Key points:
- Evaluating student mental health programs can help pinpoint where more support is needed
- Science-backed scalable tools improve student mental health
- Many students struggle, but few use mental health resources
- For more news on student mental health, visit eCN’s Student Well-Being hub
Eighty-three percent of the institutions have increased student mental health support services in response to the pandemic, according to a new survey from HelioCampus, which provides institutional performance management tools and services.
Released during Mental Health Awareness Month, the survey notes that 97 percent of respondents agree mental health is a hot topic on their campus, and 74 percent have explored using outside counseling services or platforms to supplement on-campus mental health services.
Ninety-one percent of institutions increased student mental health support services before COVID-19.
Despite decreasing student enrollments from FY20-FY22, over 50 percent of mid-size, smaller, and smallest institutions increased their ratio of student mental health and wellness FTEs per student.
“Our purpose is to provide higher education with technology and analyses designed to make the business of higher education easier to manage. Our mental health survey and report highlights the interconnectedness of an institution’s mission, student outcomes and financials. We’re seeing institutions make investments to serve their students inside and outside the classroom, and then be able to benchmark these investments against their peer institutions to ensure they are investing at the right levels for their campus,” explained Darren Catalano, HelioCampus CEO.
Leveraging benchmarking data to inform student mental health support investments
What can be done to improve the situation for students, faculty and staff? A 2023 American Council on Education report stated, “The student mental health crisis is not just a counseling center issue. It is a campus-wide issue, and higher education cannot hire its way out of it—there are not enough counselors and not enough funds.”
Here’s where institutional performance management may help. Tapping into peer networks and applying the right metrics can result in information sharing that better informs budgeting and other future decision making. In short, collaborating with other institutions can help meet stakeholders’ needs in new but proven ways by doing the following:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of student mental health and wellness initiatives: How satisfied are students? How does that vary across different demographic groups?
- Evaluate employee turnover in student mental health and wellness roles at your institution. Identify strategies to promote employee retention.
- Connect with other higher-ed leaders who have leveraged these solutions to see if it’s the right fit for your campus.
- Compare staffing levels to other institutions, and connect with your peers to share learnings and best practices.
Innovative leaders at Temple University were able to do just this. Jaison Kurichi, Associate Vice President for Budget and Planning at Temple University outlined their work: “In fall 2022, Temple leveraged an insights analysis to better understand our labor spend and organizational structure for health and wellness services to students and employees at the university. Because we were able to benchmark data with peer institutions and be connected with members to learn more about their initiatives, Temple decided to invest one million dollars in a new health and well-being division that takes a holistic approach to promoting a campus culture of mental, physical and social wellness for all students, faculty, and staff.”
This press release originally appeared online.
- Leveraging AI for institutional improvement, continuous learning - November 15, 2024
- The EDUCAUSE Top 10: Rebuilding trust in higher ed - November 14, 2024
- AI skills could eclipse college degrees - November 12, 2024