“Our overarching goal is to create a road map for our graduate deans and community to create services and a more supportive environment for all graduate students,” said Dr. Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, “Because so very little is known about services that are already in place and policies that promote wellness.”

EMBARGOED UNTIL:                                                                                                                                        

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 10:00am EDT

CGS Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg – (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

JED Contact: Meg Woodworth – (212) 303-2306 / JEDmedia@yr.com

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools, (CGS) an association of universities that grant master’s and doctoral degrees, and The Jed Foundation (JED), a non-profit that exists to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, today announced a new initiative to support the mental health and wellness of master’s and doctoral students. The 22-month project will create a foundation for evidence-based policies and resources to support graduate student mental health and well-being, prevent psychological distress, and address barriers to effective support and care. CGS and JED will give particular attention to the experiences of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities pursuing graduate education.

A growing body of evidence indicates that mental health challenges are common among graduate students. However, many barriers exist to effective support and care. These may include campus services that do not necessarily recognize the unique needs of graduate students, and a lack of evidence about what types of support are best suited to them. Students of different backgrounds may also face different sources of stress and may experience different levels of comfort in seeking help.

The new initiative, Supporting Mental Health and Wellness of Graduate Students will address these and other concerns across all broad fields of graduate study. A grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will support the council’s focus on issues specific to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, while a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support the council’s work in the humanities.

“Compared with the undergraduate education context, there has been relatively little attention to supporting the mental health and wellness of master’s and doctoral students,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “This is a high-priority issue for CGS and the graduate education community more broadly, and we are grateful to our funders for supporting our work on this issue in a coordinated, thoughtful way, and to JED for contributing their expertise.”

The project will convene an advisory committee of experts and graduate education leaders (listed below), who will counsel CGS on its research and action plan. In addition, CGS will survey its member institutions to better understand existing policies and practices for supporting graduate student mental health and factors that may impact the design and delivery of services. In 2020, graduate deans, graduate students, mental health researchers, and other experts will convene in Washington, D.C., for a one-and-half-day workshop. The final project outcome will include a report and a statement of common principles for supporting graduate student mental health.

“In our work with colleges and universities across the country, we hear time and again the increasing concern for graduate and professional students’ mental health and how best to support them," said Nance Roy, Chief Clinical Officer at The Jed Foundation.  “To date, there is no framework focused specifically on the unique challenges and needs of graduate students.  JED is excited to be part of this initiative that will not only identify those needs, but also provide recommended practices for addressing them.”

The report resulting from the project will be released by December 2020.

Advisory Committee:

• Dr. Hollie Chessman, Research Fellow, Center for Policy Research and Strategy, American Council on Education
• Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin, Scientific Advisor, The Steve Fund
• Dr. Michael Cunningham, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Research, Tulane University
• Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, S.J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor in Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan
• Dr. Andres Gil, Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Dean of the University Graduate School, Florida International University 
• Ms. Susanna Harris, CEO Founder, PhD Balance and doctoral student in microbiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Dr. Paula McClain, Dean of The Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Duke University
• Dr. Suzanne Ortega (Ex-Officio), President, Council of Graduate Schools
• Dr. Susan Porter, Dean and Vice-Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of British Columbia and President, Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
• Dr. Sally Pratt, Vice Provost for Graduate Programs, University of Southern California
• Dr. Nance Roy (Ex-Officio), Chief Clinical Officer, The Jed Foundation and Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry
• Dr. Barry Schreier, Director of the University Counseling Service and Professor of Counseling Psychology, The University of Iowa
• Dr. Tammi Vacha-Haase, Dean of the Graduate College, Boise State University and President-Elect, Western Association of Graduate Schools

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We still know surprisingly little about Ph.D. career pathways. So the Council of Graduate Schools’ data-collection effort on Ph.D. outcomes continues to yield valuable information. This time, the information is about recent jobs changes among Ph.D.s.

In terms of concerns about overborrowing, a cap already exists on Grad PLUS amounts, noted Dr. Suzanne T. Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools.

She shared the view that any changes that would effectively push students toward private lending would disproportionately impact underrepresented students, especially Black students, who are more likely to borrow to finance their education at all levels and have more difficulty obtaining loans and credit of any type.

Chemistry and chemical engineering graduate school enrollment was up on average from 2007 to 2017, according to data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

Among groups singing the letter were the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Association of American Universities, Council of Graduate Schools, Council of Christian Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students.

More than 30 groups signed on to the letter, including the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Council on Education, the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, and the Council of Graduate Schools.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461-3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools applauds the bipartisan introduction of the Expanding Access to Graduate Education Act (H.R. 3334), introduced by Representatives Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Fred Upton (R-MI), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Harley Rouda (D-CA). H.R. 3334 would provide graduate students who received Pell Grant support as undergraduates and who remain income-eligible the ability to apply remaining semesters of Pell support towards a graduate degree. CGS has long supported this proposal to modernize the Pell program, thereby improving access and diversity within graduate education and strengthening the workforce.

Currently, Pell is only available to undergraduate students, and eligible individuals can receive up to 12 semesters’ worth of grant awards. However, a growing number of graduate students are former Pell recipients. According to the Department of Education, in Academic Year 2015-2016, nearly 46 percent of first-year graduate and professional students received some level of Pell support during their undergraduate education -- an encouraging indicator that a greater number of students from lower socio-economic means are pursuing graduate degrees. If enacted, the legislation would potentially assist nearly 387,600 students, according to CGS estimates.

“This legislation upholds the primary mission of the Pell Grant program, which is to help ensure that individuals with exceptional financial need are able to pursue higher levels of education,” said Suzanne T. Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. “Our nation is becoming increasingly diverse, and it is imperative that our graduate student population reflects that diversity by including more students from low-income and underrepresented communities.”

Moreover, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in high-demand fields such as education, health care, and STEM often require at least a master’s degree. "As occupations requiring a master's degree continue to grow, we need to make sure those who wish to fill these jobs are not prevented from doing so because of the high cost of graduate school," said Congresswoman Kuster. "This legislation will help remove some of the barriers that many Americans face in their pursuit of post-graduate opportunities, reduce student debt, and ensure workers have the skills they need to help fill the jobs of the future-this bill is a win-win for students and our economy."

"The bottom line is this legislation will help make a graduate degree more affordable for the nearly 5,000 graduate students who attend Western Michigan University and the millions of graduate students across the country," Congressman Upton said. "Countless good-paying jobs today require a graduate degree, but earning one can be expensive-especially after already paying for an undergraduate degree. The bipartisan legislation we introduced today would help reduce the debt burden of these students."

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Economic and workforce-related factors are driving Indian graduate students to study in the U.S., said Hironao Okahana, associate vice president of research and policy analysis at the Council of Graduate Schools.

Full-time enrollment is down across master’s and doctoral programs in the arts and humanities, education and social sciences, according to an October report by the Council of Graduate Schools. Over the last five years, online and part-time degrees have gained ground in those fields, the data show.