Yale Reaches Settlement in Mental Health Discrimination Lawsuit
Yale University settled a lawsuit brought by Elis for Rachel, a group representing students and alumni who accused the school of discriminating against students with mental health conditions, in some cases pressuring them to withdraw. Under the agreement, Yale will modify its leave of absence policies, making it easier for students to take time off for mental health reasons and streamlining the process for returning to campus. Elis for Rachel argued the former process discouraged students from taking medical leave when they needed it most. Yale will also now allow students to study part-time if they have urgent medical needs.
In a statement to MCI, Dr. Alicia Floyd, Co-founder of Elis for Rachael, said “This is a landmark settlement that lets students with mental health disabilities know that they belong and they have rights, that they won’t be punished for an illness or a disability when they have so much to offer.” The Mary Christie Quarterly profiled Elis for Rachel in a December 2022 article.
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The Steve Fund, an organization dedicated to promoting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people of color, named David R. McGhee as their new Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining The Steve Fund, McGhee served as Chief Strategy and Program Officer for the Schultz Family Foundation. He has held leadership roles as Vice President of Organizational Excellence and Impact at the Skillman Foundation, as an advisor and liaison for a Congressional Representative, and as Program Director for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. “I am thrilled to take the helm of The Steve Fund as it expands its reach and achieves a greater impact on the lives of young people of color. I look forward to leveraging the organization’s programs, partnerships and communications to transform growing numbers of educational, organizational and workplace environments and to deepening understanding of mental health for these young people and those who support them,” McGhee said.
Time reports that as adults in the U.S. receive psychotherapy in record numbers, the mental health of the general population continues to decline. This paradox of numbers makes mental health a medical anomaly, the only field of medicine wherein higher rates of treatment appear to correlate with worse outcomes. While factors like the pandemic and the recession may be driving the trend, some experts are questioning the efficacy of modern psychiatry and psychotherapy, pointing to an imprecise diagnostic system and one-size-fits-all practices that do not yield positive results for all patients. Many experts are advocating for a new approach to care, asserting that current practices are “too quick to label feelings like sadness and worry as symptoms rather than helping people understand where they come from, what they mean, and how to overcome and even grow from them.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2023 “Youth Right Now” survey identifies current trends in behavior and wellbeing among more than 130,000 children and teens surveyed. 75 percent said they intend to go to college, and 62 percent reported feeling confident they have the skills for job success. 81 percent believe they can make a difference in their communities, with 53 percent identifying racial justice as the issue most important to them. Even amid their overall optimism about the future, stress and interpersonal issues are prevalent: 40 percent experienced bullying within the last year, and 70 percent report that when something goes wrong in their life, they can’t stop worrying about it.
Other news
Higher Ed Dive reports on data from the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) that reveals that students experience high levels of anxiety surrounding the college application process. In fact, more than half of the students surveyed ranked applying to college as “their most stressful academic experience to date.” The data also finds demographic variation: while 42 percent of white students report that college applications are their most stressful academic experience, this number climbs to 60 percent of Black students, 61 percent of Hispanic students, and 63 percent of Asian students surveyed.
Inside Higher Ed highlights the importance of community and connection to combat feelings of homesickness among new college students. Female students, out-of-state students, and first-generation college students are more likely to experience homesickness than their peers. Experts urge higher education officials to encourage campus involvement, foster connections between students and peers or faculty mentors, promote personal wellness, and share campus mental health resources to reduce loneliness and homesickness among new college students.
Diversity Equity and Inclusion
The Washington Post reports that nearly a decade after ending legacy preferences in admission and expanding financial aid, Johns Hopkins University has made progress in promoting racial diversity on campus. Now, experts in higher education fear the Supreme Court ruling to end race-conscious admissions could result in lower enrollment of students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. The Post calls Johns Hopkins, an institution whose efforts to promote diversity led to an increase from 18 percent of incoming students identifying as Black, Latino, or Native American in 2013 to 34 percent last year, a “prime case study” for the future of higher education after the Supreme Court decision.
Transferring from community colleges to four-year colleges is often onerous, made more challenging than necessary by “confusing requirements, red tape, and unexpected setbacks,” according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed that highlighted takeaways from a recent webinar on the issue. Two-year colleges enroll a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic undergraduates, and Black and Hispanic students are half as likely than white students to transfer to a four-year college. A 2021 report from the American Council on Education states, “Low-income students and students of color are more likely to rely on transfer to decrease cost and time to degree, but this choice requires practices and policies for the award of credit that are easier to navigate.”
The Hechinger Report reveals that many undocumented high school students are barred from taking dual-enrollment courses for college credit alongside their peers. According to the report, high school students taking dual-enrollment courses for college credit make up 20 percent of all community college students, and students who take these classes in high school are more likely to finish college. However, policies for undocumented students vary by state. In Tennessee, dual-enrollment classes for college credit are free for students with U.S. citizenship, while undocumented students are required to pay the college’s out-of-state tuition to receive credit. Tennessee is one of six states that block undocumented students from accessing in-state tuition.
The Arkansas Department of Education has removed its AP African American Studies course from schools, reviewing the curriculum for “possible indoctrination.” Students who enroll in the class will no longer receive graduation credit for taking it.
Higher Ed Dive reports that accreditors have an opportunity to prioritize diversity and counteract the recent Supreme Court ruling against race-conscious admissions. Accreditors may be “in a perfect position” to promote diversity “as guardians of federal financial aid.” To support underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in higher education, most major accreditors include DEI statistics in their accreditation standards, a policy criticized in a bill introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio in June. Amid pushback from Republican lawmakers, accreditors have the power to shape admissions policies and protect campus diversity standards.
The Chronicle features the Warrior-Scholar Project, a nonprofit that runs academic “boot camps” for veterans and active-duty service members at highly selective colleges. The camps are part of “a decade-old effort to raise the academic aspirations of enlisted veterans and service members and ready them for what can be a difficult transition to the classroom.” Ryan Pavel, chief executive of the Warrior-Scholar Project, explains that the goal is for students to gain confidence that they can meet the challenges of an elite institution — even if they opt for a less-selective one.
The Florida State Board of Education approved new rules that require state colleges to fire any employee who twice uses a bathroom other than the one assigned to their sex at birth. The decision is the latest in a series of proposals to regulate education in Florida, including new restrictions on how educators can discuss race, gender, and sexuality.
Student Success
Following an 8 percent decline in college enrollment from 2019 to 2022, research suggests that Gen Z’s declining interest in higher education extends to middle school students, with the share of students who plan to attend college decreasing during the pandemic. Many Gen Z students cite seeing older generations saddled with student loan debt as a reason for waning interest in pursuing a college degree. The trend among middle schoolers is reflected in Gen Z college students’ attitudes toward their education, with one study finding that 55 percent of current Gen Z college students feel that their classes are not relevant to their lives and do not teach practical skills.
The Chronicle reports that many college students who do not attend their professors’ office hours may be missing an opportunity to deepen their understanding of key concepts and foster meaningful relationships with faculty. Research suggests that students may forgo office hours due to scheduling conflicts, a sense of awkwardness or intimidation around talking to someone in a position of authority, or an assumption that seeking help and clarification is a sign of weakness. But professors and administrators emphasize the importance of showing up to office hours, citing improved academic performance and mentorship that can lead to job recommendations. To encourage students to attend, some professors are aiming to make office hours more accessible by offering virtual meetings and reaching out directly to students who appear to be struggling.
Indiana will now offer direct admissions, pre-admitting students based on GPA and test scores. As more institutions begin to offer direct admissions, new research covered in the Chronicle suggests that while direct admissions offers increase the number of students who apply to college, the offers have no influence on where students matriculate.
Extracurricular activities help college students thrive, offering experiential learning and leadership opportunities, as well as fostering a sense of community and belonging on campus. Inside Higher Ed reports that college faculty and staff can play a crucial role in the success of student groups, as student club leaders look to staff for help with coordinating events, community outreach, and mentorship. Students and staff agree that maintaining student ownership and independence is crucial to the success of extracurricular groups. While faculty and staff advisors can provide important guidance, student groups should maintain autonomy and focus on engaging and empowering their peers.
College Affordability
The Boston Globe reports on MassReconnect, a program to cover community college tuition, has generated hope and relief among Massachusetts community college students. The program, signed into law as part of the state’s fiscal 2024 budget, will cover community college costs for residents over 25 with no prior degrees or certificates. At a press event on Thursday, Governor Maura Healey described her hope that the program will provide affordable education and job opportunities to low-income students, breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. “We can open more doors for older students to restart their education, to come back and finish a degree,” Governor Healey said.
An op-ed for Inside Higher Ed examines the high-tuition, high-discount model of higher education affordability, a model initially meant to make college more accessible to low-income students. The article states that tuition discounts have reached an all-time high, with institutions cutting tuition for first-time undergraduate students by an average of 56 percent this year. David Bushman, a professor at Bridgewater College in rural Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, sees this model as an unsustainable means of incentivizing enrollment at small, private colleges in a time when trust in higher education is at an all-time low, and costs are at an all-time high.
Substance Use
According to a recent Gallup analysis, young adults (aged 18-34) in the U.S. have become progressively less likely to use alcohol over the past two decades. Younger people are less likely to say they ever drink, that they have drank in the past week, and that they sometimes drink more than they should.
Campus Safety
On Monday, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spent several hours in lockdown as an armed assailant roamed campus. The following day, a graduate student was charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting a faculty member. On Saturday, three days before the fatal shooting at UNC, a gunman drove onto the campus of Edward Waters University, a historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. After being approached by a safety officer and driving away, the gunman went on to fatally shoot three Black people at a Dollar General store near campus. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime. As these communities navigate grief and uncertainty, higher education officials across the United States look at new safety measures, such as conducting regular drills, training staff in verbal de-escalation techniques, and increasing security personnel, psychologists, and social workers on campus.
The University of Pittsburgh announced plans to install panic buttons in 400 classrooms. The buttons will alert campus police and automatically lock classroom doors. The new safety protocol arrives on the heels of an April incident in which armed police officers entered the university’s Hillman Library, responding to false claims of a mass shooting.
