The number of students withdrawing from their education because of their mental health is on the rise, with Fall 2018 seeing a concerning climb. Central Connecticut State University is not exempt from that trend, according to Association Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Ramón Hernández.
“There’s an increase [in students leaving] this semester like I haven’t seen in years,” Hernández said. “I think it’s really serious anxiety and depression. That’s what I’m seeing.”
Poor mental health is “significantly associated to dropout among students in vocational and higher education,” according to a 2016 study in the United States National Institutes of Health’s Library of Medicine. Thirty percent of freshman won’t return for their sophomore year, mental health contributing largely. And it’s a global problem: the Higher Education Statistics Agency in the United Kingdom found that “1,180 students who experienced mental health problems left university early in 2014-15, a 210 percent increase from 380 in 2009-10,” according to The Guardian.
Hernández has come to accept that it’s best for some CCSU students to withdraw from school, temporarily or permanently, rather than hold on until the end. And with the number of students suffering from anxiety and depression having, in his opinion, “skyrocketed,” the need to leave has become greater than ever before.
“Most of us, we’re told to pull your pants up and keep moving. [These students] can’t. They struggle,” Hernández elaborated.
Students have several options for exiting CCSU on account of their mental health. One is a leave of absence for up to two consecutive semesters “with the firm and stated intention of returning,” according to the university’s website. Another method is a complete withdrawal from the university. This is allowed up until four weeks before the last day of the final examination period, as written on the form.
Students who prematurely leave CCSU because of their mental health, whether entirely or temporarily, are classified as being under “medical withdrawal.” When a student fills out the necessary form on their own or through Hernández, a dean or department chair, they do not have to explicitly state the reason—it is simply written off as “medical.”
Furthermore, those who request a complete withdrawal before the November deadline do not even have to go through their dean or the Registrar; it’s only if a student passes the November withdrawal deadline that they need approval and explanatory documentation.
No questions asked on paper, the student is free to go. If they live on-campus, they move out quietly. Their academic record is frozen, all classes getting W’s so that they don’t affect their GPA. Everything is done to make the transition smooth and as under-the-radar as possible.
Because of this, the data is impossible to track. Furthermore, with so many requests pouring in to Hernández’s office alone, he moves on to the next medical withdrawal as soon as he finishes the one before it without keeping score; he has drawers in his desk dedicated to manila folders containing the forms.
The same goes for late course withdrawals, which are “typically used to describe a withdrawal after the twelfth week of the semester,” according to Patrick Tucker from CCSU’s Office of the Registrar.
“Comparison data [for late withdrawals] is not available,” Tucker said. He added that though the Registrar is responsible for recording and updating withdrawals on students’ records, the number related to mental health is “unknown, as the Office of the Registrar does not have a role in the late withdrawal process where we review, maintain or track this information.”
However, if there was a way of recording the numbers, Hernández stated that “we would see an increase from the last three or four years.”
Departments are seeing that increase. It’s not at an “epidemic-level” in the history department, according to Chair Dr. John Tully, but he and the rest of the department faculty are prepared to assist even one student, doing their best to be “attuned” to the problem.
“We need to constantly have that on our minds about how we can serve these students who are either going through a period of stress or who are dealing with deeper mental health issues,” Tully said.
Computer Science Chair Dr. Stanislav Kurkovsky wasn’t aware of any of his majors completely withdrawing from the university, citing students’ discomfort with speaking openly about it, but said that he’d personally experienced an increase in students withdrawing from certain courses and approaching him for aid on account of their mental health. When they do come see him, Kurkovsky’s first question is “always” if they’re seeking help.
“If I had a feeling there’s something going on, if they were visibly upset or depressed about something, I’ll write to Counseling Services or [Hernández]. I’d let them know I’m really concerned about so-and-so,” he stated. “But I can only recall a couple of names whom I had to put in touch with Counseling Services in that fashion.”
Students who decide to take a leave of absence have to return with tools to succeed at their disposal, Hernández said, because he knows from speaking with students that the depression and anxiety is “gonna pop up again.”
“If you repeat the same thing, you’re gonna hand us $10,000 and I’ll be giving you another medical leave in the spring semester,” Hernández said.
But Hernández will “never” force a student to return. If they refuse to enroll again even part-time, he explained it’s best to let them go for the sake of their mental health.
“If you push them, they’ll probably hurt themselves. They have no other options. Their coping skills are not as well-formed as some of us who don’t. You corner them, they’ll hurt themselves,” Hernández said.
“We don’t teach that college is stressful. You really need to be independent and you got to understand that whole semester is on you,” Hernández continued. “I think that students, especially those with anxiety and depression, they got lost. They feel alone. They fall apart. Then we have more medical withdrawals.”