Policy and Culture Change

Traditionally, campus culture has not always normalized the reality that there are ups and downs in the student experience and that students may sometimes have trouble coping. One of the means through which we can begin to change the culture on campus is through policy changes. By moving away from policies that may be causing unintentional harm to students, as well as removing barriers to accessing supports, we can begin to create a campus environment that recognizes the importance of mental health and works to positively support students in their pursuit of wellbeing. Campuses can begin the process of reshaping their policies by reviewing them, even those not related to student health and wellness, through a mental health and equity lens. Only then can campuses begin to understand the true impacts of their policies on students’ wellbeing. Some things to look out for are whether policies are inappropriately punitive with regards to mental health or if policies are structured in a way that could deter students from accessing campus or community mental health resources. Going through the assessment process can not only help institutions to understand where barriers may lie, but can also provide insight into how students perceive and experience these barriers. Tools like the Health Equity Impact Assessment can be used to analyze policies and note their impact on student populations. A main goal of campus mental health policies should be to provide supports for faculty, staff and students when it comes to dealing with mental health crisis response.

All campuses should also have an easy to comprehend mental health crisis navigation path. This navigation path should inform a person of what steps they can take to support a student in crisis based on the student’s immediate needs. The navigation path should be accessible to faculty, staff and students online and on campus.

Policy changes can be made at all levels of the post- secondary institution in order to better support student mental health. These campus policies should provide supports for students and staff when it comes to dealing with mental health crises. Administrators, faculty and staff can all play a proactive role in encouraging students to access support and in reducing the stigma surrounding mental health concerns. Individual interactions aren’t the only way we can support students. While administrators can work on higher-level policy pieces, there are other means through which faculty, staff, and students can also work to shift the culture on campus. Below are some examples of different ways of shifting campus culture, specifically through stigma reduction.