Earlier this summer, the Texas A&M Board of Regents Committee on Academics and Student Affairs met to discuss student mental health and suicide prevention. The meeting, which included representation by East Texas A&M administrators, was featured in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article.

The article cited a study by United Health Group stating that 60% of college students and young adults had self-reported experiencing a mental or behavioral health concern in the past year.

Judy Sackfield, East Texas A&M University's vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, spoke to the group about the resources and responses to students' mental health needs at ETAMU.

In her remarks, Sackfield spoke about the many resources offered by East Texas A&M, including the Counseling Center, where students are seen with little to no wait time during business hours, as well as 24-hour care crisis support. She stressed that the university has been able to effectively meet student health needs, even though the university has the added challenge of being a rural-serving campus with fewer staff than comparable universities.

“Despite those staffing realities, our team continues to provide care without session limits for students, which is very unique. That speaks volumes about the commitment and dedication of the counseling staff,” Sackfield told regents. “In addition to counseling services, we also provide psychiatric support through a contracted psychiatric nurse practitioner.”

Vice presidents for Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Texarkana also spoke before the board. They touted system-wide resources, such as the TELUS mental health support app, as a boon in meeting students’ mental health needs.

Read the full article.