Contact:

Bob Spieldenner
bobspieldenner@schev.edu
(804) 718-9443 (cell) 

RICHMOND - College and university students in Virginia and nationwide report facing significant mental health challenges that can affect degree completion rates. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) today released an analysis of the problems facing students along with recommendations on how the Commonwealth can tackle the issue.

Nationwide, about one-third of currently enrolled students pursuing a certificate, certifications, associate or bachelor’s degree recently considered stopping their program. Emotional stress and personal mental health are cited as the top reasons. Those who stop pursuing a degree but hold significant student loan debt face significant challenges that can compound their mental health issues.

Unfortunately, even if students pursue mental health counseling, it might not be readily available. There is a shortage of mental health professionals in the Commonwealth. The increased demand and short supply places burdens on existing providers resulting in large caseloads and burnout.

SCHEV offers five recommendations to help improve the situation:

• Address student demand for mental health services and the supply of mental health professionals.
• Expand awareness, education and training of students, faculty and staff on the signs and symptoms of mental health issues and available resources.
• Improve collaboration across higher ed institutions to reduce duplication of effort and increase efficiency.
• Collect better data to identify gaps, needs and barriers.
• Communicate policy and funding needs quantitatively and qualitatively to institutional leaders and policy makers with a unified, collective voice of higher education professionals.

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