National Youth Council on College Mental Health
The Mary Christie Institute (MCI) has launched the National Youth Council on College Mental Health, a group of eight college students and recent graduates who have demonstrated dedication to mental health advocacy and helping improve institutional support for student mental health. This diverse group of students will meet bimonthly to discuss issues in college student wellbeing, providing critical input to support MCI’s mission to educate, inform, and inspire colleges and universities to create cultures of wellbeing. Council members will participate in MCI programs including the Mary Christie Quadcast, the new LearningWell magazine, and its survey research program, providing the student perspective to the array of mental health and wellbeing topics that are examined.
“We are very excited to have an established group of student representatives working alongside us as we help institutions craft strategies to address the high rates of mental health issues our students are reporting,” said Marjorie Malpiede, executive director of the Mary Christie Institute. “These outstanding young people are committed to improving the mental health of their peers with their impressive experience and passion.”
Mental and Behavioral Health
Main Stories
The Washington Post reports on the future of college mental health programs since the expiration of pandemic-relief funds. Colleges have used the $76 billion they received during the pandemic to offset financial losses, boost student retention and degree completion, and assist with mental health on campus. In 2021, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities used Covid funding to offer telehealth services at its 12 community colleges. Now that the financing has expired, John Maduko, president of Connecticut State Community College, is using institutional resources to fund telehealth programs for an additional two years.
A panel of public health professionals composed of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and his living predecessors convened at Dartmouth College last week to discuss the rising prevalence of mental health disorders among young adults, NPR reports. The topics discussed included stigma and fear of academic or professional consequences, as well as the ongoing shortage of mental health care providers amid increasing demand. The panelists pointed to recent data showing that isolation and loneliness, issues prevalent among college students, raise the risk of both physical and mental illness. The event was announced by the new president of Dartmouth, Sian Leah Beilock, whose presidency has prioritized mental health initiatives and suicide prevention.
Inside Higher Ed examines the mental health crisis among students as a retention issue for colleges and universities, reporting that higher education officials and faculty members can learn the signs of distress to better support student flourishing. Among the concerns for students considering withdrawing from college are mental health and affordability. Students who lack knowledge or access to campus services are often at an elevated risk of dropping out. Studies suggest that while students tend to turn to their peers for help, advisors and professors still play a critical role in spotting students in crisis. Programs like mental health first aid, which instructs faculty and staff on how to discern the warning signs of mental health issues and how to direct students to the right services, are proven to be effective interventional tools for faculty.
Other News
The Public Policy Institute of California reports that mental health distress is more prevalent among low-income and undocumented Californians than among middle- and high-income adults. State officials are putting a high priority on ensuring access to quality health care through Medi-Cal expansion to all low-income Californians, while community health centers are trying to meet the increasing need for mental health care among undocumented residents.
NPR and Illinois Public Media report that the inaugural Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference was held at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, by the Champaign County Community Coalition. The conference aims to educate, inform, and offer solutions to those struggling with mental health difficulties. The event drew about 200 people and offered eight different workshops.
The University of Mississippi announced a new initiative to promote wellness programs and evaluate the campus climate in relation to physical, mental, and social health.
The chancellor’s year-long GROVE Well-Being Initiative seeks to educate teachers, staff, and students on the value of wellbeing and the difficulties faced by individuals struggling with their mental health. More than 56% of University of Mississippi students reported experiencing chronic stress in the university’s 2023 Student Voice survey on health and wellness, and three out of four students considered improving their overall wellness a top priority.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
A new deep-dive into the 2022 Lumina Foundation-Gallup study on assessing the relationship of postsecondary education to different economic and
non-economic outcomes finds that half of Hispanic students report finding it difficult to maintain their college enrollment, the highest share of any race or ethnicity surveyed. Hispanic students are the demographic most likely to have thought about quitting college over a six-month period. Emotional strain, mental health issues, financial constraints, and challenging coursework were cited as factors in considering withdrawal. However, students reported that financial aid, program satisfaction, greater personal income, flexible schedules, and a desire to graduate early were all factors that kept them enrolled.
An op-ed in Higher Ed Dive argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against race-conscious admissions has implications for diversity and inclusivity on college campuses, stating that colleges must take targeted action to strengthen and maintain campus diversity initiatives. The article asserts that test-free admissions policies may be more effective in promoting campus diversity than test-optional procedures, as well as making a case for proactive outreach, equity-minded recruitment, and enhanced visibility from elite universities to prospective students in disadvantaged communities.
New College of Florida settled with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights following allegations of discrimination against people with disabilities, Higher Ed Dive reports. The Office of Civil Rights found New College’s website and social media to be inaccessible to those with disabilities. Richard Corcoran, interim president of New College, stated that the college will correct website issues in compliance with federal disability standards.
Inside Higher Ed reports on a recent study by Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice that examined how the pandemic affected students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. According to the study, over 70% of Indigenous, Native American, and Black pupils reported feeling insecure about their fundamental necessities, compared to 54% of white students. The research states that Pacific Islander and Indigenous students made up the majority of students who reported having trouble accessing a computer or the internet, accounting for four out of every five students.
The American Anthropological Association canceled a panel titled “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: Why biological sex remains a necessary analytic category in anthropology” from their annual conference, The New York Times reports. The panel would contend that biological sex is still fundamentally important in many fields of study. Other academics, however, said that the panelists were promoting detrimental viewpoints that ran counter to accepted scientific knowledge. The scheduled panelists included Silvia Carrasco, a social anthropology professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who told Inside Higher Ed that “trans children do not exist; they are being fabricated en masse by a very well-planned and financed initiative that has to do with transhumanism and the loss of women’s rights in democracy.” The organizer of the panel was Kathleen Lowery of the University of Alberta, who tacked to her office door an impression of William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say.” The parody read: “I have ignored the pronouns that were in your profile, and which you were probably hoping were important. Forgive me they were ridiculous so needy and so mad.” In the wake of controversy, the association’s executive board canceled the panel and issued a statement that the ideas advanced in the session would harm members belonging to the LGBTQI+ community.
Student Outcomes
The Chronicle explores the mortality gap between adults with college degrees and those without. According to new research, Americans without a bachelor’s degree are likely to die almost eight years earlier than their peers with a college degree. Adult life expectancy, or the number of years an individual lives past age 25, increased by nearly five years for those with a four-year degree, rising from 54 years (age 79) in 1992 to 59 years (age 84) just before the pandemic. During the pandemic, there was a one-year decline in 2021. Adult life expectancy peaked in 2010 for people without a four-year degree at over 54 years. Since then, it has been falling, with a notably rapid decline of three years during the pandemic. Education is considered a key factor in the mortality gap.
College Access and Affordability
The U.S. Department of Education is working to eliminate significant sums of student loan debt through regulatory action, Higher Ed Dive reports. This comes after a significant legal setback for the Biden administration this summer when the Supreme Court denied its initial loan forgiveness plan. The administration is now pursuing loan forgiveness through negotiated rulemaking, a considerably more drawn-out procedure. The negotiators, who include higher education officials, college presidents, loan experts, and student loan borrowers, will first meet in mid-October to discuss loan forgiveness policies under the Higher Education Act. If an agreement is not reached, the Education Department will release its own draft rule.
Higher Ed Dive reports that interest rates on graduate and undergraduate loans have reached their highest levels in over a decade due to elevated inflation, which may contribute to public perception that higher education is unaffordable. However, there is little evidence that higher interest rates will affect where borrowers choose to attend college and how much they take out in loans. The new income-driven SAVE plan from the Biden administration reduces monthly payments for borrowers from 10% of their discretionary income to 5% while eliminating unpaid interest. The Education Department opened the plan to borrowers in late August and partnered with grassroots organizations to spread awareness.
The U.S. Department of Education released new gainful employment guidelines for college career programs. The guidelines, which will take effect on July 1, 2024, require programs to provide evidence that graduates earn more than the debt they have accrued in student loans. Federal aid will no longer be available to colleges that twice fail to meet the criteria for debt-to-earnings ratio in a three-year period. The Education Department says that about 700,000 students who would have otherwise enrolled in nearly 1,700 subpar programs will be safeguarded by the new rule.
Wesleyan University will eliminate loans in its financial aid packages starting next fall, Inside Higher Ed reports. The private university will join a small group of around two dozen colleges and universities that have made a commitment to fulfilling the demonstrated financial need of every student. According to Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth, raising the private university’s “no-loan” threshold from its current level will make it more accessible to middle-class families.
Sexual Assault and Title IX
The Washington Post reports on preliminary findings from the U.S. Department of Education’s investigation into Liberty University, which states that the evangelical institution dissuaded victims from reporting crimes and violated federal regulations on crime reporting. The university is accused of consistently underreporting sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault, as well as failing to implement the resources needed to fully investigate reported crimes. Additionally, Liberty is found to have failed to alert the campus to sexual assault allegations, including one against a senior administrator.
Student Buzz
White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt provided updates on President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and mental health initiatives during a campus press briefing at Howard University, The Hilltop reports. The briefing took place during HBCU observance week, which aims to support and celebrate the contributions of HBCUs to American society. Labolt highlighted the Biden administration’s response to the mental health crisis, pointing to the allocation of $1 billion for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and $200 million invested in the 988 national suicide crisis line.
An opinion piece in the Stanford Daily addresses imposter syndrome and “duck syndrome” at Stanford University. Originally coined by Stanford students, duck syndrome refers to the experience of an individual maintaining an outward appearance of serenity while struggling beneath the facade, a behavior that mimics a duck seeming to glide effortlessly on the water while it paddles rapidly beneath the surface. The article states that both imposter syndrome and duck syndrome are prevalent at Stanford, describing the campus culture as academically rigorous and competitive. The author urges the community to dismantle the illusion of ease and be open about the challenges of ambition, perfectionism, and anxiety. “Life is not meant to be spent working all the time—it’s meant to be experienced,” one student said.
In Elon University’s student-run paper Elon News Network, students and professors described the importance of leisure activities to support mental health during the academic year, citing that hobbies can relieve stress and lower cortisol levels. “It’s hard trying to take time out of your day to care for yourself, but I think just realizing that you can’t really perform well in your other responsibilities if you don’t take care of yourself first,” one student said.
