{"id":14473,"date":"2019-11-25T10:40:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T15:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/?p=14473"},"modified":"2019-11-26T19:47:17","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T00:47:17","slug":"online-learners-mental-health-does-anyone-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/online-learners-mental-health-does-anyone-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Learners\u2019 Mental Health: Does Anyone Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is an ever-growing array of options to get a degree or specific training entirely online without ever setting foot on a physical campus of any kind. As this shift continues to occur in the digital world of the twenty-first century, some are beginning to wonder whose responsibility it is to look after online learners\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n

Traditional Higher Education and Student Mental Health<\/b><\/h2>\n

On college and university campuses across the nation and world, more attention is being paid to the mental health of students than ever before, and for good reason. According to some of the latest research available<\/a>, \u201c\u2026three out of 10 students have struggled with depression in the last two weeks, and over one in four have expressed issues with anxiety. Even more distressing is the one in 20 college students who had created a suicide plan in the past year.\u201d Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the age group that includes traditional college students<\/a>. It has also been well-documented that student mental health challenges lead to discontinuous enrollment, stop-out, and lower GPAs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those are alarming figures, to be sure. Many institutions of higher education have stepped up efforts to better address student mental health while others are lagging behind. The American Council on Education conducted a survey to which 410 college presidents responded<\/a>. Fully 81% of the presidents say student mental health has become more of a priority now than it was three years ago. About 71% of them have responded by reallocating or finding additional funds to do something about it. A quarter of them are hearing about student mental health issues and concerns on a weekly basis. When it comes to who is charged with addressing student mental health, 92% of the presidents place that responsibility with their VP of student affairs or the dean of students. These presidents also wish they could hire more staff for their campus counseling centers.<\/p>\n

Students themselves in colleges and universities everywhere have stepped up to raise awareness about their mental health issues and reduce the stigma associated with asking for help. One such group is called Active Minds<\/a>, a campus-based student group started by Alson Malmon when she was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania following the suicide of her older brother. 16 years later, Active Minds has chapters on 700 campuses a reach as many as 600,000 students with a combination of campus awareness campaigns, events, advocacy, and outreach. On other campuses, students have formed various kinds of peer support groups<\/a> to help each other address mental health issues.<\/p>\n

But these are all campus-based activities \u2013 brick-and-mortar counseling centers, physical in-person meetings of groups and organizations. Where does this leave online learners\u2019 mental health? Who is looking after the well-being of students who will never set foot on a physical campus during their learning journey? Given the growing number of online learners, this seems like it should be a top priority for any institution or company offering learning programs that take place entirely online. There are a couple examples worth noting.<\/p>\n

How Post University is Addressing Online Learners\u2019 Mental Health<\/b><\/h2>\n

Some of the reasons why online learners\u2019 mental health is not being robustly addressed has to do with misperceptions, as outlined by Lisa Antel, director of the counseling center at Post University, in Connecticut<\/a>. Part of why online programs are so appealing to educators is the belief that they can cost less because online students need fewer services. Mental health is often sidelined as a \u201cdiscretionary\u201d offering. This makes no sense to Antel, who notes that most of the 10,000 online learners at Post are working adults who have a much more complex array of responsibilities to families and employers than the average college-age student on a campus. People trying to balance work and family duties along with participation in an online learning program \u2013 many of which are purposefully intense and fast-paced \u2013 are arguably more vulnerable to a mental health tailspin when the fragile balance is thrown off by something. And they can\u2019t just walk over to the campus counseling center if they\u2019re nowhere near it. The mix of services related to online learners\u2019 mental health Post is ramping up includes the following:<\/p>\n