TimelyCare, Author at TimelyCare

GenZtressed: Helping Today’s Students Struggle Well, Stay Well, and Stay Enrolled

TimelyCare — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:51:32 +0000

Overview

Today’s college students navigate a unique mix of academic pressure, social uncertainty, and digital overwhelm, and many are struggling in silence. In TimelyCare’s recent webinar, higher education leaders discussed how institutions can foster resilience, support mental health, and create a sense of belonging for a generation under stress. This article highlights key insights and actions that help students struggle well and stay enrolled, in their own words.

Redefining failure, resilience, and retention for a generation under pressure

College has always been challenging. But for many students today, normal setbacks such as a failed exam, a friendship fallout, or a breakup can feel like a breaking point rather than a turning point.

More than one-third of college students now report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to the 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study. When struggle feels like failure, belonging suffers. And when belonging suffers, retention is at risk.

In TimelyCare’s recent webinar, “GenZtressed – Struggle Well, Stay Well: Redefining Failure, Resilience, and Retention in College Life,” we explored how higher education leaders can meet this moment with both compassion and evidence.

The panel included:

Hilary Burns, Higher Education Reporter, The Boston Globe (moderator)
Dr. Bryant Ford, Director of CAPS, Brown University
Heather Simonich, Assistant Dean of Students & Director, Center for Holistic Health, Concordia College

Their insights point to a simple but powerful shift. “Not all stress is bad stress,” Ford reminded us. “It allows students to be able to learn or thrive in environments.”

Students don’t need a world without struggle. They need campuses that help them struggle well and stay enrolled.

What’s changed about the student experience?

Today’s students live in a different emotional climate. Even if data shows slightly lower rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, the tone has shifted.

Simonich described what she’s seeing on her campus, “You definitely feel maybe a tone of kind of stress and overwhelm. And I would even say confusion.”

Ford sees that confusion, too, and who students are looking to for guidance. “I think they’re looking for the adults… to help them lead and or navigate these challenging times.”

In addition to their regular academic pressures, students must navigate:

Political and social polarization
Global conflicts that feel personal
Shifting DEI priorities and uncertainty about belonging
Pressure to succeed in an unstable world

These factors create a baseline of stress, confusion, and overwhelm. If students don’t know where to turn for help, they may disengage before reaching a crisis point.

Student affairs teams must pay attention to more than utilization metrics. Listening to students’ questions, silence, and emotional temperature is just as critical.

How to support belonging when DEI feels unstable

Many students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, hear mixed messages. National headlines may undermine DEI, even as campuses promote inclusion.

Ford named it plainly:

“Some other things that folks may be struggling with is the erosion of diversity initiatives happening on campus… I think some students are struggling with universities’ ability to navigate what’s happening politically with diversity, while at the same time trying to affirm to students that we actually value these types of things.”

Simonich sees the tension in the classroom and beyond:

There’s “growing concerns and tension around… our marginalized populations on campus, and how to support them in having conversations about these very important topics at a time where there’s a deep sense of taboo or, you know, fear of being canceled or saying the wrong thing or disagreeing.”

Panelists emphasized the need to:

Name the disconnect

Acknowledge inconsistencies between rhetoric and reality.

Foster agency among students

Help students focus on where they do have control.

Ford often asks students where they “might have agency and how they might be able to exercise the agency on the college campus.”

Teach dialogue

Offer tools and spaces for respectful disagreement.

Programs like Concordia’s “Purple College” — an initiative that blends faculty training with student-led dialogue — and Brown’s structured dialogue initiatives show that these aren’t just soft skills. They’re infrastructure for belonging.

Silence and the fear of saying the wrong thing

Students report anxiety about speaking openly, especially around complex issues. This fear can lead to silence, which erodes connection and community.

Asked why students hesitate to share their views, Dr. Ford said, “I hear rejection. I often hear people say, ‘I don’t want to come across as making a mistake.’”

Simonich adds that many students “simply don’t know how to have these conversations in person, live,” especially when they’re used to processing conflict through posts, comments, and texts.

Ford underscored how much listening skills matter. “Listening is an art form, and I think that many people often don’t listen. They can hear, but they don’t listen.”

Student affairs professionals can support students by:

Creating low-stakes spaces for practice
Teaching reflective listening (“What did you hear this person say?”)
Reinforcing that disagreement can happen without dehumanization

These skills build the foundation for stronger relationships both on campus and beyond.

Tech, social media, and AI: Support and struggle in digital spaces

Digital platforms are how students connect and cope, but also where they get stuck.

Social media drives comparison and perfectionism

Simonich’s counseling team took a closer look at phone and social media use because the pattern was impossible to ignore:

“We could count very few students who wouldn’t say they need to decrease the amount of time they spend on their phone… to the point where it interferes with our ability to function and feel well.”

Ford sees how curated feeds drive perfectionism:

Students “will look at other people’s pages and make comparisons about their lives knowing that these social media posts… might be curated in such a way that is showing a particular view or lens, and it may not necessarily be the totality of who a person is.”

This can reinforce feelings of inadequacy, especially for students already questioning their place.

Technology connects students to high-risk behaviors

Simonich’s team is increasingly concerned about what phones make easier:

“Some really difficult things like the sports betting and online pornography… certainly, those are topics that in the counseling center, we’re seeing bubble up in much greater numbers than we ever have historically.”

These issues often start early and are carried silently into college, affecting finances, relationships, and mental health.

AI: A support tool with limits

Students are also turning to AI, sometimes in surprisingly vulnerable ways.

Ford shared, “We’ve had clients come in and say, ‘Well, ChatGPT said I have this. What do you think?’”

Simonich described one student who used AI to reinforce a safety plan. “We recently had a client that said, ‘So I uploaded my safety plan to my AI bot, and I talk through it in times of need around suicide or to avoid cutting.’”

AI can be a bridge to self-advocacy, especially for students who are anxious about reaching out. But it can also mislabel symptoms, delay care, or offer guidance without context.

Institutions need open dialogue about healthy use, not blanket fear or blind endorsement.

Online relationships are real, but sometimes limiting

Ford is quick to point out that “introverted” students may be deeply connected online through gaming, chat servers, or interest-based communities. While those relationships can be valuable and supportive, for many students, for others, it can foster feelings of isolation.

The key, Ford noted, is understanding those relationship dynamics and whether they’re good for the student or not. “If they are creating this community and connection online, I really want to support that.”

The key is asking, “Is this helping or hindering the student’s growth?”

Support should recognize what’s working, not just what’s missing.

When overachievement becomes a liability

Many students equate worth with doing everything perfectly. On high-achieving campuses, this can backfire as students overcommit, hide imposter feelings, and/or burn out silently.

Ford sees the paradox firsthand at Brown:

“It’s often very, very hard or difficult to have students come to this campus and then tell them that they’re not supposed to work very hard because they’ve gotten into Brown, and it’s like, it just doesn’t compute.”

He describes students who are “overcommitted” and “don’t know how to say no to something,” even when their bandwidth is gone.

Simonich looks at it through a public health lens:

“At some point, you gotta learn where is the time and space to, like, make time for yourself, and that doesn’t mean you don’t work hard.”

Students often need help understanding and setting boundaries and practicing self-care. Support strategies include:

Challenging all-or-nothing thinking
Using motivational interviewing to help students recognize when a strategy that once worked has stopped working
Normalizing recalibration and recovery, whether that means dropping a role, adjusting a course load, or taking a break to focus on health

These mindsets help students stay engaged and on track without sacrificing well-being.

Accommodations and equity: A new normal

Colleges are seeing a sharp rise in accommodation requests for mental health.

Simonich shared the numbers from her campus:

“In 2020, [our] small college served only 82 of our students, which was about 4%. And last year and this year, we’re at about 12%… that’s a really different world than it was three, four, five years ago even.”

And the top reason for accommodations may surprise some:

“The number one reason we’re serving students in disability services on our campus is for mental health disorders. Learning disorders are actually about the third or fourth reason.”

Ford sees the impact of earlier informal accommodations in K12: teachers who quietly extended deadlines or adjusted expectations for high-achieving students with unaddressed needs. College exposes gaps that were previously masked.

This shift reflects:

Better K12 screening
Lower stigma
Expanded ADA protections

Accommodations aren’t shortcuts. They level the playing field and reflect real needs.

When asked about critics who worry students won’t survive without accommodations after graduation, Heather’s response was firm:

“Our job is to provide an education, and there will be HR, human resources departments that will have to manage that wherever they work… It’s a law.”

Higher ed’s role is to equip, not gatekeep.

What campuses can do right now

You can’t control everything, but you can take action. Panelists recommend:

Make mental health everyone’s job

Ford’s vision at Brown is clear:

“I wanted to reframe this in terms of mental health on campus is everybody’s job, everybody’s responsibility.”

That looks like:

Integrating well-being into first-year programming and advising
Training all departments, from housing to business offices, in trauma-informed, student-centered support

Create space for dialogue

Both campuses are investing in programs that teach listening and disagreement, like “Purple College” and multidisciplinary dialogue initiatives.

These spaces:

Provide structure and safety in hard conversations
Help students practice vulnerability and conflict with support

Build skills they will need in workplaces, communities, and civic life

Normalize struggle, don’t medicalize it

Ford offered an important caution as the conversation closed:

“I want to make sure that we are not pathologizing all stress… There are times where stress can be adaptive as opposed to maladaptive.”

Campuses can:

Help students distinguish stress from crisis
Reinforce that seeking help is a strength

Avoid sending the message that any discomfort automatically signals a disorder

Prioritize prevention

Simonich emphasized the need to pair reactive care with proactive promotion:

“We have to do better with health promotion and prevention, so we don’t have to spend so much time on the reactive, more expensive, heavier, more burden-type work.”

That means:

Using data to identify students at risk
Investing in outreach before issues escalate
Partnering across the institution to share responsibility for well-being

Resilience reframed: Struggle as signal, not failure

Not all stress is bad. Ford reminds us that struggle can be information, not a diagnosis:

“When we hear, you know, Gen Z stressed, I just wanna make sure that we’re being thoughtful about how we’re framing the stress, and to know that not all stress is bad stress.”

Campuses can model that:

Asking for help is strength
Adjusting goals is growth
Resilience includes knowing when to rest or shift

When students feel supported in their struggle, they’re more likely to stay enrolled and engaged.

Help Your Students Struggle Well and Stay

You don’t need all the answers. You need the right partners.

TimelyCare supports institutions with proven virtual mental health care that enhances student resilience, belonging, and retention.

Contact us to learn how we can help your campus thrive.

Key Takeaways

Today’s students face chronic stress that affects retention
DEI uncertainty and silence can erode belonging
Overachievement and perfectionism put students at risk
Accommodations are equity tools, not exceptions

FAQs

What does “struggling well” mean?

It’s the idea that students don’t need struggle to be eliminated. They need support to navigate it with resilience and clarity.

Why are mental health accommodations increasing?

Better awareness, expanded ADA protections, and reduced stigma mean more students are seeking support, especially for anxiety and depression.

How does TimelyCare improve retention?

By providing timely, measurable mental health support, TimelyCare helps students stay enrolled and engaged through challenges, turning potential breaking points into turning points. Read more about a first-of-its-kind study that evaluated how a college or university’s partnership with TimelyCare impacts student retention.

The post GenZtressed: Helping Today’s Students Struggle Well, Stay Well, and Stay Enrolled appeared first on TimelyCare.

From Challenges to Change: How Union College Transformed Student Wellness With TimelyCare

TimelyCare — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:15:16 +0000

Overview

Student well-being remains one of the most urgent priorities in higher education. Union College’s experience illustrates how institutions can move beyond basic access to implement a virtual student well-being solution that delivers measurable outcomes, equity, and engagement.

This blog outlines key lessons for Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (VPSAs) navigating similar challenges with limited resources, and how choosing the right partner, not just a vendor, can transform student outcomes.

The Evolving Challenge of Student Wellness

For today’s VPSAs, few topics are more pressing than student wellness. The higher education landscape has shifted, with increasing mental health needs, overextended counseling centers, and the growing expectation of 24/7 care.

Union College’s journey, shared by Dr. Marcus Hotaling in a recent TimelyCare webinar, offers a practical case study in how to move from access to outcomes, leveraging data, partnership, and a URAC-accredited model to ensure students not only stay in school but thrive in their lives.

What Does Success Look Like in Student Wellness?

When Union College first partnered with a virtual care provider in 2021, the goal was straightforward: increase access to care. But as Dr. Hotaling emphasized, “access alone wasn’t enough.”

“We wanted to see students actually utilize the resource,” he explained.

While the previous vendor offered unlimited sessions, engagement remained low. Students were frustrated with short 30-minute appointments and limited continuity of care.

For Union, success meant measurable impact, not just more sessions. They wanted to track PHQ-9 and GAD-7 improvements, see higher utilization, and prove outcomes that mattered: retention, engagement, and well-being.

When to Reevaluate Your Wellness Strategy

As student needs evolved, Union College’s counseling team recognized areas where their current approach could be enhanced and decided to explore a new virtual care provider.

Low engagement

Students signed up for virtual care but didn’t follow through.

Limited data

Dashboards lacked visibility into virtual care attendance, cancellations, or no-shows.

Equity gaps

The institution’s small team of six counselors couldn’t meet the identity and cultural needs of the entire student body.

As Dr. Hotaling noted, “We can’t possibly match every identity with six staff members. Virtual care allowed us to offer the representation and reach we couldn’t achieve on our own.”

For Union, ensuring cultural responsiveness and identity-centered, inclusive care became a cornerstone of their next step. This aligns perfectly with TimelyCare’s focus on equity as a measurable outcome.

Choosing a Virtual Care Partner That Drives Outcomes

After three years of challenges with its virtual care provider and constructive feedback from students, Union made the switch to TimelyCare, the only virtual student well-being provider that proves outcomes clinically, academically, and financially.

The decision to change virtual care providers hinged on three key criteria:

1. Superior Quality of Care

Ensuring access to 50-minute sessions that align with evidence-based best practices, delivered through a URAC-accredited model and directly managed clinical network.

2. Measured Impact

Gain visibility to campus-specific dashboards, real-time data, and the Five Proofs of Impact framework for transparency and accountability.

3. Trusted Partnership

A dedicated campus success team, shared adoption goals, and ready-to-launch marketing and communication support.

“The transition was smooth and painless,” Hotaling said. “TimelyCare provided clear protocols and student-facing campaigns that made implementation effortless.”

How Union College Engaged Students Faster

Union College saw immediate improvements, particularly with TalkNow, which connects students to a licensed counselor in under four minutes.

“If a student wakes up at 2 a.m. with test anxiety, TalkNow is there. It’s not about scheduling days in advance, it’s immediate,” said Hotaling.

Union also expanded its approach beyond crisis care by leveraging health coaching for time management, executive functioning, and resilience building, extending well-being to proactive student development.

This Step Care Model, which guides students from on-demand support to scheduled counseling and psychiatry as needed, ensured continuity, quality, and scalability.

What Success Looks Like: Outcomes That Matter

Since launching TimelyCare, Union College has seen meaningful, measurable outcomes:

Increased utilization across diverse student populations.
Improved clinical outcomes, with a majority of students showing PHQ-9 and GAD-7 improvements by their third visit.
Real-time access to documentation and care coordination through EHR integration.
Streamlined reporting to support donor accountability and institutional goals.

“If one student stays enrolled because of these services,” Hotaling said, “that alone pays for the program.”

Key Lessons for VPSAs Evaluating Virtual Care Providers

Union’s experience initially partnering with a virtual care provider that didn’t meet their needs before switching to TimelyCare gives other campus leaders important considerations when making this decision for their school:

1. Define your success metrics early.

Build around engagement, outcomes, and retention.

2. Watch for early warning signs.

Low adoption or limited data visibility often signal deeper issues.

3. Prioritize equity and representation.

Partner with a provider that ensures inclusive, identity-centered care.

4. Choose a partner, not just a vendor.

Look for shared KPIs, data transparency, and co-owned adoption plans.

The Path Forward to a Healthy Campus

In an era of tightening budgets and growing student needs, VPSAs face the challenge of expanding access to care without overextending staff or resources.

Union College’s story shows that transformation is possible when institutions align with a partner who delivers proof, not promises. Colleges and universities need a virtual care provider that drives measurable outcomes, ensures quality care through accreditation, and empowers students to stay enrolled, engaged, and well.

With TimelyCare, campuses can move from challenges to change, and from access to outcomes.

Key Takeaways

Union College improved engagement and quality by choosing TimelyCare, the URAC-accredited virtual student well-being provider that proves outcomes.
50-minute sessions, data transparency, and inclusive provider access were key to success.
TalkNow and health coaching extended support beyond crisis response into proactive development.
Data-driven insights and Five Proofs of Impact enabled leadership to demonstrate ROI and retention lift.
VPSAs should prioritize equity, partnership alignment, and outcome measurement when evaluating solutions.

FAQs

Why did Union College switch providers?

Low engagement, limited data, and equity gaps led Union to seek a partner focused on measured impact and quality of care, not just access.

What features made TimelyCare a good fit?

A URAC-accredited model, longer sessions, integrated data, and holistic support including health coaching and TalkNow.

How quickly can a campus implement TimelyCare?

According to Union, implementation was seamless, supported by dedicated success teams and on-demand marketing assets.

What impact did TimelyCare have on student outcomes?

Union reported higher engagement, improved clinical outcomes, and better data visibility to track institutional goals, proof that partnership and outcomes go hand in hand.

The post From Challenges to Change: How Union College Transformed Student Wellness With TimelyCare appeared first on TimelyCare.

Winning Support: Making the Case for Mental Health Investment in Higher Ed

TimelyCare — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:51:39 +0000

Overview

Mental health services are vital to student success, especially during high-stress, after-hours moments when students are most vulnerable. This guide shares proven messaging strategies and structural models to help higher ed leaders make a compelling case for sustained investment in student mental health. Based on a recent TimelyCare webinar, it distills insights from campus and policy leaders into an actionable framework.

The night before attrition

It’s 11:42 p.m. on a Sunday. A first-year biology major is staring down an impossible problem set, organic structures that keep blurring into one another. Her roommate is asleep. Her instructor’s office hours aren’t until Thursday. The counseling center is closed. Her learning management system (LMS) tab is the only light in the room.

Then she sees it: a small button in the LMS that says “Talk to someone now.” Within minutes, she’s speaking to a mental health clinician. They ground-breathe together. They sketch a plan: email the professor, schedule tutoring, book a daytime follow-up with the campus counseling center. She doesn’t withdraw. She shows up on Monday.

You may not actually witness moments like this, but they’re where retention actually happens. These moments live in the margins of the day, after hours, right where stress peaks. That’s why mental health support can’t be a line item you revisit after budget season. It must be be part of your core student success architecture.

Your Playbook to Win Support for an Investment in Mental Health Resources

This message came through loud and clear in our recent TimelyCare webinar with former California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez and Matthew Millea, Chief of Staff at SUNY ESF. Here’s the distilled playbook leaders used and the language that wins support for mental health resources.

1. Shift the message: outcomes over needs

When advocating with presidents, CFOs, trustees, or policymakers, lead with what changes if funded, not why you’re under-resourced.

Translate dollars into outcomes:

Wait times drop from weeks to days.
24/7 access covers nights and weekends when most crises surface.
More students persist from term to term.
Faculty and advisors see fewer “all on them” moments.

Phrase it like this:
“This investment reduces silent attrition by giving students immediate access to care and warm handoffs to on-campus counseling. It’s a completion driver, not a sunk cost.”

2. Build a hybrid model that meets real student demand

SUNY ESF paired an excellent counseling center with round-the-clock virtual care and clean handoffs in both directions. The result wasn’t just higher visit numbers; it was calm: students knew help was there when and how they needed it (nights, weekends, from the library or a residence hall).

Design principles:

Put help inside the LMS and portals so the “I need support” moment becomes care, fast.
Treat virtual care as a supplement, not a substitute, for your on-campus team.
Establish warm transfer protocols so higher-acuity students move swiftly to on-campus services.

3. Name the problem you can’t see: silent attrition

Many students don’t file a form or ask for a leave; they simply stop logging in and drop out. You’ll never capture every cause in a spreadsheet, but you can shrink the leak with proactive, always-on support. Boards and cabinets respond when you name this plainly and show how your model intercepts it.

4. Bring the metrics that move rooms

You don’t need a perfect dollar ROI to get to “yes.” You do need a compact dashboard tied to student success:

Capacity stress: counseling utilization (flag >100% as burnout risk)
Access: median time to first contact; percent of all visits after hours or weekends
Engagement and continuity: unique students served, repeat use, warm handoffs completed
Student success signal: directional persistence differences for users vs. non-users
Equity reach: uptake among first-gen, transfer, commuter, online, and graduate students

Pair this with your CFO’s retention math to underscore budget relevance.

5. Make “how we’ll pay and procure” effortless

Leaders green-light what’s easy to launch and sustain:

Procurement shortcuts: piggyback on system-wide or peer contracts. Use cooperative purchasing vehicles where available
Funding stack: combine system or state appropriations, targeted grants, and a transparent student health fee co-championed by the student government, with termly reporting on access and outcomes

6. Align to what’s already mandated

Map your proposal to the pillars in your strategic plan (student success, persistence, belonging) and to system or state priorities (completion goals, affordability, workforce readiness). Funding follows plans with momentum. Show how mental health accelerates what leaders have already promised.

7. A 10-slide cabinet deck you can use tomorrow

Use this outline to make the case for expanding access to mental health support for your students.

The stakes: capacity, wait times, after-hours demand, silent attrition
Student voice: quotes or polling, student government stance
Access gap: when students seek help vs. when care is available
Solution: counseling + 24/7 virtual + LMS embedding + warm handoffs
Equity: who you’ll reach that you’re missing today
Targets: access, utilization, persistence (directional year one)
Budget and procurement path: the fast track
Risk mitigation: clinician burnout, crisis coverage, compliance
Accreditation fit: how this supports your standards and climate goals
Decision and timing: why now (enrollment cycle, legislative window, board calendar)

If mental health drives success, it must be funded

If student success is your north star, mental health is the compass. Support that is immediate, integrated, and measurable doesn’t just feel right; it keeps students moving toward graduation.

Talk with TimelyCare about funding options

TimelyCare partners with campuses to expand access in minutes and therapy in days, easing pressure on counseling centers while improving reach and continuity of care. If you’re ready to map a funding path, state dollars, grants, fees, or shared procurement, let’s do it together.

Book a No-Cost Mental Health Funding Consultation

Complete the form to connect with a TimelyCare higher education expert to learn about funding opportunities for your college or university.

Key Takeaways

Retention hinges on moments of care during off-hours
Funding arguments should prioritize outcomes, not resource gaps
In-person and telehealth hybrid care models calm demand and expand reach
Dashboards with student success metrics influence decision-makers
Align proposals to existing institutional mandates for faster buy-in

FAQs

Why is 24/7 access critical for student mental health?

Most mental health crises occur after hours or on weekends. Around-the-clock access ensures students aren’t left without support when they need it most.

What is “silent attrition”?

Silent attrition happens when students stop engaging, often without formally withdrawing. Mental health support helps catch students before they disappear from the system.

How can virtual care coexist with campus counseling centers?

Virtual services supplement, not replace, in-person care. Together, they expand capacity and continuity, offering timely help across modalities.

What data points matter most in funding discussions?

Utilization rates, time to first contact, and student persistence indicators resonate with leadership and tie directly to student success outcomes.

How can colleges and universities fund a mental health expansion?

Combine grants, appropriations, student health fees, and cooperative contracts. Make the procurement process clear and sustainable.

The post Winning Support: Making the Case for Mental Health Investment in Higher Ed appeared first on TimelyCare.

Fostering a Supportive Campus Culture for Peer Support

TimelyCare — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:58:03 +0000

Overview

Peer support programs can significantly boost student well-being and belonging. In this Care Conversations episode, Seli Fakorzi shares strategies for integrating peer support into campus culture and overcoming implementation challenges.

In this episode of Care Conversations, Seli Fakorzi, Director of Mental Health, TalkNow, and Client Liaison at TimelyCare, discusses the impact of peer support on college students. Join Seli and host Sushi Suresh as they dive into strategies for how colleges and universities can support students more effectively.

Care Conversations is an audio series by TimelyCare, higher education’s most trusted virtual health and well-being provider. Each conversation offers insights from subject-matter experts on topics impacting campus health and wellness.

How can college and university leaders foster a culture of peer support?

Seli Fakorzi:

Campuses can foster peer support by making information easily accessible through events, student groups, or digital tools like QR codes. Hosting info sessions and creating resources to educate students on how to support their peers are key steps in building a proactive and informed support culture.

Sushi Suresh:

I think being easily accessible is so important to students. There’s already so much on their plates, so removing barriers can make a big difference.

What are creative ways schools have integrated peer support?

Seli Fakorzi:

Some campuses are training students to serve as peer supporters using tools like the Be There Certificate on TimelyCare’s platform. Counseling centers are also creating spaces where these peer supporters can gather, learn, and reflect together. Group training helps make the experience approachable and empowering, encouraging students to take pride in supporting their campus community.

What challenges do schools face, and how can they overcome them?

Seli Fakorzi:

A common challenge is encouraging students to take on peer support roles. Many feel uncertain or lack confidence. Schools can overcome this by offering flexible resources like the Be There Certificate, which students can complete at their own pace. Digital tools meet students where they already are—online—making it easier to engage and share support. Ultimately, normalizing peer support and keeping it manageable is key.

Sushi Suresh:

I love all of those tips. The Be There Certificate is a great digital tool, and our partnership with the Born This Way Foundation makes it even more impactful.

How can faculty and staff create safe, supportive spaces?

Seli Fakorzi:

Faculty and staff are crucial in normalizing mental health conversations. They don’t need to be therapists just active listeners who validate students’ experiences and guide them to helpful resources. By staying informed and approachable, they can be powerful allies in promoting campus wellness.

Sushi Suresh:

That resonates with me. Some of my most meaningful college experiences came from professors who normalized mental health support. It had a big impact on my journey.

How your campus can start a peer support movement

Creating a culture of peer support starts with intention and action. Whether it’s through student training programs, digital tools, or faculty engagement, small efforts can lead to a major impact.

Contact us to learn how we can help your campus thrive.

Key Takeaways

Peer support fosters connection and mental wellness.
Accessibility and simplicity are critical to student engagement.
Faculty and staff should actively normalize mental health conversations.
Training tools like the Be There Certificate help students feel confident in supporting peers.
Creating dedicated spaces for peer support builds community.

FAQs

What is the Be There Certificate?

It’s a digital peer support training tool designed to help students learn how to support their peers in a thoughtful and effective way.

Why is peer support important in higher education?

It enhances belonging, reduces stigma, and empowers students to contribute to a healthy campus culture.

How can faculty support peer programs?

By listening, encouraging open dialogue, and connecting students to campus resources.

The post Fostering a Supportive Campus Culture for Peer Support appeared first on TimelyCare.

Crisis on Campus: How Higher Ed Leaders Are Reframing Mental Health Through Prevention and Collaboration

TimelyCare — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:55:28 +0000

Overview

As campus mental health challenges expand, higher ed leaders must shift from reactive crisis management to proactive, collaborative support systems. Insights from national experts emphasize prevention infrastructure, peer support, trauma-informed response, and scalable technology as critical components of campus resilience.

Insights from national experts on trauma response, student well-being, and building a resilient campus culture.

Student mental health has become one of higher education’s most urgent leadership challenges. From politically charged headlines to campus-specific tragedies, the scope of what constitutes a crisis has expanded, and so must the strategy to respond.

In the recent webinar “Crisis on Campus: A Collaborative Approach to Safeguarding Mental Health and Promoting Student Well-Being,” leaders from The Jed Foundation, The Ohio State University, and Connecticut State Community College gathered to share lessons and strategies to support campus mental health and resilience. The message is clear: institutional leaders must drive the shift from reactive care to preventive, coordinated action.

What counts as a crisis today?

Traditionally, crisis response has centered on isolated events like natural disasters, violence, or loss. But as Micky M. Sharma, PsyD, Director of the Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service at The Ohio State University, explained, today’s campuses are impacted by a wider array of stressors: social unrest, international conflict, community violence, and trauma occurring off campus.

Crisis is not always local, but its effects always are. Institutions must stay attuned to events that may not originate on campus but still deeply affect students’ sense of safety and well-being.

How can institutions build preventative infrastructure?

Prevention isn’t just about stopping crises, it’s about stopping chaos.

Mark Patishnock, PhD. Vice President of School Programs Implementation at The Jed Foundation, challenged the idea that prevention and crisis response are separate functions. Instead, he emphasized the importance of organizational readiness: knowing who’s on the crisis team, what tools and protocols exist, and how decisions are made under pressure. This preparation avoids missteps that can harm students and erode trust.

“It is critical to think about how we’re doing that in the moment, how we are responding from a trauma-informed lens to make sure that we are not creating additional unintended impacts and that things are not going unaddressed that need to be,” Patishnock said.

Leaders can do this by ensuring clear crisis frameworks are already in place:

A crisis management system understood across departments
Clear roles and responsibilities for emergencies
Trauma-informed policies that guide real-time decisions

This kind of infrastructure is a protective factor — and a leadership responsibility.

What should happen in the first 24 hours?

The hours immediately following a crisis are critical, and how you communicate during that time sets the tone for recovery and trust.

Effective crisis communication starts with leveraging your campus experts, particularly your communications and IT teams. Sharma stressed the importance of rapid communication, digital readiness, and coordinated messaging. During a crisis, your website might become the primary resource. Is it ready? Timely, factual information must be easily accessible, not just for students and staff, but also for families and the media.

Leadership must:

Coordinate communications across departments
Create centralized resource hubs
Verify facts and ensure messaging is brief, accurate, and consistent

Panelists also urged taking a trauma-informed approach, with psychological first aid as the initial standard for stabilizing care.

Why peer support matters

Peer networks are a powerful tool in campus mental health strategy, as students often turn to each other before professionals. Meredith Yuhas, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS, Director of Mental Health Services and Wellness at Connecticut State Community College, highlighted the value of proactively training student leaders to recognize distress, respond with empathy, and refer peers to resources.

These peer groups often have a clearer sense of student sentiment and can communicate in ways that resonate more authentically. Given the limited capacity of most counseling centers, especially on smaller campuses, peer support serves as a critical extension of institutional care. By investing in training and infrastructure ahead of time, institutions can make peer groups a foundational element of both crisis prevention and post-crisis support.

To scale peer support:

Train residence assistants, club leaders, and peer wellness groups
Promote mental health literacy
Normalize help-seeking through “communities of care”

How can technology expand care?

The pandemic underscored just how integral technology can be in supporting student well-being, and that lesson still holds. Digital tools, like TimelyCare, now play a central role in how colleges engage students around mental health.

To be effective, these tools must be both accessible and relevant. Today’s students gravitate toward bite-sized content – think 30-second videos and quick self-check-ins – which means institutions must meet them where they are, both in format and delivery. At the same time, institutions should be selective about what digital tools they endorse. Not all apps are clinically sound, and campuses must vet platforms for evidence-based credibility and cultural fit.

Educating faculty and staff on what these tools offer is helpful, so they can confidently refer students to the right resources. Not every student needs a counseling appointment; sometimes, a guided meditation, a conversation with peers, or even an on-demand yoga class can help bridge the gap.

Ultimately, investing in the right technology and making sure the campus community understands how to use it can expand care beyond the walls of the counseling center.

To maximize impact:

Audit tools for accessibility and clinical validity
Train faculty and staff to refer students confidently
Educate students on options beyond counseling, like on-demand yoga or peer conversations

How should leaders support staff?

Just as students experience crises in different ways, so do the staff who support them. Panelists emphasized the importance of recognizing individual impacts and encouraging a culture of self-awareness and self-care among responding staff. Leaders should promote wellness and resilience-focused activities while normalizing time off when needed.

“You don’t need everyone on your team to be a member of the Avengers,” Sharma said. Giving staff explicit permission to step back helps sustain long-term capacity and prevents burnout during prolonged or repeated crises.

Build policies that:

Allow flexible schedules and staggered shifts during crises
Encourage cross-training to reduce burnout
Provide wellness resources for faculty and staff, not just students

Who owns campus mental health?

The most important shift is cultural: student well-being is not the sole responsibility of the counseling center. It’s a collective mission. The measure of a resilient campus isn’t whether it avoids crisis, but how it supports its people when crisis comes.

Leaders must:

Model vulnerability and care
Prioritize wellness in strategic planning
Allocate resources beyond compliance to compassion and capacity

A resilient campus culture is built through shared ownership, trust, and care.

How TimelyCare can help you lead campus resilience

Higher ed leaders face growing pressure to respond to crises with clarity, compassion, and competence. TimelyCare supports institutions with scalable, evidence-based tools that extend care beyond the counseling center. This year, TimelyCare introduced CrisisNow to provide students a direct phone line with immediate, compassionate support, expanding crisis support outside the TimelyCare app when every second counts.

Contact us to learn how we can help your campus thrive.

Key Takeaways

Modern crises extend beyond campus borders and demand broader readiness
Prevention requires infrastructure
Clear, consistent crisis communication is essential in the first 24 hours
Peer support networks are scalable and effective
Technology must be accessible, trusted, and student-friendly
Staff wellness policies help sustain long-term crisis response
Campus mental health must be a shared responsibility across departments

FAQs

What is trauma-informed crisis response?

It’s an approach that centers psychological safety and avoids actions that could retraumatize affected individuals during and after a crisis.

How can peer support help during a crisis?

Trained student leaders can often identify distress early and refer peers to appropriate resources, helping scale support efficiently.

Why should institutions invest in mental health technology?

Digital tools extend care access, support diverse needs, and offer flexible options beyond traditional counseling.

How can campuses prevent burnout among crisis responders?

Flexible schedules, cross-training, and access to staff wellness programs help teams remain effective over time.

What role does leadership play in mental health strategy?

Executive leaders set the tone by embedding well-being into strategy, modeling care, and allocating resources to sustain support.

The post Crisis on Campus: How Higher Ed Leaders Are Reframing Mental Health Through Prevention and Collaboration appeared first on TimelyCare.

Gen Ztressed: From Enrollment to Engagement—Redefining Retention Strategies in 2025

TimelyCare — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 14:05:37 +0000

Key Takeaways

Comprehensive student retention strategies are essential, and institutions must tackle key issues like financial challenges, academic struggles, and mental health needs through proactive support systems.
Creating relaxing spaces and providing access to diverse mental health resources enhance student engagement and academic outcomes.
Faculty involvement plays a pivotal role in connecting students to the right resources, boosting their ability to persist through challenges.
Institutions must adapt to Gen Z’s preferences, leveraging a mix of technology and personal interactions to meet their evolving needs. Prioritizing inclusivity, mental health, and community-driven initiatives ensures higher education retention efforts remain relevant and effective.

Student retention remains a critical challenge for universities across the U.S. as institutions strive to keep students enrolled through graduation. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the overall retention rate for first-year students returning for their second year was 75.7% in 2022, meaning nearly one in four students did not continue their studies. Financial difficulties, academic struggles, mental health challenges, and a lack of engagement with campus life often contribute to students leaving before earning a degree.

These challenges are solvable but require colleges and universities to invest in comprehensive retention strategies that give students the right resources at the right time. To further this conversation, TimelyCare hosted a webinar titled Gen Ztressted: From Enrollment to Engagement—Redefining Retention Strategies in 2025. The discussion featured insights from higher education leaders, including:

Tracy Arwari, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students for Academic & Personal Success at Pomona College
Kim Livingston-Cobb, Associate Dean of Students, Dean of Students, Student Wellbeing & Support at the University of Texas Tyler
Katrina Hanson, Manager of Retention, Basic Needs, and Wellbeing at College of Redwoods

During the panel discussion, these experts shared multiple strategies they’ve seen work in higher education to address retention and support students.

1. Holistic mental health support breaks down barriers to care

Traditionally, counseling has been handled one-on-one, in person, but this limits access to care for students and does not meet them where and when they need support. Colleges and universities are shifting to a broader wellness strategy that incorporates group support and peer-based programs, catering to the diverse needs of students.

At University of Texas Tyler, the institution takes a proactive approach to caring for students.

“One of the things that we’ve done is create a campus-wide wellness initiative,” said Livingston-Cobb. “We created a new wellness center for students to have a place to just come and relax. They have massage chairs and puzzles and art and all kinds of things like that. It is a getaway for the students to leave the world behind, come rejuvenate, and then be able to go out and be productive.”

Beyond the wellness center, Livingston-Cobb discussed her team’s ability to break down the barriers to care and deliver the holistic mental health support that students need. By fostering a supportive environment prioritizing mental well-being, colleges can enhance student engagement, academic performance, and overall retention, ensuring students can persist and graduate.

2. Building a culture of care encourages help-seeking behavior

Another essential aspect of supporting student mental health and improving retention is building a culture of care within the institution. More and more faculty and staff are being trained to recognize early signs of distress and respond with empathy by connecting students to appropriate resources. Livingston-Cobb has seen great success in integrating faculty into the care process.

“One of the exciting things about our care, is that our faculty are our biggest referrers. We have smaller class sizes, and they’re very in tune to our students,” she said. “Having that type of faculty that really care about their students and care about their well-being, they see things. They will do a care report when someone’s been missing classes, or they’ve just seen if students come talk to them and they’re upset about something.”

This proactive approach emphasizes collaboration across departments, with care teams integrating mental health counseling, academic advising, and student support services to provide wraparound assistance. When students feel that their well-being is a priority, they are more likely to seek help, stay engaged, and persist through academic challenges, which combine to ultimately improve retention rates.

3. Leveraging technology makes care more accessible and inclusive

Higher education has the opportunity to transform mental health support in colleges, ensuring that students receive timely and flexible care regardless of their circumstances.

At Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., Tracy Arwari sees technology removing barriers and expanding access to care. Location, cost, and scheduling are no longer challenges. Instead, virtual care allows students to be seen in as little as 90 seconds. Arwari said Pomona enables successful technology programs from day one.

“Our first-year class dean at orientation has every single first-year student get out their phone, download the app, and log in. They create your account sitting right there. We have built up this culture in which it is just as normal and easy and reasonable to log on to get medical care or mental health care in a moment as it is to walk your happy hips down to student health or to our counseling center. And so having that inherent structure has helped tremendously.”

These digital tools complement traditional campus resources by offering 24/7 crisis support, self-guided coping strategies, and virtual peer support networks. This mix of integrated on-campus and virtual resources ensures continuity of care even when students are away from campus or face scheduling barriers. By embracing technology, universities can create a more inclusive and accessible mental health ecosystem, empowering students to prioritize their well-being while navigating academic challenges.

4. Empowering student voices fosters a sense of ownership

It is important for students to hear from other students. Empowering student voices is a critical component of building effective, community-driven mental health support in colleges. By actively engaging students through surveys, focus groups, and campus-wide discussions, institutions can better understand their evolving needs and tailor mental health initiatives accordingly.

At College of Redwoods in Eureka, Calif., Katrina Hanson and her team work to empower students to help each other.

“We do a lot of prevention work around harm reduction, addiction, and substance use. That can be a big retention issue for our students as well. That can be a connection point for students to share their stories with each other and build that community and then also get connected to campus and community resources,” said Hanson.

“And sometimes it’s just building those affinity spaces where students can connect with each other and share their experiences and their stories. They can just have that space where they feel comfortable connecting with other folks going through the same thing.”

Encouraging student involvement in decision-making processes—such as serving on mental health advisory boards, leading peer support groups, and organizing wellness events—fosters a sense of ownership and advocacy. Peer leadership programs also help reduce stigma and create a more supportive campus culture. These efforts not only improve mental health services but also promote resilience, inclusivity, and a strong sense of belonging, all of which contribute to student retention and overall well-being.

The full webinar, Gen Ztressted: From Enrollment to Engagement—Redefining Retention Strategies in 2025, is available to watch on demand.

The post Gen Ztressed: From Enrollment to Engagement—Redefining Retention Strategies in 2025 appeared first on TimelyCare.

Promoting Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Underrepresented College Students

TimelyCare — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 22:42:20 +0000

Key Takeaways

Underrepresented students, such as first-generation and LGBTQIA+ individuals, face barriers like cultural stigma and financial constraints that limit their access to mental health services, making it essential to address these challenges.
Promoting help-seeking behaviors through inclusive messaging, diverse support representation, and peer advocacy normalizes asking for help and reduces stigma on campus.
Virtual platforms and strategically integrated mental health tools provide 24/7 access to resources, empowering marginalized student groups to seek care anytime.
Proactive outreach campaigns and simplified processes, like addressing unclear institutional systems, significantly improve resource engagement and support for underrepresented students.
Increasing the availability of culturally competent counselors and diverse support staff enhances trust and efficiency in mental health services, fostering well-being among all students.

Higher education has long been heralded as a path to personal and professional growth. Yet, for many underrepresented college students, navigating academic life can feel akin to scaling an invisible mountain. The barriers—ranging from cultural stigma and financial constraints to limited access to tailored support—are significant and deeply rooted.

To truly create equitable campuses, institutions must actively encourage help-seeking behaviors, addressing not just the availability of resources, but also the accessibility and perceptions surrounding them.

Why is help-seeking among underrepresented students important?

A recent nationwide survey by TimelyCare, higher education’s most trusted virtual health and well-being provider, shows that 71% of college students experience mental health challenges like stress, anxiety, and depression. For underrepresented groups – such as first-generation college students, students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and those from low-income backgrounds – additional pressures and other factors like stigma or lack of awareness, often compound these challenges and cause students to hold back from seeking the care and support they need to thrive.

Breaking this cycle of disengagement isn’t just about offering services—it’s about fundamentally changing campus culture.

In a Gen Ztressed webinar hosted by TimelyCare, experts Brianna Yahaya, M.S Ed., student life coordinator at Saybrook University and Travis W. Proffitt, M.A., assistant vice president for retention at Emory & Henry University, weighed in on what colleges and universities can do to help support underrepresented student groups to ensure they receive the care and support they need to succeed.

Key barriers to help-seeking for underrepresented students

Understanding the obstacles underrepresented students face is essential to dismantling them. Common barriers include:

Cultural stigma: Many underrepresented students come from communities where asking for help, particularly around mental health, is seen as a sign of weakness. Normalizing these conversations is critical to reducing this stigma.
Hidden curriculum: This refers to institutional jargon, unspoken rules, and processes that are intimidating to first-generation students. Terms like “FAFSA,” “withdrawal deadline,” or “academic probation” can feel alien and inaccessible.
Limited representation: Students often feel more comfortable seeking support from professionals who understand their lived experiences. A lack of diverse counselors, advisors, and faculty can prevent students from utilizing available resources.
Financial concerns: Many students fear that seeking support—especially for mental health—will lead to unaffordable costs. Communicating free or low-cost options is vital.
Unclear systems: Overlapping or confusing systems for accessing resources can deter already overwhelmed students. Simplifying access and offering proactive guidance can make a huge difference.

Is your campus encouraging help-seeking behaviors?

Now's the time to address not only the availability of resources, but also the accessibility and perceptions for your students.

Bring TimelyCare to Your School

How to foster a help-seeking campus culture

Higher education administrators play a pivotal role in normalizing help-seeking behaviors. Here’s how you can start driving change on your campus:

Normalize asking for help through messaging

Make help-seeking a celebrated and integral part of campus life. Incorporate language like “It’s smart to ask for help” into orientation programs, campus-wide communications and even classroom discussions.

Highlight testimonials from relatable students who have successfully utilized resources. For example, showing how a first-generation student thrived after engaging with an academic advisor can inspire others to do the same.

Increase representation in support resources

Representation matters. Ensure counseling centers, academic support teams, and faculty include professionals who reflect the diverse identities of your student body. If hiring diverse staff isn’t immediately feasible, adopt tools like telehealth services – which give students the option to select culturally competent providers with similar lived experiences. For instance, Saybrook University implemented TimelyCare to provide students access to diverse counseling professionals, resulting in increased engagement and satisfaction.

Yahaya recalls one student who, when deciding whether or not to drop out of
school, chose to stay enrolled because she had access to TimelyCare.

“She wasn’t going to withdraw because she was utilizing the service. We’ve gotten so much positive feedback from students saying, ‘Thank you for listening to us. This is really helpful to be able to use this service,’” she said.

Demystify the “hidden curriculum”

Creating workshops and first-year seminars to intentionally unpack institutional jargon and norms is indispensable, especially for first-generation students. Proffitt from Emory & Henry College emphasized the importance of teaching students to ask questions early. He noted that efforts to explain processes like course withdrawals and financial aid appeals during orientation and introductory courses have significantly reduced confusion and barriers.

Embed support within existing structures

Don’t wait for students to find you—bring resources to them. Partner with student organizations, residence halls, and cultural centers to offer pop-up counseling sessions, financial aid workshops, or academic advising. For online students, email campaigns and regular check-ins are essential. At Saybrook University, Yahaya said virtual onboarding and email follow-ups have created a sense of community even for remote learners.

Address financial concerns

Promote the affordability of support services by clearly communicating when specific resources, like counseling or tutoring, are free. Work with financial aid offices to develop emergency funds that can be accessed without daunting paperwork.

Empower peer advocacy

Peer-to-peer support is one of the most effective ways to reach resistant students. Equip student leaders, resident assistants (RAs), and club officers with basic training to identify peers in distress and guide them toward professional services. Proffitt also shared how visual cues, like “I’m First” stickers for first-generation-friendly staff and Safe Zone LGBTQIA+ ally stickers, have encouraged students to approach faculty confidently.

Leverage technology

Integrate help-seeking tools into student workflows. For instance, embedding mental health service links or academic advising portals directly in Learning Management Systems (LMS), like Moodle or Canvas, ensures users are only a click away from support. At Saybrook University, this approach has proven successful, with links to TimelyCare prominently integrated into the student tools dashboard.

Action steps for administrators

Building a help-seeking culture requires long-term commitment, but immediate actions include:

Conducting anonymous surveys to gauge student perceptions of available resources.
Collaborating with student groups to co-design culturally relevant support programs.
Launching outreach campaigns to highlight underused resources in emails, social media, and campus events.
Monitoring data usage for key services to identify engagement gaps and opportunities.

Empower students to seek support today

Promoting help-seeking behaviors on your campus is more than an administrative initiative—it’s a commitment to equity and academic success. When underrepresented students know they have access to relatable, approachable, and comprehensive resources, they are more likely to thrive and achieve their educational goals.

TimelyCare research shows how virtual care can significantly enhance access to mental health care among college students across racial and ethnic groups. Analysis of data from 113 colleges and universities showed Asian, Black and Multiracial undergraduates accessed fully virtual mental health services at a higher rate than would be expected based on the demographics of these institutions.

Given that prior research demonstrates that access to traditional mental health services has historically been lowest among Asian and Black college students, these findings underscore how 24/7 virtual care addresses and breaks down barriers to traditional mental health care among these populations.

Want to take the next step? Learn how tools like TimelyCare can help your institution foster accessible, inclusive support services that inspire students to seek the help they deserve.

The post Promoting Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Underrepresented College Students appeared first on TimelyCare.

Combatting Perfectionism in College Students

TimelyCare — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Listen to the Episode

In this episode of Care Conversations, Nicole Trevino, vice president of student success at TimelyCare, discusses the impact of perfectionism on college students. Join Nicole and host Sushi Suresh as they dive into strategies for how colleges and universities can help support students.

Care Conversations is an audio series by TimelyCare, higher education’s most trusted virtual health and well-being provider. Each conversation offers thoughtful insights from a subject-matter expert on different topics impacting the health and well-being of campus communities.

How have you seen perfectionism impact students mental health?

Nicole Trevino:

Students become stressed and burnt out. There’s such a desire to be perfect, to succeed in their major, to land that perfect internship, to land that perfect job, or get into that particular graduate school post-graduation.

Students will often work, work, work, and not take care of themselves. They get burned out as a result of trying to be that perfect scholar of sorts.

What types of resources and programs helped those students in those situations?

Nicole Trevino:

In my experience, having marketing campaigns on campus that promote recharging, taking care of yourself, and being mindful of your overall well-being and your mental health are helpful. Successful institutions have these types of campaigns in place, and it’s something that’s not just for students. It’s for faculty, staff, and students alike.

The other piece is having these conversations as early as orientation, encouraging students to take advantage of the resources, and educating parents, guardians, and family supporters about all the resources that are on campus, so as their students call home stressed or needing support, they can redirect and remind students what’s available there in the campus community to support them.

Sushi Suresh:

I love that! Setting the standard from the get-go with orientation and a student’s support system can go a long way.

What are things that faculty, staff and administrators can do to address the negative impacts of perfectionism on students and also help support their academic performance and well-being?

Nicole Trevino:

Remember that you’re role modeling for your students. Talk about the practices and how you take care of yourself, how you recharge yourself, and share that with your students.

Encourage your students to use resources just as we’re talking about taking care of ourselves. Utilize what’s available within your community.

Another way to help students is to step into a mentor role to really help students along the way.

Sushi Suresh:

I think that’s so important. I remember when I was a student, having a faculty or staff member really acknowledge these things, and having that open dialog like that made such a huge impact on me. I just felt more open to coming to them with some of the issues I had around perfectionism.

Closing Thought: Perfectionism often leads to student burnout due to the pressure to excel academically and professionally. However, with the help of faculty and staff stepping into mentor roles, students can navigate their academic careers.

This transcript has been edited from the original conversation for clarity.

The post Combatting Perfectionism in College Students appeared first on TimelyCare.

Higher Ed Student Success: A Snapshot of Progress and Opportunity

TimelyCare — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Defining student success in higher education is complex. Colleges and universities are navigating a dynamic era marked by shifting student expectations, technological advancements, and complex societal challenges. What was once measured by grades and graduation rates has now transformed into an ever-changing concept encompassing holistic well-being, meaningful campus experiences, and preparation for life after college.

However you, your students, and your school define it, student success is the heartbeat of higher education, driving institutions to innovate, adapt, and prioritize what truly matters: empowering students to thrive academically, personally, and professionally.

Inside Higher Ed’s inaugural survey of college and university student success administrators, “2024 Survey of College and University Student Success Administrators,” offers a revealing look into how institutions of higher education are navigating the complexities of modern student success. An expert panel of higher education leaders discussed the findings in a recent webinar that offered valuable insights into what colleges are doing well and what improvements are needed. The panel focused on better serving students in four core areas of student success: academic life, health and wellness, college experience, and career readiness.

Academic life: Data as a compass

Nearly all administrators rated undergraduate education quality as good or excellent, and about 60% believe their institution prioritizes student success effectively. However, fewer feel confident about their institution’s ability to collect and analyze student success data. This disconnect highlights an opportunity to refine data strategies for targeted improvement.

“Data is basically our GPS. It tells us how we’re doing, where to go, how to deploy targeted supports and resources,” said Jhenai Chandler, Vice President for Research and Policy at NASPA. “Improving data capacity and accessibility of student success data is really critical to inform and drive student success efforts on campuses.”

At The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Senior Vice Provost for Student Success Tammy Wyatt agreed and shared how her team is leveraging data to drive results.

“We should commit not only to using data more effectively, but also fostering a culture of data fluency across all of our teams to ensure that those actionable insights lead to meaningful improvements for our students,” said Wyatt.

UTSA has “purposefully and strategically implemented a comprehensive assessment plan to evaluate the impact of their initiatives regularly.” Wyatt emphasized the need for cross-functional collaboration, highlighting her office’s work in partnership with the university’s Office of Institutional Research to foster a culture of data fluency across the institution to ensure everyone has the skills and access to interpret data and feels empowered to act on that data effectively.

“It’s okay to make changes. It’s okay to even sunset things,” said Wyatt. “I think that’s an important aspect…that we have to be okay with that and go where the data tells us we need to go.”

Wyatt also points out the need to help students better understand and use generative AI in an increasingly technology-driven world.

“By integrating AI literacy into the curriculum, offering hands-on experiences, and building partnerships with industry, we can equip students with the skills to thrive in the modern workforce,” said Wyatt. “I think both data and the role of AI underscore the need for higher education to remain adaptive and innovative as we focus on empowering our students to succeed in this very rapidly changing landscape.”

The college experience: Fostering belonging and inclusion

Holistic student success hinges on creating environments where students can thrive academically, socially, and personally. Chandler underscored the importance of creating environments where every student, regardless of their background, has access to data-informed high-impact practices, mentorship, and resources to thrive academically and personally. This approach involves recognizing the value of the diverse identities and cultural wealth students bring to campus and integrating that into their curriculum to contextualize content and make it relevant to their experiences.

The panel also discussed the need for increased emphasis on student belonging and campus involvement, focusing on helping students see the connection between their participation and success.

Health and wellness: Bridging the gaps

While institutions are making strides in mental health support, there is still work to be done – particularly in addressing students’ financial well-being. According to Inside Higher Ed’s annual Student Voice survey, while 75% of administrators rated their institutions as doing well in promoting overall well-being, only 52% of students agreed. While Inside Higher Ed editors said the two surveys are not parallel, they were made with each other in mind to help further draw comparisons between perceptions of administrators versus students.

Wyatt applauds the progress colleges and universities have made in increasing mental health services, including at UTSA, where the university system scaled telehealth with TimelyCare, professional development for faculty to identify and address distress, and targeted wellness initiatives. However, Wyatt points out a critical gap in addressing financial stress for students who often juggle work, family responsibilities, and education.

“Financial stress is a significant barrier to their success,” she said, underscoring the importance of embedding financial literacy in first-year programming, offering one-on-one coaching, and standardizing paid internships to mitigate what they described as “the cost of experience.”

Chandler referenced NASPA’s “2024 Top Issues in Student Affairs” report, highlighting overlooked challenges like the need for peer-support training and campus-wide collaboration on mental health and financial resources. She stressed the importance of clear communication so students know where to turn during crises.

“How do you ensure that students know where to go on campus, who to contact when they’re having a financial or mental health crisis?” she asked, calling for more integrated and accessible support systems.

Career readiness: The value of experience

While administrators and students agree on the importance of career readiness, their priorities differ. Administrators primarily focus on general career exploration, but students emphasize internships and job opportunities as the most valuable preparation.

Institutions must bridge this gap by prioritizing experiential learning, from paid internships to hands-on industry partnerships, that align with students’ career aspirations.

Moving forward: Intentionality and collaboration

As institutions aim to enhance student outcomes, campus leaders must prioritize aligning resources, data, and student needs. Whether through bolstering mental health initiatives, fostering career readiness, or embracing innovative technologies, the message is clear: student success requires intentionality, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

By addressing gaps in data utilization, prioritizing affordability, and ensuring holistic support, institutions can better meet the needs of today’s diverse and dynamic student body.

Contact TimelyCare to learn how virtual care options can support your campus, from mental health support and medical care to self-care resources and success coaching tailored to meet the needs of your students.

The post Higher Ed Student Success: A Snapshot of Progress and Opportunity appeared first on TimelyCare.