Latest news with #InsideHigherEd
Forbes
07-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
How Campus Counseling Centers Can Increase Capacity With Little Money
Broken piggy bank getty Some might believe that increasing the capacity of campus counseling centers to better serve students requires a large financial investment. This perception might seem daunting, especially in light of a 2025 report by Inside Higher Ed describing significant budget cuts at multiple colleges. However, below are five possible ways to increase the capacity of campus counseling centers with little money. A 2022 report by the American Medical Association defined scope of practice as the range of activities that health professionals are authorized, trained and prepared to perform. Health professionals develop a scope of care statement to inform the public about the services they provide. This makes it efficient for when the public is searching for a provider and prevents providers from absorbing into their practice clients with concerns beyond the scope of care. It might be tempting to believe that campus counseling centers should have an unlimited scope of care, and many centers don't provide a concise scope of care statement. However, this goes against best practices. Scope of care statements which summarize the services and limitations of counseling centers are needed. In addition, all staff counselors need to operate under the stated scope of care. When different staff counselors provide different scopes of care to different students, this reduces capacity because stakeholders might expect services that cannot be regularly provided. A indicated by a 2023 report from the Center of Collegiate Mental Health, counseling centers gave 56% of all appointments to 20% of clients. Many of these clients were likely those with high clinical needs who were absorb into their counseling centers' normal operations. As discussed in a 2024 report on using an absorption model to treat students with high needs is often ineffective. It's likely more effective to arrange specialized services for these students, and there are several ways to do this. As discussed in the report on some centers have partnered with treatment centers to bring high level services onto campus. Others might develop memorandums of understanding with off-campus providers to facilitate referrals. Regardless, counseling centers should avoid an absorption model unless they have high capacity and decide to intentionally utilize this model. It's important to note that third-party telehealth vendors may or may not be able to treat students with high clinical needs. Some schools might financially invest into a third-party vendor thinking that more online counselors will automatically increase capacity (and without thinking about scope of care). However, if the counseling center is spending the majority of sessions on high needs students, then a more effective, and often less expensive approach, might be to arrange specialized services for this group of students. A discussed in a 2022 report by Inside Higher Ed, many current counseling center's clients have previously received services from the center. It's not surprising that, without after-care services, many students with episodic symptoms will return to the center and need additional services. There are several ways to provide after-care services. Some centers might provide individualized self-management plans upon termination of counseling. As discussed in the report by Inside Higher Ed, other centers might expand the principles within the field of substance use disorders and promote a mindset of recovery and peer support for those who've completed counseling. The report by Inside Higher Ed also discussed how many staff counselors experience high levels of burnout. Because counselors with high levels of burnout might be less efficient, counseling centers should address sources of high burnout. For some counselors, serving on crisis/on-call rotations is a high source of burnout; however, other staff members might enjoy this work more than carrying a caseload. Thus, realigning staff duties to accommodate these preferences might be helpful. Other options include flex-scheduling, pre-determined caseload sizes, reducing outside committee assignments, and regular team building and self-care activities. Many counseling centers have a robust mental health outreach program, but sometimes these programs are similar to those provided by a campus health promotion office. For large campuses, redundant programing is often needed, and there may be times in which saturating a campus with an outreach initiative is warranted. However, if a counseling center is struggling with capacity, and the campus has an active health promotion office, then it might be helpful for the health promotion office to take the lead in conducting outreaches. It's possible that other campus partners can also meet certain sub-clinical needs better than the counseling center. For example, a student success office might be better equipped to address concerns related to procrastination and time management. Likewise, a student activities office might be better equipped to address homesickness. Few, if any, campus partners can provide the clinical services that the counseling center provides. Thus, avoiding redundant services is often a key to increasing capacity.
The Hindu
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Reimagining higher education: Ecosystem approach can revive enrollment in basic sciences
With an enrollment of more than 41 million students, India has been recognized as the world's second largest post-secondary education system (after China). In the New Education Policy 2020 (NEP), the Government of India projects to increase the enrollment rate to 50%, from its current 27.3%, by 2035. To achieve this goal, India will have to add around 34 million students to the system. South India has been facing a decline in enrollment in Mathematics and Basic Sciences progressively. This can be perceived as due to emerging trends that view the tertiary education space from a utilitarian perspective. If such a notion persists, though, there would be closure of such programmes at many institutions. However, admissions to Engineering programmes (having allied Mathematics as an integral part) in ranked institutions is still progressing well. This indicates that learning Mathematics in isolation as a major subject has been declining owing to the lack of an associated professional training component. Starved of tuition revenue, universities and colleges are considering closing down departments. But, is there an alternative framework to reimagine the tertiary education space? Do colleges need to appropriate the perception of millennials concerning curriculum and pedagogical design, which would facilitate their enrollment? Expectations of millennials Doug Shapiro, the Executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that curates data from the majority of the institutions in the U.S.A. stated in an interview that 'the longer this continues, the more it starts to build its own momentum as a cultural shift and not just a short-term effect of the pandemic disruptions. 'Students are questioning the value of college. They may be looking at friends who graduated last year or the year before who didn't go, and they seem to be doing fine. They're working; their wages are up.' Millennials in general are inclined to pursue entrepreneurship rather than work for someone else. Secondly, value for money through return of investment is another key perception they have. As per a study cited in a March 2024 article by Inside Higher Ed, it is observed that confidence in colleges is falling, and the perceived value of on-the-job training and shorter-term licensure or certificate programs is on the rise. Further, a survey conducted by the marketing research firm Edge Research and HCM Strategists, a public policy and advocacy consulting firm funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, noted that although 58% of high schoolers and 51% of non-enrolled adults in 2023 believed 'you must have a college degree to earn a 'good job,'' 69% and 65%, respectively, believed certification is enough. To address this complex issue further, we require a whole-of-tertiary education vision and strategy through a systems-thinking approach rather than cherry-picking populist initiatives. We need to envisage new types of institutions with different missions, programmes and modes of study to meet the demands and needs of this diverse cohort of learners and of society. Consequently, to evolve an institutional model from the perspective of reimagining the arts and Science colleges, we can draw insights from Neil J. Smelser's proposition (UC Berkeley) which describes the modern research university as a 'multi-campus network' of inter-related parts and relationships. It can be interpreted that the entire post-secondary landscape could be envisaged as an 'ecosystem' which offers various types of education including skill development leading to professional certification concerning upskilling and reskilling, adult education, continuing education or even lifelong learning, community engagement, and so on. If the tertiary education space is rendered dynamic in design through an ecosystem model by connecting it with the world of work through an interface in the academic institution, it would perpetuate itself by adapting to the changing context. The ecosystem, as a dynamic space, could be envisaged as a system where the number, type, role and responsibilities of providers, individually and collectively, evolve and modify over time in response to the changing environment. Though the ecosystem providers are diversified, flexible and responsive with distinct missions towards societal and economic changes, there would not be an imbedded hierarchy. An ecosystem approach of tertiary education space will keep co-creating the curriculum and pedagogy as it will be constantly communicating and receiving feedback through community and industry engagement. A real-world application The Madras Christian College has embarked on validating this model through the MCC-MRF Innovation Park, where apart from incubating entrepreneurs as its core vision, the innovation park would also focus on creating centers of excellence in domains mapped with programmes offered on the campus. The proposed Centers of Excellence will keep updating themselves with changes happening in the world of work and creating skilled work forces through upskilling and reskilling. In addition to this, hackathons will be conducted periodically curating pain points from industries and involving interns from the campus. The departments within the college, through their association with the centers of excellence, would in turn be sensitized continuously, leading to a dynamic equilibrium between the world of work and the world of education through the interface known as the Innovation Park. If established industries have reservations in setting up their centers at higher education institutions, then budding start-ups would emerge as an alternative option for industry engagement and transform the tertiary education landscape. (Dr. Paul Wilson is currently serving as the Principal and Secretary of Madras Christian College, Chennai, India)
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
State board rejects University of Florida pick amid conservative backlash
The Florida Board of Governors rejected Santa Ono to serve as the president of the University of Florida on Tuesday amid backlash from conservatives over Ono's past stances on diversity, equity and inclusion on (DEI) college campuses. The board, which oversees the state's university system, voted 10-6 to block the former University of Michigan president from serving as the University of Florida president weeks after the university's board of trustees voted unanimously in favor of Ono. The move from the state's Board of Governors marks the first time in its 22-year history that it has rejected a university's presidential selection. The board's rejection means that the university will have to start its presidential selection process over. Ono faced pushback from conservatives, as well as members of Florida's congressional delegation, over his past stances on DEI, which has become a target of the Trump administration. Last week, the president's son Donald Trump Jr. called on 'every single member' of the Board of Governors to vote against Ono. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who appointed most of the state's Board of Governors, avoided jumping directly into the fray over Ono's nomination. 'We have expectations about what we want in higher education. We don't want it to be a fountain of activism and leftist indoctrination and if you go in that direction, then you will not have support to continue,' DeSantis said at a press conference last week. 'People have pointed out a lot of statements that he has made that are not exactly what we're looking for in a state where woke goes to die and I cringe at some of these statements.' The chair of the university's board of trustees, Mori Hosseini, a DeSantis ally, backed Ono as the pick to lead the university. Ono wrote in a recent op-ed that his views on the issue have evolved. 'Like many, I supported what I believed to be the original intent of DEI — ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student,' he wrote in Inside Higher Ed earlier this month. 'That's something on which most everyone agrees. But over time, I saw how DEI became something else — more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
US: ICE issues warning to international students regarding SEVIS terminations
Live Events US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued warnings to international students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas, stating that failure to report employment within 90 days of starting their OPT could lead to termination of their legal status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and potential deportation to a report by Inside Higher Ed, at least 35 students have received such notices, with one university reporting that 28 of its students were affected. The letters, similar to those sent during the Trump administration in 2020, now include signatories from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to the Student and Exchange Visitor on OPT are permitted a total of 90 days of unemployment within a 12-month period. Failure to report employment status within this timeframe may result in SEVIS record termination and initiation of removal development follows recent policy updates that expand ICE's authority to terminate SEVIS statuses, resuming efforts to deport student visa holders weeks after restoring the statuses of thousands of students, as per the report by Inside Higher Ed.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)The impact of these warnings on students with STEM OPT extensions remains unclear. University officials and international student advisers are closely monitoring the situation and advising affected students accordingly.
Forbes
12-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Promoting Collective Effervescence And A Sense Of Belonging On Campus
A group of college students getty According to a 2024 report by Inside Higer Ed, a sense of belonging is a key factor in student retention. A 2025 report on also suggested that a sense of community is a potent source of health and well-being for many students. Because of such findings, many colleges and universities invest in ways to enhance a sense of community and belonging on campus. There are perceived barriers to establishing a sense of belonging and community on campus. As explained in another 2025 report on DEI bans often prevent public schools from reaching out to specific communities of students, and these bans even limit mental health professionals. Furthermore, the size of some campuses mirrors the sizes of cities, making community building appear to be a difficult task. However, research on collective effervescence suggests that promoting belonging among students does not require an extraordinary community building event, or a shared relationship history, and might even occur while interacting with strangers. Dr. Shira Gabriel is a Professor of Psychology at The State University of New York at Buffalo and the current president of the Midwestern Psychological Association. She has authored numerous publications on the concept of collective effervescence and is currently writing a book on this topic. According to Gabriel, 'Collective effervescence is the psychological experience that we sometimes have when we are in a crowd of people — often a crowd with strangers. For example, people often report it at concerts, or protests, or sporting events.' A 2022 report by Frontiers in Psychology states that the term collective effervescence was coined by Emile Durkheim and refers to the shared emotional experience and sense of connection that individuals feel when they participate in a collective activity. Gabriel stated, 'We have done a lot of research on this and found that there are two things that happen that define collective effervescence. The first is that we feel a sense of connection to other people. We don't think these strangers next to us at a concert are going to become our best friends. This isn't the kind of connection we feel with close friends and family and romantic partners. Instead, they remind us that we are socially embedded. They remind us that we have a place in our society and that is a primal and important human need.' In 2020, Gabriel co-authored an article in the Journal of Positive Psychology, which argued that there's an enhanced survival value of a collective life, resulting in people having internal mechanisms that naturally propel them into collectives. These mechanisms allow people to assimilate quickly to groups and to experience pleasure, increase life satisfaction, and positive emotions from a collective, even without a shared relational history. The researcher continued, 'The second component of collective effervescence is a feeling that something sacred is happening. We feel like the moment transcends the ordinary day-by-day and is special. We may feel connected to something bigger than ourselves. We may lose our sense of time passing. And that is another human need — we want life to have meaning. We want it to feel special. Collective effervescence gives us that.' Gabriel explained the possible mental health benefits for collective effervescence. 'We are finding that collective effervescence increases the feeling that our lives have meaning. It increases our feeling that we are thriving. It increases happiness. And it increases satisfaction with our lives. Some very new work in our lab suggests that a powerful collective effervescence experience can increase wellbeing for at least six months!' These benefits are consistent with a 2025 report by The New York Times, arguing that there is a significant association between feeling connected with others and happiness. According to this report, even fleeting social interactions can improve happiness. Thus, it's apparent that higher education has the potential to be a natural source of collective effervescence for many students, which could provide a sense of meaning and happiness. Gabriel's work suggests that schools don't need to spend a lot of money to promote belonging through collective effervescence. She said, 'You don't need to feel connected to the group beforehand. For example, some people feel it waiting in line or in an elevator. But there is a feeling that the group is not just strangers but instead community members or fellow members of society…' Most schools utilize mascots and messaging to symbolize how students are fellow members of a campus community. Gabriel gave other examples of how schools can promote collective effervescence on campus. 'Having events that students can attend may increase collective effervescence. Even small things like having students chat with one another before class starts.' The researcher also stated, 'It might help to encourage people to find collective events that work for them. Think about their interests and attend events related to those. Because this is a primitive need, people often don't realize that they have it and thus don't do things to fill it.' Not only do many people not realize their need for collective effervescence, but it also appears that many people don't realize or acknowledge that higher education can be a key source of collective effervescence for many emerging adults.
