What are the most significant mental health issues facing college students? Are additional services needed to improve the health and well-being of our campus community?
Questions like these will be explored and answered as Georgian Court embarks on a four-year process to become a certified JED Campus in support of student well-being and mental health. The JED Campus program is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to help schools evaluate and strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems to ensure that schools have the strongest possible mental health safety nets.
The first step will be launching a campus-wide student survey starting October 30, 2023, open to all undergraduate and graduate students. The survey will be conducted through the Healthy Minds Network Study (HMS), a web-based survey that examines mental health, service utilization, and related issues among college students.
Students will receive an email invitation with a link from a University of Michigan email address that references Healthy Minds (healthyminds-GCU@umich.edu) to participate in the survey. Students should check their Georgian Court email accounts in late October. The survey will remain open until November 21, 2023.
“The survey is completely confidential, and we hope that every student will participate to ensure a variety of student perspectives and experiences. Students should be honest about their struggles and experiences with mental health issues, so we can take proactive steps to meet their changing needs,” explained Dr. Robin Solbach, Director of Health and Counseling at GCU.
Georgian Court has already formed a JED Task Force, an interdisciplinary team to assess, support, and implement program, policy, and system improvements. After the confidential assessment and survey are completed, JED subject matter experts will provide a comprehensive report identifying successes and opportunities for enhancements, then continue collaborating with Georgian Court to help implement any changes.
“Georgian Court has always had a deep commitment to the emotional well-being of our students. The partnership with JED will allow us to see the impact of the great work we have already been doing, and to create positive, healthy changes for our campus community in the future,” added Solbach.
Funding for Georgian Court to embark on these projects came from a $125,000+ Mental Health in Higher Education: Community Provider Partnerships and Professional Development Grant, awarded by the Office of Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE).
Georgian Court now joins over 400 campuses engaged as a JED Campus and 530 colleges and universities across the U.S. participating in the HMS survey. The Healthy Minds Network is one of the nation’s premier research organizations contributing to adolescent and young adult mental health.
