What Role Do Universities Play in Supporting Their Students?

Course Hero invited a panel of four college students to talk about their experiences with stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With students spending more time on coursework and less time sleeping than before the pandemic, it’s no surprise that they are also experiencing tremendous levels of stress. However, in a recent wellness survey, most students said they are turning to informal support networks to address their stress and anxiety during the pandemic. With 77 percent of students reporting that they haven’t used tele-health, counseling, or emergency services provided by their college during this time, we sought to bridge the gap between students, faculty and administrators.

We brought four students from University of Florida, University of Georgia, Grand Canyon University, and Black Hills State University together to speak with Kevin Kruger, president & CEO of National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) about mental health and how their respective schools have supported them throughout the pandemic. This talk was initially shared at a faculty event hosted by Course Hero called “Teaching in Transition.”

Hear firsthand how the four students dealt with the shift to online instruction, how they navigated Zoom fatigue, and how they communicated with their professors to make exceptions or special accommodations.

Across the board the students spoke openly and honestly about the compounding stress from COVID-19 isolation and illness, compassion fatigue for their instructors, the weight of activism, and tension around the Presidential election.

Hear the candid conversation and get a snapshot into the experience of a higher-ed student during the pandemic in this full video recap.