Why is providing student mental health services critical to student success? Mental health issues are growing at an alarming rate on college campuses across the nation. This issue is especially important for Black college students who have a higher risk of facing mental health conditions like depression related to racial discrimination, stress, and lack of academic and social support1. Overall, 40% of Black students experience mental health issues, and only 21% receive a diagnosis compared to 48% of White students2. It’s time for higher education leaders and administrators to take this matter seriously and ensure campuses have the resources and support in place to promote student mental health and wellness programs. Students of color are half as likely to seek treatment for mental health issues as other students. With strong wellness programs and a campus culture that promotes wellness, no student should have to fight these issues alone. Wellness is ensuring the wellness of the entire mind and body.
In 2005, when I assumed the role of interim dean of student services at Compton Community College, and in 2011, when I assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Compton Community College District, we were not having conversations on campus regarding student mental health or the mental health resources for students. As a matter of fact, our students had to travel to our partner institution, El Camino College, for student health services during that time. But on March 21, 2017, that changed, when we officially opened an on-campus health center. Now, through our partnership with St. John Community Health, students can access health services and Behavioral Health Services on campus and virtually. In addition, we have a contract with the Virtual Care Group to provide online health services, including mental health services. I firmly believe that colleges and universities should offer a robust offering of Student Mental Health Services to their students. If a third party provides services, the outside, on a monthly, semester, and yearly basis, provides data disaggregated by race of the individuals who are taking advantage of the services.
Aside from mental health, wellness includes healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and safety. At Compton College, through our partnership program with Everytable, we provide students and employees with one meal per day and provide $20 weekly to students at our farmers market. One idea I’ve been thinking a lot about is how we plant more fruit and vegetable trees on campus so students can take advantage of those healthy options as well.
As it relates to physical activity, this is an area that we have to improve on at Compton College as we do not have an on-campus workout facility available to students who are not enrolled in a class. When we build our new Gymnasium, the goal is for the workout facility to be open to the students, but that will also require additional staff to support the programs and services. In the coming months, I will be examining this further because I know students need that physical activity. For me, I love working out in the morning and lifting weights during the week. The workouts help me relax (if only I could watch what I eat better). We do provide some workshops for students as they relate to stress management, but they could be improved and coordinated across campus. Finally, by having our police department, we are focused on student safety. Our police department is focused on community policing, which means they are visible on campus and provide presentations to students in their classes or with the particular program. It is critical for colleges that do have campus police that they are engaged in the campus community. In addition, they are required to be at events on campus so students see them in positive spaces. Our campus police department is a part of the operations within the student services division.
Strong wellness programs (i.e.healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and safety) promote all of these components and provide students with the tools necessary to manage their well-being even beyond graduation. Without addressing students’ health and wellness, we cannot expect our students to reach their fullest potential. More colleges and universities are intentionally implementing wellness programs that support the whole student and set the standard for putting the health and well-being of its students first. For example, in addition to a comprehensive website that houses all wellness resources, the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park offers personalized one-on-one wellness sessions to its students. Students can meet individually with health educators, nutrition peer educators, and registered dietitians to ask questions about their wellness on topics ranging from sexual health to mental health. Additionally, UMD makes nutrition a priority with healthy meal plans and by hosting farmer’s markets on campus every week.
In closing, we should review what programs and services we offer to employees to address their mental health and wellness. At Compton College, we provide monthly mental health and wellness resources to employees, including meditation and self-care resources. The resources include monthly workshops and on-demand mental health counseling provided by the Los Angeles County Employee Assistance Program for Education for Compton College employees.
References
- Stansbury, K. L., Wimsatt, M., Simpson, G. M., Martin, F., & Nelson, N. (2011). African American college students: Literacy of depression and help-seeking. Journal of College Student Development, 52(4), 497-502.
- Lipson, S. K., Kern, A., Eisenberg, D., & Breland-Noble, A. M. (2018). Mental health disparities among college students of color. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(3), 348-356.