Quadcast: Experts Discuss Staving off “Stopping Out”
On the latest episode of the Quadcast, MCI executive director Marjorie Malpiede speaks with Stephanie Marken, partner of the education division at Gallup, and Dr. Zainab Okolo, former strategy officer at Lumina Foundation and current senior vice president of policy, advocacy and government relations for The JED Foundation. Together, the two experts discuss the results and implications of a recent report co-produced by Gallup and Lumina, called: “Stressed Out and Stopping Out: The Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education.” Among its findings, this survey reveals the critical barrier emotional stress poses to not only enrolled students finishing their degree but prospective students enrolling at all. The response from colleges and universities, Marken and Okolo suggest, must focus on developing a culture of care on campus that can see students through to graduation.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
This week, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s recent advisory deeming loneliness a public health challenge has inspired more focused attention on the ongoing youth mental health crisis. Featuring a conversation with an adolescent psychologist, NPR homes in on how and why the mental health of today’s young people became so bleak. Then, solutions-wise, The Associated Press explores how some schools have been attempting to support student wellbeing by pushing back morning start times. Education Week considers why school mental health screenings to identify struggling students have been slow to catch on despite clinical recommendations.
Other News
According to NBC Boston, William James College president Nick Covino recently spoke at the Massachusetts State House about the critical importance of government partnerships and funding right now to address college student mental health needs.
The Philadelphia Tribune considers new data from Temple University, which announced it will allocate $1 million per year to wellness initiatives, suggesting one in five students who sought counseling in 2021-22 were in “crisis.”
The Chronicle features a “groundbreaking paper” published last week, showing that incoming students who participated in a 30-minute online belonging exercise were more likely to finish the first year of college.
Inside Higher Ed profiles the Faculty Approachability Project, an initiative to increase faculty approachability and improve faculty-student relationships to positively impact student success and wellbeing.
In The Atlantic, a mother who began dealing with anorexia from her early teenage years discusses her concerns, and the reality, around how her mental health challenges would affect her children.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Hechinger Report turns its attention to the declining enrollment of men, and particularly Black men, in higher education. With women now making up 58% of college undergraduates, colleges have started developing initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining men at their institutions.
The Chronicle features a new report from the Common App, breaking down the trends around transferring colleges. While transferring often presents as a path for disadvantaged students to attend four-year colleges, those who apply to transfer are in fact more likely to be traditionally well-served: “Fifty-five percent of applicants came from ZIP codes in the top quintile.”
Academic Freedom
Growing up at a time some experts characterize as “deeply eroded trust,” today’s students often respond to new or divisive ideas with judgment as opposed to open-mindedness, many faculty and staff perceive. The Washington Post explores how colleges around the country are working to promote civil discourse among its students.
Education Policy
In an op-ed for Higher Ed Dive, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona takes shots at Republican-led proposals to cut education funding, suggesting these plans would seriously endanger educational quality, accessibility and equity across the country and across age levels. Meanwhile, Inside Higher Ed says, higher education leaders in New York are celebrating governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to increase funding for the state’s two public university systems to historic heights.
Substance Use
According to CBS News, the University of Northern Colorado has established a partnership with Weld County Health Department to supply students with fentanyl test strips when requested. This initiative aims to avoid accidental overdoses by increasing the accessibility of these tests, which can determine whether other non-prescription drugs are laced with fentanyl.
Reproductive Justice
Inside Higher Ed reports on the announcement from Wesleyan University that it will cover the costs (after insurance) for its students to receive abortions. These costs may stem from not only the abortion service itself but transportation to and from a clinic and post-procedure medications for pain management
Basic Needs
As housing insecurity threatens college student success across the country, schools are trying to alleviate the pressure by creating more living options. In Massachusetts, WBUR finds, two community colleges entered a partnership with the private American International College to house students at its campus. And at the University of Vermont, Vermont Public reveals, officials made plans to build hundreds of new student apartments, but the project has been stalled for months.
The Hechinger Report spotlights a Chicago-based nonprofit One Million Degrees, which provides community college students in the area crucial academic support. Now, thanks to a new partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago, which includes seven community colleges, the organization will automatically enroll every student on track to graduate in three years.
Student Success
Higher Ed Dive reviews the latest report from Gallup and Lumina Foundation, finding around 40% of college students said they’ve considered stopping out—and the rates increase for Black and Hispanic students. For more on another Gallup-Lumina study, listen to today’s Quadcast.
Higher Ed Dive also includes a report from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, suggesting those who enter a bachelor’s program by age 22 are more likely to end up with a “good job” by 30.
The recent decline in math and reading scores for eighth graders around the country as shown by “the nation’s report card” inspired rampant concern about the impact of the pandemic on learning loss. According to new test results, The New York Times reports, this group’s knowledge of U.S. history also seems to have dropped significantly compared to previous years.
College Affordability
The New York Times includes a conversation with Bard College president Leon Botstein, who defends his relationship with billionaire and accused child abuser Jeffrey Epstein. The president admits he made repeated visits to Epstein’s home but always in an effort to raise funds for his school. “People don’t understand what this job is,” the president said to The Times. “You cannot pick and choose, because among the very rich is a higher percentage of unpleasant and not very attractive people. Capitalism is a rough system.”
The Washington Post delves into the challenges the Office of Federal Student Aid is confronting in the face of a “funding crisis.” Overwhelmed and under-resourced, the office is now “delaying or curtailing” services at a time when millions of borrowers are adjusting to the return of regular payments after the pandemic suspension.
The Wall Street Journal warns of scammers taking advantage of the uncertainty surrounding student debt forgiveness to trick borrowers out of their money.
Campus Safety
Three students at the University of California, Davis were stabbed near campus in the last week, The Chronicle reports. With two of the victims dead and one critically injured, police arrested a former student of the university, 21-year-old Carlos Reales Dominguez, for the crimes.
In an effort to ensure student safety from weapons, officials of Flint Community Schools in Michigan have decided to prohibit backpacks on campus, The New York Times writes. “The ban, which allows bags the size of small purses, came less than two weeks after a security threat led to the closing of a high school in the district for two days.”
