades ending in the fall of 2017. But growth in nonwhite, full-time faculty has been slower, with their share rising to 24% from 14% during that period.
Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow students with marijuana convictions to keep their federal financial aid. Under the legislation, students would retain aid for six months while they complete a drug rehabilitation program. The bill is part of a growing push to restore federal aid to students with past convictions and comes as more colleges and states relax their stances toward marijuana.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
According to reporting by the Beacon Project, a student-journalism initiative at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 48 former patients have accused a one-time doctor at the University of Southern California of sexual abuse. The accusers, many of whom are former USC students, said that Dennis Kelly, who worked for more than two decades at the university’s student health center, had subjected them to unnecessary rectal probing, made inappropriate comments, and fondled their genitals. The allegations follow a lawsuit filed in February by six people (later joined by 15 others) against Kelly and the university.
Two former University of California System students accused of sexual misconduct have filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status that alleges the system’s Title IX policies are unfair. The students say they were denied their due process rights because they did not have an opportunity to cross-examine their accusers and other witnesses before a neutral fact-finder. The outcome of the case could affect more than 500 students who were found responsible for sexual misconduct by the system.
College Affordability
In an editorial in Inside Higher Ed, Claude O. Pressnell Jr., the president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, argues that free college programs limit students’ educational opportunities to state-funded universities that may not be the best option for all students. According to Pressnell, “some students flourish in a more intimate/mentoring environment that a private college provides, while other students thrive in a large public university setting. We need a wide array of campus cultures to ensure all students succeed.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that while a college degree boosts salaries for most people, a growing number of graduates aren’t seeing return on their investment. “It just has not been the blanket guarantee of following the same path to prosperity that the earlier generations followed,” says economist William Emmons of the St. Louis Federal Reserve. According to the Journal, three related shifts have caused economists to examine the returns of college; the wages of college graduates have remained mostly flat this century; the cost of attending college has skyrocketed; and even with higher salaries, significant numbers of college graduates in recent years are failing to build the wealth that previous generations did.
Morehouse College, a historically black men’s college, is soliciting donations intended to reduce its students’ education loan debt. For the Student Success Program, Morehouse is talking with philanthropies, corporations and individuals who have shown an interest in donating. The initiative comes a little over two months after billionaire investor Robert Smith said he will pay off the debt of this year’s graduates.
Hunger and Homelessness
Nearly three dozen higher education groups wrote to Congress last week urging the passage of legislation that aims to reduce food insecurity on campus, an issue that affects one-third of students. The College Student Hunger Act of 2019, proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D, MA) and Rep. Al Lawson (D, FL), lays out measures to ensure more low-income students can access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The legislation aims to remove barriers preventing students from accessing the federal program at a time when more colleges are courting nontraditional students.
Free Speech
The University of Florida is paying $66,000 and making policy changes to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a young conservative student group which claimed the school violated its members’ free-speech rights. The school agreed to eliminate policies that prohibited the group from receiving fees to enlist conservative speakers. The chapter, aided by Alliance Defending Freedom, was a non-budgeted campus organization that frequently helped organize on-campus speaking engagements for conservative commentators including Ben Shapiro and Dinesh D’Souza.
