Investigative Journalism Education Consortium (https://ijec.org/author/pdempsey/page/4/)
With mental health needs rising on college campuses across America, some of Indiana’s public universities are struggling to deal with student demands for counseling services, a three-month review of the state’s institutions of higher learning has found.
Nearly four years after a report on Illinois campus security recommended that $25 million be appropriated for the improvement of campus security across the state, no college or university has received any money, and state officials are just beginning to draft plans for a grant program using the funds.
If a shooter were to walk into a classroom on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, the University is ready with a campus-wide Emergency Operations Plan , but no campus mandate requires each individual campus building to have an all-hazards evacuation plan.
Counseling and psychiatric services at Midwest universities are buckling under the increased demand from students — many of whom are entering schools with more serious illnesses than ever seen before.
As enrollment rates increase at universities across the country, counselors say they face more difficulties handling student mental health concerns. And as KBIA’s Scott Kanowsky reports, the University of Missouri system is feeling the strain as well. Dr. David Wallace is standing in front of a class of college students, a PowerPoint projection lit behind him. It is Suicide Prevention Week at MU, so Wallace is giving tips on coping with severe mental health problems.
Wallace is the head of the counseling center at the MU campus, where enrollment grew more than 4 percent from 2010. A licensed psychologist, Wallace says he and his staff treat more students each year.
Several state lawmakers say they didn’t know a law they passed after the Northern Illinois University shootings isn’t being enforced – and some vow to tighten the statute when legislators return to Springfield early next year.
A three-month investigation by ChicagoTalks found that a fraction of Cook County’s 63 higher education institutions appear to be complying with the Illinois Campus Security Enhancement Act of 2008.
While state officials insist they can’t enforce a 2008 law enacted to keep college students safe, they say the one-person office charged with helping schools comply with the statute plays a vital role.
It’s difficult if not impossible to determine which Illinois colleges and universities are complying with a state law that’s supposed to make school campuses safer.
Just a handful of the 63 higher education institutions in Cook County appear to be following a law that requires all Illinois colleges and universities to adopt safety policies and procedures meant to keep students safe.