At Stevens, Student Connection Is Everything — and Everywhere

A mental health crisis is quietly brewing in higher education. According to a 2021 American College Health Association survey, nearly three in four U.S. college students now experience moderate or more serious psychological distress.

When a student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, feels they are struggling, they know they can find immediate support in a number of places both on campus and online.

But there’s also a good chance now that this support will find them first.

That’s because Stevens has both built a robust new network of wellness services and created a more caring community of students, faculty and staff that keep watch over each other — and know how and where to find help quickly when needed.

“It is essential that university students have a strong foundation and feel able to navigate the college experience,” says Sara Klein, Stevens’ vice president for student affairs. “Without this foundation, it's difficult to be successful in college.

“Toward that end, we have added significant programs, teams and protocols to help monitor and maintain students’ mental health and wellness.”

With support and leadership from Stevens President Nariman Farvardin and the university’s Board of Trustees, Stevens commissioned a Mental Health Task Force in 2019 to study this critical challenge. Many of that task force’s recommendations have already been implemented.

Recent new initiatives expanding students’ access to care include the expansion of multilingual and diverse counseling staff; a strengthened referral network to connect students to long-term care; training workshops on warning signs; regular check-ins with students; and orientation programs that set the tone for comfortable, safe, healthy and inclusive student experiences.

Impressed by Stevens’ commitments to students’ physical and mental health and wellness, Active Minds — a leading nonprofit group in support of mental health awareness and education for young adults —recognized the university as “one of the healthiest college campuses in the nation” with its prestigious 2022 Active Minds Healthy Campus Award.

"Student-centricity is a core value at Stevens, and we have worked diligently to operationalize this principle through interdisciplinary initiatives that prioritize and promote student wellness, mental health and safety," says Farvardin. “Our aim is to create an enriching, supportive and holistic campus culture for the entire Stevens community.”

Building community, expanding support for students

When students feel fundamentally connected and seen, Klein says, it becomes more comfortable to seek help when they encounter difficulties.

“We’ve woven this support into the fabric of the institution. We ensure that there are support networks and safety nets everywhere that students turn,” she explains.

Stevens fosters and communicates its connectedness and support for students through a variety of integrated and layered initiatives, including:

• mandatory annual training for all faculty and staff to identify students in distress and connect them with resources and support;
• readily accessible counseling via telehealth, walk-in appointments, a 24/7 call center, easy scheduling options and expanded staffing, including multilingual counselors and specific services for scholar-athletes;
• suicide-prevention initiatives such as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training, a research-based intervention protocol for suicide prevention, and an acclaimed Send Silence Packing public exhibit;
• a campus-wide environmental scan to identify and limit access to lethal means;
• participation in the annual Hoboken Out of Darkness walk, in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — an effort that raised more than $60,000 for suicide prevention initiatives in 2021;
• and ongoing peer-educator workshops and peer groups for student support.

“Everything is about connectedness,” says Klein.

Recent data indicate these new initiatives are moving the needle on Stevens students’ willingness to seek support.

Counseling visits are up 40% over the past year alone, reports the university, and 96% of students who visited a Stevens counselor report they would recommend that counselor to other students. Peer and faculty reports have also increased by 31% in one year and 50% over the past five years, a clear indication the university community is becoming more cohesive and supportive.

“We educate campus partners about how student well-being is a shared responsibility, and the Counseling Center can't do it alone,” explains Eric Rose, Stevens’ executive director of student wellness. “We train people that if they see something, they should say something, and we give them tools so they know where to go for help if a student is struggling.”

Stevens’ continuing commitment to student wellness

Going forward, Stevens is continuing to prioritize student wellness and mental health as a core element the institution’s newly approved 10-year strategic plan, Stevens 2032: Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology. One of the nine overarching goals of this new strategic plan is to build a more connected community and to provide students with the guidance, environment and support they need to achieve their goals at Stevens and beyond.

In addition, the university is developing a new core curriculum that will play a more significant role in helping students enjoy a healthy college experience and enhance their preparation for life after graduation. Stevens will also introduce a required seminar for first-year students that includes lessons on wellness, leadership, ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion. Beginning in the fall of 2024, this new programming for first-year students will deliberately orchestrate small-group interactions to create an immediate sense of community and to introduce specific faculty that students can turn to in times of need.

Living-learning communities facilitate students’ sense of belonging. Existing residential living-learning communities at Stevens include the long-running Lore-El Center for Leadership, a free-standing residential and programmatic center for Stevens women; a new community for first-year women in STEM called Women in Math, Science and Engineering (WiMSE); the new First Year Residential Experience (FYRE); and a new First Gen Scholars (1GS) initiative, supporting first-year, first-generation college students at Stevens. Additional living-learning communities are planned for the 2023-2024 academic year as well.

The recently opened University Center Complex also adds significant new communal areas to the campus, including event spaces, small lounges on each floor and “hangout spaces” throughout the building where informal interactions can take place.

“Stevens students are driven and focused,” concludes Klein. “We have designed, and continue to improve, a supportive ecosystem to help them develop the skills and the resiliency to persevere in school and in life after school.”

“We do not want even one student to fall through the cracks. Our plan is for every student to have a social support network, to know who to turn to for help if they need it and to feel comfortable asking for that help.”

This sponsored content was written and provided by Stevens Institute of Technology. The editorial staff of Inside Higher Ed had no role in its production.