A Global Mindset: Student Mental Health at Minerva University
In the first story of our winter Quarterly, we focus on Minerva University, where students participate in a total immersion program operating in seven major cities around the world. The merit-based, need-blind university has an innovative pedagogy aimed at revolutionizing higher education to focus on knowledge gain in areas that will equip students to lead on a global stage. So how do you establish a mental health program that accommodates exceptional students at one of the most innovative schools in the world? Minerva President Teri Cannon and head of counseling services, Will Meek, tell the story of how a combination of flexible programming and an inclusive environment accommodate the unique mental health needs of tomorrow’s global leaders.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
Inside Higher Ed reports on a bipartisan legislation being introduced to congress to tackle the mental health crisis on college campuses, given the pandemic’s exacerbation of mental health issues among students. Members of Congress, Representative David Trone and Senator Bob Casey, have introduced the bipartisan bill that would fund research efforts to study institutional policies and services to then provide a specific overview of solutions. “I think it’s exciting that the bill is striving to bring everyone to the table, including students,” said Laura Horne, chief program officer at Active Minds.
Other News
NPR publicizes a UCLA study that links facing discrimination at a young age to future mental health issues. Young people who faced discrimination at least a few times a month were 25% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness and twice as likely to develop severe psychological distress.
Researchers at Penn State University’s College of Medicine found that school-based mental health screening can help identify depression in students. The study of over 12,000 high schoolers, showed participants were twice as likely to start treatment.
A discussion about college mental health and wellness is published on Education Now from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Key takeaways include developing mental health policies and elements attributing to resilience.
In an op-ed for The Williams Record, alumna Amy Sosne ’05 emphasizes focusing on student mental health as we return to “normal.” “Time should be spent at every age level on rebuilding social/emotional skills and a sense of community, trust, as well as acceptance and coping skills that include self-care, self compassion, and lack of judgment and comparison to ‘what was, what should have been, and where I should be now,’” said Sosne.
YaleNews reports on initiatives to bolster mental health services at Yale University due to rising student demand. A new program called Yale College Community Care, or YC3 , will expand access to mental health and wellness care and bring services to Yale’s residential colleges.
The Columbia Spectator interviews Isabella Souza ‘25 on her self-help book, “Self-made Self-care for the Teenager,” and on mental health stigmatization. Souza also talks about the multicultural components that affect mental health stigma in the Latino community.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Chronicle reports on Howard University’s longest sit-in protest. Over 100 students have been occupying the Armour J. Blackburn University Center and camping nearby in protest of living conditions and lack of student representation in the school’s decision-making. Dozens of students from other universities have joined in solidarity by protesting for increased federal funding towards HBCUs and better housing conditions on their campuses. On Tuesday, vice president for student affairs, Cynthia Evers, invited “students, parents, public officials, health inspectors, and more” to examine residence halls for poor conditions. On Friday, President Wayne A.I. Frederick will host a virtual town hall – one of the demands made by protestors.
Higher Ed Dive covers how lottery admissions at selective colleges would actually decrease the number of low-income students and students of color. Based on a new study, researchers found that fewer Black, Latinx, and low-income students would be admitted than now through multiple lottery simulations using U.S. Department of Education data. Lottery draws from specific student groups would most likely not be feasible considering the legal limit on racial admissions quotas. A minimum GPA requirement would also significantly decrease the number of male admits.
According to the newly released annual survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, marginalized students prefer virtual recruiting over traditional methods. Based on over 15,000 responses from students in bachelor’s degree programs, those from historically marginalized groups, such as Black, Hispanic and first-generation college students, benefitted from virtual recruitment strategies than from in-person recruiting. The class of 2021 seniors reported an average of 0.83 job offers, which was lower than the class of 2020’s average job offer rate of 0.93. NACE executive director Shawn VanDerzial says the virtual process can make hiring more equitable and accessible.
Student Success
Inside Higher Ed reports on a new survey showing that 9o% of humanities graduates are happy with their lives. Conducted by the Humanities Indicators Project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the report looked at the reasons why. According to the report, “humanities majors were less likely than business or health/medical sciences graduates to consider salary ‘very important.’” Additionally, humanities graduates work in a broad range of fields: “Contrary to the stereotype, humanities graduates — even those without advanced degrees — are widely distributed across occupational categories, similar to college graduates generally and those from the science disciplines.”
Inside Higher Ed features an article on a new push for a three-year bachelor’s degree program by higher education leaders and colleges. Over the summer, Robert Zemsky, professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, and Lori Carrell, chancellor of the University of Minnesota at Rochester, looked into the possibility of creating a three-year bachelor’s degree program at over a dozen colleges. After recruiting universities to explore the program, College in 3, Zemsky and Carrell hope to revamp the academic curriculum in order for students to learn what they need for a bachelor’s degree at three-quarters of the cost.
Inside Higher Ed publicizes new research that argues that grade inflation has attributed to the rise in college completion rates from the 1990s. Researchers from Brigham Young University, Purdue, and Stanford found that the average GPA for first-year students has increased the past thirty years. Jeffrey T. Denning, one of the authors of the study, says it could be both good and bad: “College graduation looks like it went up as a result and graduating from college has been shown as a good thing and [grade inflation is] a low-cost way to do it in that there’s no monetary cost.” Dennings says, students, however, may less likely invest in college.
College Affordability
The Chronicle features proposals from a new report that outlines ways that can ease Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) verification for students and colleges during the financial aid application process. Students required to verify information must complete additional institutional documents, submit supporting tax materials, and signed statements. Financial-aid officers will then have to review documents, recalculate contributions, and report all made changes to the government. The report recommends that the Education Department adjust selection algorithms to focus on those whose family contributions are likely to change from verification rather than enrolled students who already completed verification the previous year with no significant changes to their expected family contributions.
Coronavirus: Safety and Reopening
Inside Higher Ed and Higher Ed Dive reports that on Thursday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard that employers with over 100 employees have 60 days to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. Employers must also offer a weekly testing alternative to those unable to get vaccinated by January 4th, 2022, including all employees across any U.S. location. Part-time employees count towards the total of the 100-employees requirement, and employers are required to provide up to four hours of paid time and necessary sick leave to support vaccination. While many colleges already have vaccination mandates in place, the new OSHA standard will affect private colleges with 100 or more employees.
