As The Chronicle recently reported, a number of institutions have added the topic of student mental health to an already-crowded orientation schedule, using speakers, videos, skits, and an online course to educate students about their own, and one another’s, mental-health issues and available resources. Mental-health concerns (recognizing symptoms, knowing how to get help, etc.) are sharing the lineup with alcohol policies, sexual-assault awareness, library resources, and roommate relations, not to mention the student-organization carnival and numerous barbecues, pizza dinners, and ice-cream socials. It is a worthy effort, but orientation week is not enough, and it’s definitely not soon enough.
It’s hard to argue that mental health is not worth an hour of the packed schedule typical of an orientation week or weekend. Students’ mental health affects retention, academic performance, and community morale, and counseling centers are struggling to keep up with the need. According to an annual survey conducted by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, over a third of those centers have waiting lists.
I have two concerns with the orientation strategy. One is that students in that setting do not absorb information quite the way we’re hoping they will. I say that as someone who has planned, participated in, and evaluated orientation sessions on a number of campuses. We hope they will absorb it at a high enough level to make a difference when they need to recall it (for example, when they need mental-health services).
[For more of this story, written by Lee Burdette Williams, go to http://www.chronicle.com/artic...-Soon-to-Talk/238021]
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