The Student Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force published its report in October 2008, following a two-year examination of University policies, available resources and the campus’s prevailing environment.
“Most students adapt to the environment, learn and succeed at Stanford, as generations have before them,” the task force report said. “But it has become evident that among today’s students, some are not sufficiently emotionally prepared or psychologically resilient to deal with the stresses of the Stanford experience.”
While the report emphasized that problems such as these are not confined to Stanford, it concluded that it was incumbent upon the University to provide more resources to address them, including additional counselors.
It recommended that Stanford publicize its already strong safety net of decentralized services and educate students on how to access them. And it called for a shift in cultural norms and expectations, saying that “the definition of success cannot be limited to academic achievement alone.”
A 15-member oversight committee has been appointed to oversee the implementation of the recommendations, which also include:
- Finding ways to reduce student stress while maintaining high academic standards
- Providing mentoring as well as advising, and improving advising for upperclassmen and graduate students
- Ensuring that Counseling and Psychological Services and other safety-net offices have sufficient resources
- Bolstering health insurance requirements so that students have adequate coverage for off-campus mental health needs, and creating an emergency fund
- Improving the flow of information between campus offices that support students; training faculty and staff on appropriate referrals
- Enhancing the University’s collaboration with parents and other family members
- Strengthening support for students as they take leaves of absence and return to school
- Promoting prevention and wellness programs
- Strengthening students’ feelings of connection to their peers and to the Stanford community; supporting students whose personal backgrounds may make them vulnerable to isolation
