📰 May Question of the Month: Student Mental Health

Hi K-12 Community! I wanted to share some research we conducted recently with college students that seems relevant to K-12 also:
Qualtrics surveyed over 1,000 college students and found that 39% said remote/virtual schooling negatively impacted their mental health. This is especially concerning considering that nearly all students (94% according to our study) experienced remote or virtual schooling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The need for mental health services on campus existed before Covid-19 but the pandemic has highlighted its importance and, justifiably, elevated it as a top institutional priority. But even as mental health resources become one of the most talked-about areas on college campuses, 13% of college students say their institution doesn’t have mental health resources and another 16% don’t know if it does. The challenge isn’t just to create new resources but also to promote existing ones.
The issue of awareness is reinforced by students who know that their school offers mental health resources. Among this group, 63% say there are problems with the services offered. The biggest one? Students don’t know what is available (29% identified this as a problem). Other top issues identified by students are long wait times (20%) and only having short term treatment available (19%).
Of additional concern, only 57% of students say they would use the resources available to them through their institution in a crisis situation.
Now let me ask: What is your organization doing to improve students' mental heath and to ensure students are utilizing the resources available to them?