Mental health and academic success are deeply interconnected. Research consistently shows that students experiencing depression, anxiety, or emotional distress often face challenges with concentration, motivation, class attendance, and overall academic performance. Conversely, students who report higher levels of emotional wellbeing and resilience are more likely to persist through difficulties, engage meaningfully in their learning, and graduate on time.
IMPROVEMENT GOALS
Goal 1:
Improve timely access to mental health services and connections to long-term care.
- Decrease wait time for mental health support at OSU
- Improve the student experience when connecting with community mental health providers outside of the OSU network
Goal 2:
Provide recommendations to instructional faculty for practices that support student wellbeing in the learning environment.
- Collaborate with the Center for Teaching & Learning to develop and facilitate workshop and professional development offerings
- Create a website landing page and digital guides with targeted recommendations
- Post teaching tips that support student well-being to OSU Today throughout the academic year
Goal 3:
Train all employees in supporting student mental wellbeing and resource awareness.
- Provide foundational skill-building training in supporting student mental wellbeing and increasing awareness of mental health resources.
- Facilitate opportunities to engage in scaffolded evidence-based mental health trainings for targeted employee groups who regularly interface with students who may be struggling.
Goal 4:
Tailor mental wellbeing services and programs to support underserved communities at OSU.
- Communities that are further away from targeted mental wellbeing goals, less likely to engage in OSU mental health services and programs, and in which we do not already have dedicated roles or programs.
Goal 5:
Create an OSU-wide mental health communication plan.
- Develop a Mental Health Communication Guide
- Embed mental health resources in the physical and digital spaces our community frequently engages
- Create and disseminate mental health literacy campaigns
- Empower families of Oregon State University students with the knowledge and resources to actively support their student's mental wellbeing
KEY INSIGHTS
More than half of OSU-Corvallis students who responded to the survey reported experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and/or depression and almost 60% of students reported that mental health challenges hurt their academic performance for 3 or more days in the past four weeks. Given the strong connection between mental health and academic success, understanding what students may be navigating personally allows us to lead with empathy and care. This insight can help us shape policies and practices that either support—or unintentionally hinder student well-being and academic success.
WORKGROUP PROGRESS
Goal 1:
- Counseling & Psychological Services will be launching two workgroups in Summer 2026 to advance this goal.
Goal 2:
- Multidisciplinary work group has created a set of recommendations for Enhancing Student Wellbeing through Instructional Practices.
Goal 3:
- Developed a tailored virtual mental well-being training designed to help employees recognize when a student may be in distress and to provide effective support and resources
- Creating a training resource hub for opportunities for employees to engage in scaffolded, evidence-based mental health trainings for deeper skill development
Goal 4:
- Counseling & Psychological Services will be launching a workgroup in Summer 2026 to advance this goal
Goal 5:
- Workgroup is actively developing a Mental Health Communication Guide and constructing a mental health communication plan to reach students and their families at multiple timepoints throughout their time at OSU.