Quadcast Ep. 37: Collaboration and Infrastructure in Campus Health Promotion Strategy
In today’s Quadcast, Paula Swinford, MS, MHA, CHES, is the director of the Office for Health Promotion Strategy and a clinical instructor for family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
Swinford talks about what it takes to create a health-promoting campus – from assessing student needs to establishing university structures – and discusses the five components of the Collective Impact Framework.
A new issue of the Mary Christie Quarterly is out this week. CORRECTION: In the letter to our readers, we incorrectly referred to Jake Baggott as the current president of the American College Health Association (ACHA). Baggott is a past president. Dr. Jessica Higgs is the current president of the ACHA.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
Inside Higher Ed reports on students’ perceptions of and experiences with campus mental health services, which showed that more work is needed in supporting and communicating student mental health. Based on the latest Student Voice survey, nearly one-third of students were not knowledgeable enough about their college’s mental health services to evaluate them. Additionally, students who judged their institution’s mental health services to be lacking may also have the wrong perception about the purpose of counseling. “There’s this unrealistic expectation that counseling fixes everything. You can’t go to counseling and expect life is going to be better after the first time you go,” said Jenny Ortiz, associate director of wellness and health promotions at St. Olaf College.
The Chronicle covers why students quit college during COVID. According to a new report on a survey from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup, students cited the largest barriers to continuing their enrollment was emotional stress, health concerns, and financial worries. Over 70% of students who thought about leaving college cited emotional stress – the leading reason as to why they considered withdrawing from college. Over 50% reported that tuition costs were a reason for not continuing their higher education. About a third cited family responsibilities as a barrier.
An op-ed for The Hechinger Report argues that peer support can be utilized as a promising mental health support resource at schools. “These models don’t eliminate or compete with mental health professionals. Instead, they enlist peers as close, credible messengers who are especially attuned to one another’s struggles. Peer supports offer something that professionals often can’t, and vice versa,” said Chelsea Waite, a senior researcher at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, and Julia Freeland Fisher, the director of education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute.
Other News
The Jed Foundation’s Faculty Guide to Supporting Student Mental Health provides educators with evidence-based ways to support students.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a group of former grad students alleging that Johns Hopkins University discriminated against them on the basis of mental health disability status, race, or both, during their program in clinical counseling.
The Brink reports on findings from the Healthy Minds Study showing that the mental health of college students is getting worse. Rates of anxiety and depression have been steadily increasing over the past eight years, and the rates are even higher for racial and ethnic minority students.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
GBH News and The Wall Street Journal report on Harvard University’s recent announcement to commit $100 million in an attempt to rectify the institution’s ties to slavery. President of Harvard, Larry Bacow, stated that the university’s “commitment to truth means that we must embrace it even when it makes us uncomfortable or causes us pain.” In a 134-page report, details of Harvard’s direct, financial, and intellectual involvement in ties to slavery over several centuries were revealed.
The Chronicle reports on tribal campuses continuing online, despite challenges with reliable internet. The cost of network connection may be a barrier for tribal colleges in Native American reservations overwhelmingly located in rural, remote areas of the United States with few broadband service providers. Many Native students may also be limited by outdated equipment.
Inside Higher Ed covers higher education institutions hiring significantly more college presidents and chancellors of color, following the death of George Floyd. According to a report, nearly 25% of college presidents that were hired from June 2020 to November 2021 were Black. The proportion of appointed Latino presidents also nearly doubled in the past 18 months.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
Higher Ed Dive reports on how a $400k settlement over misgendering a trans student may foreshadow more Title IX clashes. After a faculty member did so at Shawnee State University, officials took disciplinary action against him. Nicholas Meriweather sued the institution for infringing on his free speech and religious rights. A federal appeals court abided in Meriweather’s favor, and Shawnee State is paying a settlement of $400,000 in damages and attorney fees.
Inside Higher Ed covers a new paper studying the prevalence of predators in higher education. Researcher Lori Handrahan began studying child abuse perpetrated by college and university employees. Offenders of child sexual exploitation material who worked in higher education were overwhelmingly white, male and on faculty. Over half were in leadership positions, frequently using campus facilities or property to commit their crimes.
Student Success
Inside Higher Ed and Diverse Education report on a new tool kit helping professors revise their syllabi to make them more welcoming, inclusive, and focused on student success. The First Day Toolkit includes a revision module and guide with video demonstrations and sample syllabi for instructors. The tool is aimed to promote equity and belonging from the first day of class when professors hand out syllabi.
Inside Higher Ed reports on the COVID classes of 2020 and 2021 joining the Class of 2022 for graduation. Through careful commencement activities and speeches, students who joined their commencement virtually may partake in-person, wearing the gowns and caps mailed to them a year or two ago.
Higher Ed Dive reports on how transcript withholding can harm college students. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its plan to examine colleges withholding students’ academic transcripts in order to collect unpaid balances. The practice, which may prevent students from obtaining jobs or finishing degrees, has been criticized as a disadvantage to vulnerable students.
College Affordability
Higher Ed Dive and The Chronicle report on the Education Department’s expansion of the Second Chance Pell program in efforts to increase job training and reentry plans for people in prison. The Education Department announced that incarcerated individuals who have previously defaulted on their student loans can qualify to return to a repayment status in good standing. Dozens of institutions can also now enroll incarcerated students with Pell Grants.
Inside Higher Ed and The Washington Post report on recent changes to student loan forgiveness and programs. The Education Department announced changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment programs. One-time waivers and adjustments to IDR plans will apply to the majority of people with federal student loans. Approximately 45 million Americans have debt from education.
