PROJECT CARE - Newman University is a private, liberal arts Catholic university located in Wichita, Kansas, that will provide increased access to mental health counseling to more than 2,600 students with Project Care. The project will particularly focus on the needs of freshmen and commuter students, with emphasis on increased communication to promote available mental health services, expanded education about mental health, and reducing stigma. The student population includes both undergraduate and graduate students on the Wichita campus, where the majority of students are female and Caucasian which is representative of the Wichita area.
In a 2022 Mental Health Status and Access to Services Survey conducted by Newman, 43% of all students reported being diagnosed with a mental health condition and 13% of students had suicidal ideation in the past year. While 43% of students reported a mental health condition, only 18% of students have asked for any accommodation. First year students are significantly more likely to have suicide ideations and attempt suicide than fourth year students.
Freshmen made up 27% of students seeking counseling. Commuter students make up an alarming 63% of students seeking counseling referrals, compared to their residential counterparts, up from 57% in the 2019 -2020 academic year. In the current academic year, there have been 10 incidents of suicide attempts compared to two attempts in the last 5 academic years . That is more than a 200% increase in suicide attempts in just one academic year. The goals of Project Care include : increasing services offered and reducing barriers to access, increasing outreach with dissemination of information, providing mental health education to, students, faculty, and staff through on demand training, and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness. These goals will also be further informed by an assessment and activities as part of the JED Campus Fundamentals program. To accomplish these goals, counseling sessions will be increased to provide additional, cost-free, in-person counseling to students, increasing from six to at least 8 sessions. Virtual counseling will continue with expanded promotion. Newman will continue to use a new software system to track students, their use of mental health services, incidents, and behaviors. Campus leadership will be instrumental in ensuring the infrastructure of the university supports these efforts, particularly with the participation of the Dean of Students and the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. Additions will be made to New Student Orientation and course syllabi. Campus communication will be increased, as well as diversified to address mental health. Success of Project Care will be measured through ongoing data collection including: services accessed, impressions in media, trainings provided, training and campus programs carried out, and positive changes made to campus infrastructure. All these changes will lead to a safer and more encouraging environment in which students will thrive.
