In the wake of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) era, federal emergency funds for higher education has concluded, but its impact endures on campuses across the country, as demonstrated in a recent Washington Post article. Connecticut State Colleges and Universities serve as a prime example, having used HEERF to expand access to much-needed 24/7 mental health services through TimelyCare for students at all 12 of its community colleges. The system transitioned to institutional funds when the federal emergency funding was no longer available, to ensure that crucial support persisted.

John Maduko, M.D., President of Connecticut State Community College, emphasizes the significance of this investment, stating, “It was a no-brainer to make that institutional investment. The numbers speak for themselves. The mental health challenges and insecurities had already existed. COVID-19 exacerbated them but also forced higher education, higher education leaders, and practitioners to pay closer attention. We cannot simply ignore what our students are facing.”

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or, CARES Act HEERF funds helped many colleges and universities subsidize the cost of bringing additional mental health support to students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, institutions have spent nearly all those funds that became available in 2021. Yet many programs launched with help from this pandemic relief money were so successful that they have become critical to campus communities. Institutions now grapple with the challenge of how to sustain these critical services post-HEERF.

Recently, TimelyCare’s Chief Strategy Officer, Becky Laman, moderated an engaging discussion at the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Leadership Congress about how community colleges are finding the resources to support 24/7 care for students. The panel, titled “Funding Strategies to Provide Sustainable Mental Health and Basic Needs Support in a Post-HEERF World,” explored the journeys of administrators, trustees, and legislators at three different school systems. These stories offer insight into overcoming various challenges to secure ongoing funding for equitable mental health resources for their students.

The panelists were Ryan Balber, Director, Virginia Higher Education Procurement Consortium, James (JW) Kelley, Associate Vice President, Student Services at North Carolina Community College System, and Jennifer Keiper, Senior Director of CollegeBuys at the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FoundationCCC). They discussed how their respective systems have secured funding to continue to support virtual mental health care.

Advocacy for mental health support

Knowing the severity and the impact of the mental health crisis, Laman asked panelists how they gained advocacy and stakeholders, given so many competing priorities.

In Virginia, a consortium created nine years ago by vice presidents of finance interested in cooperative purchasing, partnered with TimelyCare to address post-pandemic needs. Balber said, “The greatest thing about this project is it didn’t come from procurement. It came from student services aware of the need after the pandemic.”

He noted that Virginia’s 23 community college presidents met with the chancellor and requested funding, “They made sure they involved everyone in the process, and it started at the highest level at institutions with the same need at the same time.” In partnership with several public four-year universities across the state, “collaboratively, we were able to satisfy that need.”