Changes Come from Mental Health Report

Less than a year after the campus Mental Health Task Force issued a set of recommendations to President G.P. “Bud” Peterson, nearly all of the recommendations have been implemented and those remaining are now being addressed.

Peterson appointed the task force in May 2013 to assess and enhance mental health services on campus. The group of students, faculty, and staff met over several months and issued their report in October 2013, followed by a deeper review of next steps through April 2014.  

The report contained 11 recommendations that addressed staffing, programming, technology, and financial resources.

Counseling Center

Based on the recommendations, the Counseling Center has added two new full-time staff members, filled four vacant positions, and issued salary adjustments to raise current staff members to competitive market rates.

“It’s great to be operating with a full staff again,” said Ruperto Perez, director of the Counseling Center. The addition of counselors lowers the Georgia Tech Counseling Center’s counselor/student ratio closer to the national average of 1:1,500. The Technique editorial board also advocated for additional counseling resources in a September 2013 consensus.

One of the new staff psychologists will oversee the continued development and expansion of Tech’s recovery services, and the other will shepherd the establishment of a new peer counseling program.

“We’re able to move forward with our own initiatives and also support student-driven needs and services,” Perez said.

A survey is in development that would complement Counseling Center efforts by evaluating student mental health issues on an ongoing basis. A working group of students, faculty, and staff will determine the survey’s content and frequency.

Wellness Initiative

Several recommendations relate to the development a Student Wellness initiative, an idea being further honed by Georgia Tech’s Office of Strategic Consulting over the next 90 days.

“We discovered that there are already great wellness programs at Georgia Tech, but that many units have their own programs, so the idea formed to have a wellness initiative that pulled all their areas and units together to look at overall student wellness,” said Lynn Durham, assistant vice president and chief of staff for the Office of the President, who chaired the task force.

The initiative would serve to support and enhance services already provided in various places on campus, such as Stamps Health Services, the Campus Recreation Center, and the Counseling Center, but would emphasize a full spectrum of wellness rather than individual facets.

Academic Stress

Six of the recommendations are being addressed by the Provost’s office in the areas of Academic Success and Financial Aid. One in particular deals with the pressure placed on students to stay in their designated major or to forgo majors that are seen as less challenging than others. The Task Force identified the need to promote the value of all majors on campus and help students feel more comfortable considering a major change if their program of study is not a good fit. Efforts are underway with the Center for Academic Success, Center for Academic Enrichment, and Center for Career Discovery and Development to address this need.

To better educate transfer and graduate students about campus resources and adaptation, a new GT1000 section is being offered for transfer students this spring, and a similar educational program for graduate students is being developed and piloted this fall.

With the intention of addressing financial stress, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is developing new tools to help students better understand aggregate debt levels and to issue warnings to students who are in danger of losing HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships. 

Campus Culture

On a broader cultural scale, a sub-group was convened to discuss how to promote a more positive outlook on campus in the form of collaborative events or experiences. This group is continuing to meet and develop ideas this academic year, with the goal of more students partaking in campuswide, inclusive events that promote the ideal of “One Georgia Tech.”

“This group will implement ideas to foster unity, pride in our unique qualities, and appreciation for the Institute and the people who make up the campus community,” Durham said.