The UT System Office of Academic Affairs reported on the progress of a three-year, $6 million endowment for mental health programs during the UT System Board of Regents meeting last Thursday.
The endowment, which began in 2018 and ends in May, was created to support eight systemwide programs that cover topics such as bystander intervention initiatives, health education campaigns and drug and alcohol recovery programs, according to the board report.
After funding the programs, the UT System directed any unused money, about $250,000, to a ninth program called ProtoCall, a service which supports after-hours counseling services, such as the Counseling and Mental Health Center Crisis Line, according to the report.
“Whether it's anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and other mental health concerns, these struggles are real,” said Wanda Mercer, associate vice chancellor for student affairs in the UT System Office of Academic Affairs.
After the endowment ends, the UT System will continue to fund four of the mental health programs through systemwide allocations, Chris Brownson, UT-Austin associate vice president for student affairs, said in an email. The programs are ProtoCall; EVERFI, an alcohol education and sexual assault prevention program; the Thrive@UT app; and the National Collegiate Health Assessment.
Campuses can choose to continue the remaining five programs depending on their budgets and needs, Brownson said.
In addition to the four programs the UT System will support, Brownson said UT-Austin will continue funding their early drug and alcohol intervention program, recovery programs, BeVocal bystander intervention program and health communication campaign about alcohol and consent.
UT-Austin pulled out of the contract for Therapy Assistance Online Connect, a telehealth video platform for mental health services, although some UT campuses may continue to use the platform past the end of this academic year, according to the report.
UT Regent Nolan Perez said he was specifically impressed by the crisis line, especially as mental health is strained during the pandemic. Brownson said the service received 19,000 calls over the past five years.
“Many of our freshmen didn't have a prom, didn't have graduation,” Perez said. “Then, they're thrust into their first year of college, and they're alone in a dorm (and) remote learning on Zoom classes … It's a much different world these days and a lot of people are just going through difficult times.”
