Supporting Successful Student Transition

The panel discussion explored mental health and other data on student wellness on campus. Coming from both the college and the high school perspectives, strategies for supporting students' mental health and transition beyond high school graduation into college were shared. Lauren shares data highlighting common concerns like social anxiety, academic pressures, and finances among incoming college students. The panelists discuss overcoming barriers to seeking help, such as stigma, paralysis from perfectionism, and lack of self-advocacy skills. They suggest inclusive advising, peer mentoring, role playing, connecting students with resources early. Selecting colleges based on student support systems rather than prestige is also recommended.

1. Beyond Admission:
Supporting Successful Student Transition
Friday Forum

2. Lauren Sefton
Rhodes College
Cyndy McDonald
The College Counselor’s Coach
Ann Marano
Colleges That Change Lives
Cathy Finks
College of Wooster
Christine Bowman
Southwestern University

3. Our Conversation Today
●Mental Health & Transition

●Skill Gaps & Transition

●Road Map from Admission to Matriculation

●How Support Inspires the Search

4. ●10.2 million (30.6%) of people between the ages of 18 and 25
experienced a mental, behavioral, or emotional health issue in the
past year. (Source: SAMHSA, 2021)

●Suicide rates among young people in the U.S. have risen over the
past 18 years with a 3% decrease in the overall U.S. rate across
2019 and 2020 (Source: CDC, 2022)
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Mental Health & Transition

5. ●Students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, international students,
first-generation students, and other potentially marginalized
populations, face additional mental health stressors that increase
risk of poor outcomes.
(Source: The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, 2021; JED Proud and
Thriving Literature Reviews, 2021)
●While rates of mental health challenges for everyone increased,
access to treatment did not.
Mental Health & Transition

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7. R

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9. R

10. Source: “Using Case Management Referral Data to Develop Trainings for the Campus Community” by Schiemann and Morgan from Univ of South
Florida, from the Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention

11. Before they go…..

12. How do you help?

●What skills do they need/have?
●Which can we nurture and grow?
●The Top of the Class needs support too
●Self advocacy skills are not equally distributed /
owned
●Systemic and social challenges

13. Support on Campus
●Sense of belonging
●Managing everything, everywhere, all at once
●Academic Transition
●College isn’t 13th grade

14. Support on Campus
Campus Partners Working Together
●Final Enrollee Review during the summer
so we can connect students with resources
like Academic & Learning Resources, ADHD
Coach, Accessibility Services, Counseling
Center, etc
●Peer Resources: Peer Assistant, Peer
Academic Coach, Supplemental
Instruction, Peer Tutor, Writing Fellows

15. Support on Campus
Collaboration across campus is key!

When a file is read, information is tracked on how we can support the
student once they are enrolled.

Upon enrollment, this information is shared with academic success
and student life. Some departments reach out to offer services during
welcome week; others are prepared in the event a student needs
assistance.

Our experience is that students who have disclosed the information
are less likely to face challenges, but if they do, our staff is prepared to
assist them.

16. Support on Campus

●Multicultural Student
Org Coalition (MSOC)
●Heritage month
celebrations &
intersectional
programming
●Access to
diversity-focused
professional and
student conferences

●30+Religious/spiritual
traditions
●On-campus Sacred
Spaces
●Religious &
Faith-based Student
Organizations

17. Skill Gaps & Transition

●Networking
●Communication
●Adaptability and Flexibility
●Critical Thinking

18. Skills To Nurture

19. Counseling Students as IECs
●The struggle is real…for everyone
●Explore support services and focus on fit
●Teach life skills
●We can’t just help students find and apply to
colleges that are the right match
●We must also teach our students to be successful
college students and adults

20. Transition During The Campus Visit
●Research student support services as the search
begins
●Identify best sources for information on support
●How do colleges communicate this information
to students

21. Building The List

●Consider the support student might need and how
college might provide it
●Connection with campus culture, resources, community
●Helping students engage and encouraging agency
●Getting admitted is not the end goal

22. Offering Transition Services
●There is a need for additional support around
the transition to college
●Can we expand our offerings to include
services to support transition to college?
○Executive function coaching
○Parent coaching
○Etc.