Key points:
- Supporting student mental health and ensuring student success are two sides of the same coin
- Prospective students want more mental health support on campus
- Building social connection without the pitfalls of social media
- For more news on student mental health, visit eCN’s Student Well-Being hub
Supporting student mental health is topmost on higher-ed leaders’ priorities. To that end, Western Wyoming Community College, a public community college that serves nearly 3,000 students across a rural and remote five-county region of the state, has launched a new partnership to provide students with immediate access to teletherapy.
The college has selected Boston-based Uwill, a mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students, to increase the college’s existing counseling capabilities for all students.
“Uwill has the ability to provide our students with diverse, immediate, and effective mental health care,” said Amy Galley, Director of Wellbeing & Accessibility/Title IX at Western Wyoming Community College. “While the competition for a teletherapy provider was strong, Uwill stood out among the rest for their innovative technology and ease of access.”
The campus-wide teletherapy initiative will help to provide support for Western’s diverse student population of part-time, working, and adult students, with 67 percent of Wyoming community college students being part-time students, 38 percent seeking short-term certificates, and 42 percent being ages 25 to 64. Rural students also face additional barriers to accessing and completing college, such as a lack of access to transportation, high-speed broadband, or college programs within their community.
Uwill was founded in 2020 to help campus counseling centers tackle overwhelming student demand, and now serves more than 2 million students through a one-of-a-kind “matching” platform that connects students with a therapist that they choose in less than five minutes. Recent survey data shows that 90 percent of adults believe the country is facing a mental health crisis. Meanwhile 42 percent of college students have expressed the need for help with mental health difficulties in the last year, but more than 60% have never received counseling or therapy.
“Community college leaders have long understood that supporting student mental health and ensuring student success are two sides of the same coin,” said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Uwill. “Community and technical colleges in rural and remote areas are responding to increased demand for mental health support, and teletherapy solutions can help to close these gaps in treatment, ensuring that students have the resources needed to achieve their educational and career goals.”
Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first student and therapist matching platform. The solution offers an immediate appointment with a licensed counselor based on student preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a direct crisis connection, wellness events, realtime data, and support. Uwill serves more than 2 million students from all 50 states at institutions including Columbus State Community College, Atlantic Cape Community College, Santa Fe Community College, and Springfield Technical Community College.
This press release originally appeared online.
- Report forecasts a ‘surge’ in GenAI adoption - April 26, 2024
- Where are microcredentials today–and where are they going? - April 22, 2024
- First-generation students are more likely to seriously consider leaving college - April 17, 2024