Webinar: The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Recent Graduates
Last week, the Mary Christie Institute hosted a webinar to review the findings and implications of the recent survey: “The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Young Professionals.” This event was a partnership between MCI, the Healthy Minds Network, the American Association for Colleges and Universities (AACU), and the National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE). You can find the presentation slides and webinar video on this site.
The webinar opens with a presentation of the survey results by Sarah K. Lipson, Principal Investigator of the Healthy Minds Network and Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. Then, Kirk Carapezza, Managing Editor and Correspondent for Higher Education at GBH News, moderates a panel discussion between three experts: Guttman Community College Provost Nicola Blake, AACU President Lynn Pasquerella, and NACE Executive Director Shawn VanDerziel.
The survey was also the subject of a segment on CBS News. Many young people reported struggling with the transition to the workplace, confronting frequent burnout as well as an emotionally negative work environment. To combat these issues going forward, experts told CBS they “see value in mindset related training and life skills curriculum for young students as early as middle school.”
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
This month, the Mary Christie Institute, in partnership with Georgetown University and sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation, will host its annual Presidents’ Convening on College Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. The event brings together university leaders to explore how the mental health crisis is impacting student and institutional success, as well as possible solutions to this national emergency. One of this year’s expert speakers is Eric Wood, Director of Counseling and Mental Health at Texas Christian University and architect of its Collaborative Care Model. “I’m presenting on innovations in college mental health and the importance of changing the narrative of our field from previously being pessimistic to now imaginative and proactive,” Wood told Texas Christian University News. “I’m also stressing the importance of collaborations with community and campus partners.”
Other News
U.S. News features new research suggesting that the risk of depression among LGBTQ+ students is lower at schools with active LGBTQ+ support groups, or Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs).
The NCAA publishes a letter reinforcing its commitment to student-athlete mental health and announcing its constitution now includes the word “mental health” for the first time.
The Wall Street Journal offers testimonies from college students across the country, responding to the question: “Have Mental-Health Prescriptions Gone Too Far?”
For The New Republic, Aaron R. Hanlon, Associate Professor of English at Colby College, criticizes colleges for programming that “reflects the priorities of professional human resource management more than of higher education.”
The 74 reveals that a “massive ransomware attack” of the Los Angeles school district has led to the psychiatric evaluations of around 2,000 former students being uploaded to the dark web.
Education Week considers the impact of “Zen Dens,” campus spaces cropping up across the country to offer students a designated area for rest and recuperation during the school day.
Also in Education Week: a new survey from EdWeek Research Center indicates many students may actually be feeling hopeful about their futures, reporting that “morale” has improved compared to before the pandemic.
USA Today interviews several experts on mental health and first-response to discuss the impact of the nation’s new 988 mental health crisis line so far and how to improve it going forward.
Inside Higher Ed spotlights an initiative at Western New England University to help a third of the community complete Mental Health First-Aid certification and be able to identify and address mental health challenges.
CBS News finds high schools are also investing in Mental Health First-Aid for their young students so that they can detect signs of trouble in their peers and offer support.
For The Chronicle, Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Senior Associate Director for Teaching and Learning at Simmons University, questions the efficacy of mental health breaks for improving student outcomes.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Amid a string of Republican-led states considering cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming at their public colleges and universities, Higher Ed Dive notes that the University of Texas System is putting a pause on all new DEI initiatives. Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has received much of the attention for his skepticism towards DEI programming, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick evidently also “named eradication of diversity practices in higher ed a legislative priority.”
Student Buzz
The Ithacan features a recent on-campus panel event, “Strong Bodies & Minds,” organized by Ithaca College MBA students and dedicated to exploring the unique pressures impacting student-athlete mental health.
According to The Kenyan Collegian, the student council heard two different proposals from students both interested in establishing a group on campus dedicated to student-athlete mental health.
For The University News, an op-ed highlights a group of students under considerable stress whose needs have not been met by mental health services at Saint Louis University: Resident Advisors (RAs).
An op-ed for The Daily Texan urges the university to ensure that the Interfraternity Council offers mental health programming for fraternity members, who can be at particular risk of suicide.
Also in the The Daily Texan, one student columnist argues: “UT should implement an online mental health module for first-year students that teaches students how to make well-informed choices about their mental health.”
The Editorial Board of The Oberlin Review calls on the university to expand resources and help relieve the burden of student mental health care it says has fallen on faculty shoulders.
For The Crimson, a first-year at the law school criticizes Harvard’s approach to the student mental health crisis, suggesting the university has failed to address how its particular environment or culture perpetuates these issues.
A recent alumna writes for The Daily Princetonian, encouraging her university to institute a “community-based, enhanced care therapy program,” called Next Step, currently active at Rutgers University.
The Daily Tar Heel reports that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is allocating $7.7 million to colleges and universities across the state to support mental health initiatives.
Academic Freedom
While similar activities may be ramping up in Texas, attention to Florida Governor DeSantis’ proposed education reform certainly hasn’t slowed. According to Inside Higher Ed, the introduction of a new bill, HB 999, poses to turn to law some of DeSantis’ efforts to disrupt the supposed proliferation of “wokeism” in higher education, among them cuts to DEI initiatives and the removal of some majors related to race or gender. Already, the state’s restrictions around how educators can discuss race in the classroom has left some uncertain about what content is off limits, The Wall Street Journal says. One columnist for The New York Times writes that the passage of HB 999 would be a “sledgehammer to academic freedom.”
Student Success
As undergraduate institutions begin to follow in the footsteps of graduate ones and stop cooperating with the U.S. News & World Report rankings, The Wall Street Journal announces that Colorado College is now the highest ranked college to drop out. And though schools are leaving behind rankings out of concern that they perpetuate outdated and elitist values, The Hechinger Report suggests the dissolution of these systems may leave prospective students with fewer resources with which to choose what school to attend.
The New Yorker investigates why the number of students pursuing English degrees is in “free fall,” as many turn to science and engineering in hopes of a more secure career path. This movement away from the humanities comes, as The Washington Post notes, amid new changes at Marymount University to eliminate several majors, including English, history, and philosophy.
College Affordability
Yesterday, the Supreme Court began hearing cases for and against President Biden’s student debt relief plan. The plan, which would make millions of Americans eligible for between $10-20,000 of debt relief, stalled after accusations from six Republican-led states that the President was overstepping his executive authority. According to The New York Times, the Court’s opinion so far seems to be split along party lines, with the conservative majority voicing particular skepticism. Meanwhile, The Times says, supporters of the plan demonstrated outside. Commentary in The Hechinger Report and The New Republic explores the implications of the Court’s decision on the future of college accessibility going forward.
Basic Needs
According to Ed Surge, more and more students under financial stress have been able to turn to local FAST Funds, which offer support to those who need help covering school expenses or basic needs. University faculty and staff have been important to the growth of these funds, the goal of which is to ensure that students’ studies stay on track in the face of financial uncertainty or emergencies.
Campus Safety
After the recent shooting at Michigan State University, The Chronicle features a Q&A with the university interim president, interim provost, and chief of police about their response to the tragedy. The university leaders lament how they found support from those at schools subjected to similar incidents, while a graduate student from another institution questions in EdSurge the idea that student active shooter training could become the “new normal.” In West Virginia, NPR reports, a bill recently passed allowing people to carry concealed weapons on public college campuses around the state
