January 22, 2023
The THRIVING COLLEGE STUDENTS INDEX REPORT is HERE!
The College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition envisions a world where all young adults thrive with the support of residential communities who teams are dedicated to promoting and advocating for mental wellness. Composed of 24 college student residential housing companies across the U.S., the Coalition is committed to better understanding our residents, encouraging open dialogues, and raising public awareness about the importance of mental wellness. Our teams are dedicated to promoting and advocating for mental wellness to facilitate personal fulfillment, academic success, and the realization of each of our resident’s full potential.
For the past two years, the Hi, How Are You Project conducted a College Student Fall Mental Wellness Survey to better understand the student experience. The goal? To create customized peer-to-peer training programs that have become guiding tenets for American Campus Communities’ (ACC) Residence Life program. In 2022, ACC and Hi, How Are You Project expanded the effort, which led to the creation of the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition. This collaboration brings together the nation’s leading student housing providers to better understand and improve their residents’ mental health and wellness.
This report highlights the findings from the 2022 Thriving College Students Survey, conducted on October 10th (World Mental Health Day) and the several weeks thereafter. The Hi, How Are You Project and the Coalition partnered with Ipsos, a world leader in research, to design and conduct the survey.
College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition members conducted email outreach to residents resulting in a total of 18,168 currently enrolled college students taking this survey, making this study one of the largest of its kind. They were given the choice to take it in English, French and Spanish. This report is intended to serve as a valuable resource for students and their peers, parents and other family members, universities, and student housing providers to support college students’ mental health and well-being. DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE.
(October 2022) The Hi, How Are You Project is proud to be the very first initiative of the newly formed College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition.
For the past two years, we've conducted a College Student Fall Mental Wellness Survey to better understand the student experience, as to create special peer-to-peer training programs that have become guiding tenets for American Campus Communities’ Residence Life program, which offers events and information regarding health and wellness. Now, our organization and Coalition members will work with renowned global insights firm, Ipsos, to expand and amplify the survey into an annual Thriving Student Index. With accurate and actionable data in hand, we will help co-create industry wide peer-to-peer on-site training programs, connect residents to campus resources for mental health and wellness, and promote ways to manage stress and anxiety in college.
We want student housing managers across the country to join the cause to administer the survey to their residents. This will gather the largest most credible data set on this topic and serve as an invaluable benchmark to measure impact and inform initiatives over the long term.
Find out more about the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and it’s amazing group of member organizations HERE.
COLLEGE STUDENT 2021MENTAL HEALTH REPORT
(October 28, 2021) In collaboration with the fine folks at American Campus Communities, we have released the findings from our College Student Fall 2021 Mental Wellness Survey which was fielded in September. The survey is the largest of its kind specifically targeting all levels of college-aged students across the US, from incoming freshman to graduate students. Learn more HERE or download the FULL REPORT.
“While stigma around mental health is still very real, the report reveals that it is starting to decrease, and with increased awareness and support, we have seen that more students are comfortable with sharing and openly communicating about their troubles,” said Dr. Sonia Krishna, a board certified physician specializing in Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatry and Hi, How Are You Project board member. “This is certainly great news since college years are a high risk and critical time when help and resources should be readily available to make an impact.”
Key takeaways from the report include:
Stress and anxiety are pervasive, but levels are down from last year
Mental wellness continues to be an essential component of students' overall health and well-being
Students continue to have high care quotient for others and seek peers to open up to
COVID-19 has prompted students to evaluate their mental wellness
Students most look forward to socializing and interacting in person
Social media permeates students lives with more positive/neutral impact than negative