An Examination of Student Mental Health Services and Supports in Institutions of Higher Education

An Examination of Student Mental Health Services and Supports in Institutions of Higher Education

National Council on Disability, in collaboration with RTI International

The goal of this research is to identify policies and practices that enhance the ability of students with mental health disabilities to access services and graduate from postsecondary institutions. Through interviews with experts in the field and national dissemination of a questionnaire on current mental health services and policies, the research will provide information on:

• Policy—including gaps, weaknesses, and discriminatory aspects of current federal and college policy and recommendations for policy and system reforms.
• Practice—including the current best and promising practices in providing support to students and the best practices in training mental health professionals and college faculty and staff to effectively implement these best practices.
• Access—including availability of and barriers to mental health services on campuses and whether students receive the appropriate reasonable accommodations to remain and succeed in school.

Data collected from this research will be shared with Congress and the White House, with the ultimate goal of identifying policies and practices that enhance the ability of students with mental health disabilities to access services and graduate from postsecondary institutions.

The results of this study were summarized in the report,  Mental Health on College Campuses: Investments, Accommodations Needed to Address Student Needs. The report can be downloaded from the NCD website (https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/NCD_Mental_Health_Report_508_0.pdf).