Peer Review

7 Things You Should Know About Mental Health and Higher Education

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 24, 2024 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

7 Things You Should Know about Mental Health and Higher Education is a 2021 EDUCAUSE article. Part of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) series, this article (or "brief") addresses how emerging learning technology can be applied to address mental health in the higher education setting.

The article is two (2) pages in length and describes how technology tools can be used to "proactively identify" mental health problems, monitor mental health, or house resources that "teach mindfulness, healthy habits, and how to recognize mental health problems in others." Examples of how universities are applying technology tools to address mental health are included.

Type of Material:

Reference Material

Recommended Uses:

Perhaps the best use of this article would be in a professional development session for university faculty and/or staff. The article would serve as an excellent launching point for a discussion of how university professionals can apply technology to support students' mental health.

Faculty, staff, and administrators could review their efforts on their campuses using this information.
This document could be used as a reference for anyone working with students, but students themselves could use this material to review and locate services on their own campuses.

Note: The article also would be of interest to those studying psychology, counseling, and social work.

Technical Requirements:

A web browser and PDF reader are the only requirements. The article can be read online or downloaded and saved as a PDF file.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The article is a 7-part brief that describes the importance of mental health on college campuses (with emphasis on the impact of the pandemic), explains the intersection of technology tools and mental health on the higher ed campus, provides examples of how various universites are using technology tools to address mental health, covers the significance of this topic, examines the downsides of using technology to address mental health, explores what the future holds (e.g., AI technologies), and addresses the implications for teaching and learning.

Target Student Population:

College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

While no prerequisite knowledge or skills are needed, the article would be of particular interest to professionals who work with students in a higher education setting.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The article is current (as of the time of this review) and takes into account the impact of the pandemic.
The article's 7-part construction is excellent and allows the reader to come away with answers (or more food for thought) around seven key areas pertaining to mental health and higher education.
The illustrations of how technology is used to address mental health in various universities (ranging from apps to simulation-based training) is valuable.
Link-outs to illustrations and resources provide opportunities for further exploration and learning.
The downsides covered include concerns over maintaining confidentiality while being able to intervene where needed

Concerns:

The privacy-related concerns described in the article are important. In this area, the article poses more questions than answers and will require augmentation if discussed in a professional development session or course.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Material is clearly written with 7 keys points in two pages. Including a scenario provides a way for readers to relate the topics to current situations.
The final section of the article is entitled What Are the Implications for Teaching and Learning? This section points to very specific areas that universities can address in order to support students' mental health (e.g., remote proctoring, connectivity).
As an article with a multitude of link-outs on applying technology to address students' mental health, 7 Things You Should Know about Mental Health and Higher Education can serve as a resource for both classroom training and professional development purposes --i.e., the format and content offer flexibility.

Concerns:

The article was not designed as a teaching tool; thus, faculty or professional development session leaders would have to design an activity (or activities) to integrate the article into a larger learning context.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The article is well-designed and easy to read online. The headings and fonts appear accessible.
The article also can be downloaded and saved as a PDF file.
PDF includes text that is screenreader enabled, rather than image-based, and is accessible for most readers.

Concerns:

Tabbed structure within the document appears to jump to links rather than headings.

Other Issues and Comments:: The document itself does not explain the ELI organization and simply references back to info@educause.edu. For clarity, a link to the ELI detailed website would improve the usefulness of this document.
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